Moving from insight to action: Anglicare Conference 2026

BSL was proud to participate in the Anglicare Australia National Conference on Larrakia Country in Darwin from 21-23 September.

With last year's conference held on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne, and BSL the custodian organisation for the past year, HIPPY First Nations Network Senior Manager Annie Kent and BSL First Nations Strategy and Outcomes Manager Jenna Ahmat presented a message stick to incoming custodian organisation Anglicare Australia at the opening ceremony. This also marked the passing of the collection of cultural items, received through previous conferences, that BSL had been caring for.

We sought guidance from Wurundjeri as Traditional Owners on appropriately participating in this tradition between conference hosts. Thank you to Wurundjeri man Thane Garvey for helping organise a beautiful item for us to present. The message stick features Bunjil, manna gum leaf and Birrarung: the three main totems of Wurundjeri Country, with the phrase Noon goodjin, meaning thank you, to reflect Wurundjeri Country.

This year’s theme was Act Justly: Ideas to Impact: how we can turn insight into action, how we act justly in our services, in our advocacy, and in the systems we are working to reform.

Annie spoke about HIPPY’s transition to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) as part of a presentation on First Nations-led partnerships with Anglicare WA’s Jarred Wall ACCare SA’s Dorothy Kartinyeri. Thirty-two of HIPPY’s 100 sites are now delivered by ACCOs, alongside seven active partnership models between ACCOs and mainstream organisations.

BSL Inclusion Senior Manager Lydia Sherren and Hoops 4 Health founder and CEO Timmy Duggan showcased Hoops 4 Wealth, a First Nations-led financial wellbeing program delivered by Hoops 4 Health. The session explored allyship, self-determination and the role of culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches in supporting financial wellbeing in the Northern Territory.

South Australia-based ACCare gave a particularly inspiring presentation on how they were “thinking differently about bringing hearts and minds together” in their community through their bespoke Foundation Action Plan as an alternative to a Reconciliation Action Plan.

Prominent pundit Waleed Aly also presented on some of the challenges we face as a society and it was great to share the experience and some great conversations with BSL Head of Chaplain and Diocesan Partnerships Debra Saffrey-Collins.

You can learn more about the HIPPY ACCO transition and BSL’s partnership with Hoops 4 Health in the most recent BSL Talks .