Learning
Change Facilitator Learning Experience
There are approximately 1.6 million children and young people in Queensland. When a child’s environment is strong and connected, they can thrive, but right now some young Queenslanders don’t have that.
We can change that.
Who should apply?
We’re looking for up to 50 change facilitators – half under 30 years of age – who want to create learning that changes the conditions that surround young Queenslanders so they can thrive – at home or school, while receiving care or on Country.
As Change Facilitators you’ll spend the first year learning and growing together. You’ll then go on to make real change in your communities and across Queensland for the next 3 years.
Beyond this, you will be building change together that lasts for future generations.
We’re looking for people who feel at home facilitating and who shape the lives of children and young people.
We welcome applications from:
- people with lived and living experience
- young leaders and change-makers
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders
- community workers and educators
- education or health professionals
- culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- others whose work or leadership contributes to the wellbeing of children and young people.
Whatever your background, your perspective matters. Together, we can build the conditions that help Queensland’s children and young people thrive.
We all have a part to play.
How to apply
Applications close 14 August.
Before you start…
Read this overview of the application process
Step 1 – Find your person
We’d love every Change Facilitator over 30 to pair up with someone aged 18–30 years from their local area (and vice versa) and encourage them to apply – it’s not a dealbreaker to apply solo but considering who could join you means that intergenerational and collective leadership starts with us from day one.
Step 2 – Tell us about yourself
Fill in our simple online application below by 14 August. You’ll share a little about your experience – and there’s a creative component where you can respond however suits you best: a video, a piece of writing, artwork, whatever feels right.
Step 3 – Let’s have a conversation
For applicants that meet the minimum criteria, we’ll be in touch soon after you apply to meet you, talk through the role, and answer any questions you have. This can happen in person or online.
Step 4 – We confirm your place
If you’re selected, we’ll let you know and support you to prepare for the experience. We can also help you think through practical support you might need – accessibility accommodations, financial, time away from work, or anything else.
Step 5 – Let’s get going
You’ll receive a full welcome pack with everything you need to know – what’s happening, when and how. Together, we’ll learn, build relationships and put ideas into practice to strengthen all the environments around children – where they live, learn, play and experience culture.
APPLY HERE
Review the application questions and have the following documents ready
Before you start, have ready to upload documents, photos or videos of:
- Your creative Vision Statement in response to ‘what change are you hoping to create with and for young Queenslanders from this opportunity?’
- Your practice reference that tells us about your ways of working. Here’s an example support letter to help you with seeking your reference.
Support
If you need a Document version of the application for accessibility or to help you draft your application, you can download a Word version of the form here.
If you would like help using the form, contact Rachael Wilken on 0402231029, or stewards.voices@aracy.org.au
If you’d like to chat with us first to see if this opportunity might be right for you you can book a meeting time here.
PRIVACY STATEMENT: The management of application data is governed by the ARACY / QKP Privacy Policy and compliant with obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. The Privacy Policy can be read here.
FAQs, Flyer & Info Pack
Download flyer
Download Full Information Pack
Frequently Asked Questions
As this is a new initiative, we understand that you’ll have questions…
What is this all about?
We are building a network of Change Facilitators who are dedicated to ensuring that within one generation, every young Queenslander is thriving.
The Change Facilitator program is part of the Queensland Kids Partnership (QKP), a network of people and organisations working to transform the systems that shape the lives of children and young people in Queensland. This program is designed to complement and connect existing efforts, not replace or duplicate them.
While many programs support individuals or families to navigate difficult systems, this initiative focuses on shifting the systems that surround individuals and families – so that fewer people need to ‘beat the odds’ in the first place.
What is a Change Facilitator?
A Change Facilitator is someone who brings people together to learn, think and act differently – so that the systems and structures around children and young people can shift for the better. Change Facilitators don’t have all the answers. Instead, they create the right learning experiences for others to find better ways of doing things to benefit children and young people.
What will we actually be doing as a team of Change Facilitators?
You’ll be supported and trained to design and facilitate shared learning experiences that help people in our communities, organisations or networks understand systems change. Together we’ll shift the conditions that shape the lives of children and young people in Queensland. We’ll work in ways that disrupt the status quo, as intergenerational teams – where young people are genuine co-leaders, not just participants.
As a Change Facilitator you will:
- support people in your community to build the confidence and skills to tackle what’s hardest to change for children and young people
- explore the relationship between leadership and stewardship – and how that shapes the learning experiences you can design and deliver
- work in intergenerational teams where young people 18-30 years are co-leaders and co-producers
- bring your whole self – your knowledge, culture and lived experience – into what needs to change for all kids to thrive.
Who is this learning for?
This is for people who feel at home facilitating – whether or not they use that word for what they do. You might be:
- new to these ideas and curious to find out more
- already doing the work of changing the systems and structures that surround children, but wanting to stretch yourself further
- someone with personal experience of things not working the way they should – and have something vital to contribute
- an experienced facilitator ready to deepen your legacy.
We welcome applications from:
- people with lived and living experience
- young leaders and change-makers
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders
- community workers and educators
- education or health professionals
- creatives, artists and other fields with a social change purpose
- others whose work or leadership contributes to the wellbeing of children and young people.
We all have a part to play.
Do I need a qualification?
No formal qualification is required. What we’re looking for is some experience of bringing people together to learn or collaborate – whether that’s happened in a classroom, a community group, a workplace, or somewhere else entirely. Lived experience of what needs to change for kids to thrive is just as valuable as any credential.
If you’re not sure how your experience fits, we’d love to have a conversation first.
What are the criteria to be successful?
Through the application we are looking for three minimum criteria:
- Understanding that the lives of young Queenslanders are shaped by what surround them and are participants in complex, living ecologies of relationships through learned or lived experience
- A commitment to changing the systems that surround children, so they become healthy and thriving, and that young Queenslanders participate in that change
- Readiness to translate their community engagement into supporting others to learn about what children and families need to thrive.
Applicants that meet this criteria will be invited to interview as soon as their application is reviewed. The panel will be a combination of representatives from QKP, our design and delivery collaborators, and QKP’s intergenerational leadership group.
Through the interview we will be exploring responses to the criteria in more depth, looking for:
- Your story of gaining knowledge and/or experience in community roles, social change or advocacy and the learning gained.
- What commitment to the purpose of helping all children thrive means to you and what you will bring to the role of Change Facilitator.
- Your preparedness to hold others in learning that challenges us deeply on personal and professional levels.
- Practical considerations covered will include ability to be present for peer learning and Blue Card approval status.
To offer a place in the experience, we will review applicants on their submission and interview responses and in consideration of factors like equitable geographic and demographic representation.
What will the learning experience involve?
The learning experience is a journey of growth, connection and shared practice. It includes:
- three gatherings on Country across Queensland over the period from September 2026 to March 2027
- online learning, peer connection and real-world practice
- a formal certification at the end of 20 logged hours of provisional experience
- a fully funded place in the learning experience, with custom financial support available on application to enable equitable participation.
After the formal learning segment, Change Facilitators will be invited to join a pool of casual facilitators who may be called on to design, support or deliver stewardship learning experiences across Queensland over the next 3 years, or they can use their learning in self-initiated opportunities. The invitation is to join a community that is built and supported over 4 years and beyond – because creating change that lasts takes time.
What does it cost?
Your place in the learning is fully funded. Limited financial support is also available for travel and income recovery, based on need. We encourage you to explore first whether your employer, community group or local council can support you with release time or travel costs – and there’ll be space in the application to tell us what support you may need.
Will I need a Blue Card?
By law, a Blue Card may be required where the work involves children or young people under 18, or where the role falls within Queensland’s regulated child-related work categories.
Childhood Stewards learning experiences will include young people or child-facing organisations, therefore Change Facilitators will be required to hold a valid Blue Card.
Your card can be in process at the time of starting the learning experience and you can include your application payment as part of a financial support request if obtaining was a barrier to your participation.
How do I apply?
Applications open in July 2026. The process includes a written application via an online form with a creative component – video, art, prose, whatever suits you – and a practice reference that tells us about your ways of working. Here’s a guide for seeking a reference.
What is a system?
A system is everything that surrounds a child or young person and shapes what their life looks and feels like. Think about the nest a bird builds – every twig, every layer matters. For children, that nest is made up of their family, their school, their community, the services they can access, the culture they belong to, and the broader policies and decisions that affect all of it.
The NEST framework – developed by ARACY – describes 6 things every child needs to thrive:
- to be valued, loved and safe
- to be healthy
- to have a strong sense of identity and culture
- to have material basics – food, housing, transport, and what they need to participate in life
- to be learning
- to be participating – with a voice in decisions that affect them.
When all of those layers are working well together, children thrive. When one part of the nest is missing or broken, everything else is harder. A system is a living web of relationships, resources and conditions. Changing it means tending to all of those layers – not just fixing one thing at a time.
What is stewardship? And what is a steward?
The Change Facilitator Learning Experience is part of QKP’s Engaging Stewards and Voices Portfolio. In this work we are emphasising ‘systems stewardship’ and will be running a suite of learning experiences on what it is and the perspectives, capabilities and practices involved – experiences Change Facilitators will be learning how to design and run within their own contexts!
Stewardship is a way of leading that creates shared responsibility rather than expecting one person to have all the answers.
One way to explain it is to think of a garden. The person caring for the garden prepares the soil, removes what’s blocking growth, and creates the right conditions for the plants (the amount of sunlight, water, and what to feed the plants). Then they trust the process. A steward does the same thing with people and systems. They ask: what does this community need to thrive? rather than what do I think should happen?
Stewardship also carries a sense of time. A steward thinks across generations. They ask: what are we leaving behind for those who come after us?
A steward is someone who takes care of something on behalf of others – not because they own it, but because they feel a responsibility to leave it better than they found it.
Working together
This initiative is part of the Queensland Kids Partnership in collaboration with leading systems change experts and practitioners.
The design and delivery of the Change Facilitator Learning Experience is enabled by AIME, Alliance for Leadership Learning, Groupwork Centre and the Front Project.
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Report: Queensland Place-Based Rivermap
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