Get Involved
Stewardship Table EOI
Join our
Intergenerational Stewardship Table
Submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) today (closing 28 July)
Or read below to find out more…
Your chance to join something truly transformative
As a steward of the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP), you will play a pivotal role in shaping a future where every young Queenslander can thrive. This is more than a position – it is a commitment to changing systems, modelling collaboration, co-leading with children and young people, and championing the wellbeing of young Queenslanders now and in the future. If you believe in the power of collective action and want to make a lasting impact, step forward and become a steward.
Queensland’s children and young people need leaders like you!
About Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership
Where we have come from …
The Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP) was born from a shared vision: a Queensland where every infant, child and young person – and their families and communities – can thrive.
Instigated in 2020 as an initiative of ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth), TQKP is a Queensland-based systems coalition and intermediary that has grown into a powerful partnership of 500+ leaders, communities, and organisations working together to drive systemic change for kids. TQKP is rooted in collaboration, evidence, and a deep commitment to equity.
Please explore our website to learn more.
From leadership to intergenerational stewardship
We are incredibly grateful to those who have served on our Leadership Table since 2022. Their leadership has enabled TQKP to lay foundations for a future where thriving is not just an aspiration but a reality for all. In developing TQKP’s Phase 3 Impact Strategy, those leaders have bravely explored the question: ‘what is the leadership needed next?’.
From 1 July 2025 TQKP’s Leadership Table will embark on a 12-month transition to become an Intergenerational Stewardship Table.
Learn more about our Leadership Table and current members here.
What is stewardship?
For TQKP, stewardship is the act of purposefully nurturing systems over the long-term so that all young Queenslanders have what they need to thrive. Stewardship means:
- actively modelling more collaborative ways of working that foster trusting relationships, weaving people into a common purpose, deeply listening, enabling learning, and paying attention to power dynamics. (Dawn Plimmer, Collaborate CIC. Systems stewardship in practice: What it is and how to get started)
- enacting collective leadership by intentionally moving beyond individual and organisational roles and agendas, and stepping into shared accountability for and joint investment in changing systems and conditions young Queenslanders grow up in.
What is intergenerational stewardship?
For TQKP, intergenerational stewardship means co-leading systems change with children and young people – not as advisors or co-designers, but as equal leaders who hold unique knowledge and have access to different networks and strengths.
Structurally, the TQKP Intergenerational Stewardship Table will have 20 Adult Stewards and 20-30 Young Stewards – all drawn from diverse knowledges, experiences and backgrounds. Our v1.0 design of the Intergenerational Stewardship Table is inspired by Accountable Futures Collective and looks like:
Young Stewards would need:
- Alignment to systems change
- Clear parts of TQKP to steward
- Time alone as Young Stewards
- All to be paid and have support and wellbeing plans
- Some to have a support person with them
- For the group to have a dedicated Engagement Worker
- To be 14-24 years
Intergenerational Stewards would need:
- Alignment to systems change
- Potential Elders Council within
- Clear parts of TQKP strategy to jointly steward
- Time together as Intergenerational Stewards
Adult Stewards would need:
- Alignment to systems change
- Clear parts of TQKP to steward
- Time alone as Adult Stewards
- To be supported on how to co-lead with Young Stewards
- Some to be paid an honorarium
What you would be joining
TQKP’s current Leadership Table have begun to chart a course for the Stewardship Table they will become.
Being a member of the Stewardship Table would include:
Purpose
… join with others to collectively:
- guide TQKP, and
- lead change by influencing systems and environments that shape the lives of young Queenslanders.
Principles
… take up this purpose, in accord with TQKP’s values and operating principles, in a way that:
Honours First Nations’ leadership, wisdom and sovereignty in how you think, act, learn and collaborate
Is accountable to young Queenslanders by
- co-leading systems change with Young Stewards
- enabling young Queenslanders to say what ‘good’ systems and services look like
- trusting in the wisdom and capability of children and young people
- keeping their voices, needs, and rights at the heart of all decisions and actions
Embodies love and care by
- leading from a place of love for young Queenslanders and their families and communities
- challenging and changing systems from a stance of care and healing
Is courageous by
- stepping into hard conversations and holding space for adaptation and growth
- intentionally working with power imbalances with compassion, empathy and humility
Role
…step into shared action in a way that:
Casts a long-term visioning of hope – one that inspires action and belief in what’s possible
Fosters collective leadership by
- Putting your leadership, effort and influence behind the TQKP shared agenda
- Stewarding system change with shared purpose and collective action
Changes systems to support thriving by strengthening and aligning the systems you influence so they foster wellbeing, equity, and opportunity for all young Queenslanders
Supports families, parents, and caregivers by recognising and bolstering the vital role they play in nurturing and raising children
Harnesses the power of community by honouring local wisdom, relationships, and capacity to drive change
Commitments
… commit to giving 6 – 8 days of your time per year in the form of:
- engaging in pre-reading of materials
- traveling to gatherings
- participating in 3 gatherings per year
- two x 1-day + evening
- one x 2-day + evening
- a small number of online meetings in between gatherings.
Please note, if you are inspired by the idea of joining the Stewardship Table and are not in a salaried position, TQKP can support you with an honorarium.
Protocols
… endorse key documents including:
- TQKP’s 2025-2030 Impact Strategy
- TQKP’s commitment to co-lead with First Nations leaders and young people
- TQKP’s commitment to become accountable to young Queenslanders
Who you would be joining
Existing members of TQKP’s Leadership Table
We anticipate that approximately 10 or so current members of the TQKP Leadership Table will transition to the TQKP Intergenerational Stewardship Table in September 2025. Learn more about our current Leadership Table here.
New Adult Stewards
We also anticipate that approximately 8 – 12 new adults would join you as new members of TQKP’s Intergenerational Stewardship Table in September 2025.
Between September 2025 and February 2026, adult members of the TQKP Stewardship Table will work in partnership with a group of interested children and young people to co-design the Intergenerational Stewardship Table. This process will be supported by TQKP partners: Accountable Futures Collective, Queensland Child and Family Commission, Queensland Government’s Office for Youth, and the Youth Advocacy Centre.
Young Stewards
Once the design of the Intergenerational Stewardship Table is finalised, TQKP will open applications for Young Stewards to join.
We expect that some of the children and young people involved in the co-design will become members of the Intergenerational Stewardship Table, while others will be recruited through our partner organisations.
How to apply
If you are ready to co-lead a transformative movement for, and with, Queensland’s children and young people, we invite you to express your interest in joining the TQKP Stewardship Table – a space for courageous collaboration and lasting change – by completing the online application form by 20 July 2025 (including attaching your CV).
Submit your EOI today (closing 28 July)
We welcome expressions of interest from aligned and interested leaders across Queensland who are eager to connect with and add value to the work of TQKP.
While all applications are encouraged, we particularly seek applications from people who are:
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
- Aged between 24 – 44 years (emerging leaders)
- From regional, rural and remote Queensland
- Caregivers
- Focused on the following domains of ARACY’s NEST Wellbeing Framework: Material Basics, Identity and Culture, and Participating
- From government or the corporate sectors, as well as from non-for-profits and universities
Next steps …
All information you share with TQKP will be held confidentially and is covered by ARACY’s Privacy Policy.
Members of the TQKP Team will be in contact you about an outcome of your EOI in August 2025.
If your application is shortlisted, interviews will likely take place early August 2025.
The first gathering of the TQKP Intergenerational Stewardship Table is planned for 18–19 September 2025.
If you have any questions, please reach out on tqkp@aracy.com.au
More ways to get involved
Learn more about our initiatives
Our ten key initiatives cover a range of portfolios including country kids, data, brain science, First Nations children, framing messages, place-based initiatives and early years systems.
Check out our resources
Our Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership reports are a valuable resource if you are interested in systems change, or advocating for children and families.
More about our work ...
Explainer video: "What surrounds us shapes us"
This short explainer video introduces the Resilience Scale and ARACY’s The Nest framework as models to help understand how experiences and environments shape children’s health and development.
Partnerships charter
Our Charter clearly sets out the partnership’s shared goals, values and ways of working to improve systems for Queensland’s children. We invite you to review the Charter and join us if you support our shared vision for Queensland kids.
Report: Queensland Place-Based Rivermap
The Queensland Place-Based Rivermap proposes systemic actions to support our many place-based initiatives. Let’s work together to create local conditions that are good for families and kids.
