The CPD Policy Exchange is a week-long series of public and private events that aim to connect the thinkers and the doers at local, national and international levels to unearth practical, stress tested policy solutions to the most pressing challenges facing Australia and our region.
Building on CPD’s unique Create–Connect–Convince method, the Policy Exchange aims to deliver a different kind of event program. Recognising that real progress comes from shared understanding and a collective commitment to change, it moves beyond the traditional oration format to prioritise genuine collaboration over one-way dialogue.
From private meetings with policymakers and collaborations with public servants, to roundtables and public forums, the Policy Exchange offers a diverse group of people the chance to engage, question, and contribute to practical solutions that can deliver real progress.
Pressing challenges demand connected responses.
We have seen single-level, siloed thinking fail repeatedly. The most urgent policy challenges facing us are connected – climate change can force migration. Biodiversity loss unleashes diseases. Pandemics foment disinformation – our response must be connected too.
Our solutions need to operate at all levels, with strong connections to the needs of communities, and joined up thinking between business, government and civil society.
The aim is not just to diagnose problems, but to test ideas, identify areas of agreement, and build momentum around practical policy solutions.
Join us.
The 2026 Policy Exchange created space for changemakers, community leaders, policymakers and service providers to come together and tackle one vital question: what would it take to make Australia the best place to be a child and raise a family?
Across one week, three cities, and six major events—from a private policymaker roundtable at Government House hosted by the Governor-General to open public forums in Sydney and Melbourne—we worked together to unearth the most practical things we can do right now to create a better future for Australia.
The key themes across these discussions included moving from reacting to problems to preventing them, making sure every family can access the support they need through a universal, connected system; and making sure policy and services are actually designed by, and for, communities that rely on them.
We didn’t let these ideas stay in the room. We brought them directly to governments through over 20 private meetings with key officials and ministers across Victoria, New South Wales and the Commonwealth.
We were incredibly fortunate to have Benjamin Perks, senior UN leader and author of Trauma Proof, as a featured guest to help drive these solutions home. By combining Ben’s global expertise in child development with his own lived experience of childhood trauma, we were able to significantly strengthen the case for reform and show that acting early and focusing on prevention is one of the most powerful investments governments can make.
There are currently no upcoming events. We hope to share more about our next Policy Exchange soon.
