Strategy to Action: Moving beyond compliance to excellence in out-of-home care practice

In our first Strategy to Action event for 2026, ACWA is partnering with the Office of the Children's Guardian to explore how we move beyond doing what’s required to achieve compliance to ensuring that children and young people have the best possible experience while in out-of-home care, with a particular focus on transition to independence planning.

Session 1

Code of Practice Workshop with the Office of the Children’s Guardian (90 mins)

Put yourself in the role of an assessor in this practical workshop on the OCG’s Code of Practice. Using a case study, this session will walk practitioners through how the OCG assesses your agency’s performance.

Session 2

Supporting young people to prepare for independence (90 mins)

Research shows that young people’s outcomes after leaving care are better if they have experienced transition planning that is personalised, occurs gradually over time and at the young person’s pace, and is grounded in their goals, relationships and developmental readiness. Yet, current policy and practice are falling short, with young care leavers reporting confusion, lack of adult support and guidance and a sense of isolation after they exit the system.

In this session, we’ll hear from the OCG about what they are seeing in the accreditation process , both good and bad, in terms of transition plans. We’ll explore what good transition planning looks like, brainstorm strategies for doing it better and start a conversation about what we need from policy makers to ensure our young people don’t fall through a support gap on their journey to adulthood.

• We invite attendees to participate in workshopping challenges and successes in:

• Helping young people talk about their hopes, fears, relationships and goals

• Supporting carers on the future planning journey

• Training, workforce development, and addressing knowledge gaps

• Systems advocacy priorities

Why Attend?

This event will support practitioners towards improving practice, compliance, accountability and outcomes through knowledge sharing, reflection and exchange of ideas.

With Thanks
ACWA thanks the Office of the Children’s Guardian for their valued sponsorship and ongoing support of this important sector event.