Over the past 12 weeks, the Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE) team have embarked on a national Community Roadshow and Listening Tour, travelling from Alice Springs to Ballarat, Galiwin'ku to Geelong, listening to communities and learning from their experiences.
A first-of-its-kind initiative, the Listening Tour was designed to elevate community leadership and ensure that PLACE's work is grounded in local perspectives and experiences. After visiting 53 communities and participating in countless conversations, PLACE is bringing its Listening Tour to a close with a vibrant capstone event on Wednesday 2 July 2025.
This hybrid gathering will bring together community leaders, advocates and changemakers from across the country to reflect on what's been heard, celebrate what's been achieved and shape what comes next for place-based work across Australia.
The event will be held in-person in Melbourne and will be streamed nationally to hubs in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and online.
Moderated by journalist and Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman Brooke Boney, the event will feature voices from across Australia and will include key insights from PLACE's journey, highlighting what's working, what's holding communities back and where bold, place-based action is needed most.
Comments attributable to PLACE CEO Luke Craven
"We have listened deeply and learned from the experiences of the communities we have visited on this Listening Tour. There is incredible agency and power in place-based work. PLACE's role is to amplify what's working and create the infrastructure at the national level to accelerate the impact of place-based work. This capstone event is our opportunity to share and have a dynamic conversation about the Tour insights and chart a path forward, together."
Comments attributable to Sean Gordon AM, PLACE Board Chair
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been leading place-based work for a long time, designing solutions, building partnerships on their own terms. This event provides us with an opportunity to recognise and amplify that leadership across the country. If we're serious about strengthening community-led approaches, the Tour heard loud and clear the need to invest in what's already working, and to back communities to collaborate and lead together. The knowledge, the innovation, the solutions are already there. Now is the time to back local decision-making."
Comments attributable to Karyn Walsh, CEO Micah Projects
"The Listening Tour has shown just how powerful local leadership is in driving real, lasting change. Across the country metropolitan, regional and remote communities are responding to complex disadvantage with compassion and innovation. What we need now is sustained investment so we can scale community-led innovation. I am looking forward to seeing how PLACE can support us to do things differently and to continue the conversation of how we think about change."
Comments attributable to Rowena Mouda, CEO, Ngunga Womens Group Aboriginal Corporation
"For our vision and efforts to thrive, we need sustained support and investment to build the infrastructure in our community. It was great to hear from PLACE that they will not only work with communities but will create strong foundations that support place-based approaches through their priority areas. The Tour and this event have given a platform to communities to share what's working, the challenges we are experiencing, and what we need for vibrant, liveable communities. I am excited to see what comes next."
About us:
About PLACE
PLACE is a national, not-for-profit, independent organisation supporting local communities across Australia. It was created by the Australian government and philanthropic funders as part of a national call to boost community-led approaches across Australia. PLACE will support place-based programs and initiatives to gather and share evidence, knowledge and other resources on their programs to advance place-based practice and policy making across the country.
