Jesuit Social Services 2026 Annual Dinner

ONLINE TICKET SALES HAVE FINISHED. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL DINNER BUT DO NOT YET HAVE A TICKET, PLEASE CONTACT EVENTS@JSS.ORG.AU OR CALL 0428 583 530.

Join us for Jesuit Social Services' 2026 Annual Dinner

Held at the Members Dining Room within the iconic MCG, we are looking forward to welcoming you to our 2026 Annual Dinner.

For nearly 50 years Jesuit Social Services has had a big vision to build a just society - and our Annual Dinner is an opportunity for our community to come together around this shared vision.

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026
Time: 6:30pm - 11:00pm
Venue: Members Dining Room, MCG
Dress: semi-formal

We are thrilled to announce that criminologist and globally recognised expert in the fields of violence against women and children, criminal justice and law reform, Kate Fitz-Gibbon, will deliver the Frank Costigan QC Address at Jesuit Social Services’ Annual Dinner at the MCG on February 21.

The Frank Costigan QC Address is always one of the highlights of the event, and in this year's address Kate will focus on the critical crossroads our country has come to on the issue of children in the criminal justice system. Across Australia, reforms are being pursued that are seeing greater numbers of children locked up. This risks making our communities less safe. Efforts to address the root causes of crime are being neglected and we are seeing an over reliance on imprisonment. We need the national conversation to change.      

Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a key contributor to this discussion. She is a Professor at Monash University and conducts research in the field of domestic, family and sexual violence, femicide, child victimisation, and the impact of criminal justice responses and reform in Australia and internationally. Her work has been cited by the High Court of Australia, and has been published in 8 books and over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. 

Kate has advised on homicide law reform, family violence and youth justice reviews in several Australian and international jurisdictions. She has been appointed to Commonwealth and state-based advisory committees, and led consultations and public reports for the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, the Victorian, South Australian and ACT Governments, the Fair Work Commission, and the Australian Institute of Criminology among others. In 2021, she was appointed Chair of Respect Victoria, and in 2024 she was appointed to the Victorian Children’s Council. In 2024, Kate was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

In November 2025, Kate addressed the National Press Club alongside Matt Tyler, Executive Director of The Men’s Project, to launch Jesuit Social Services’ groundbreaking Adolescent Man Box research.

For nearly 50 years Jesuit Social Services has had a big vision to build a just society - and our Annual Dinner is an opportunity for our community to come together around this shared vision.

The Frank Costigan QC Address is always one of the highlights of the event, which is an opportunity to connect with our loyal and supportive friends, and new friends who would like to learn more about Jesuit Social Services.

The event will showcase our work to address significant social justice challenges and provide opportunities for guests to network, build relationships, explore new partnerships and donate to support our work.  

Tickets are priced at $275 per person to cover the cost of holding the event (plus ticketing website fees), and tables of 10 are available.

Please get in touch with our events team at events@jss.org.au or on 03 9421 7600 if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support!

A recap of our 2025 Annual Dinner, at which we launched the Justice Project, can be found here: https://jss.org.au/news-and-media/our-stories/jesuit-social-services-2025-annual-dinner/.