The Weekly

Last week, ACFID marked an important milestone as we completed a full program of ACFID events, including CEO lobbying rounds, a parliamentary breakfast, the 60th anniversary dinner at Government House (see picture below), and our Annual General Meeting and National Conference. At the AGM, we farewelled Susan Pascoe after eight incredible years, and welcomed our newly elected President, Virginia Haussegger. The week was a significant moment for our sector, and we extend our sincere thanks to all members and partners who participated and celebrated with us.

This week, ACFID was in attendance at the National Press Club address delivered by UNICEF’s Global Spokesperson, James Elder. His reflections on the lived experiences of children in conflict and crisis — and the role Australia can play in protecting them — were powerful and deeply grounding.  I encourage all of you to watch and share his speech.

ACFID also joined the launch of Infoxchange’s2025 Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector Reportwhich highlighted important insights into digital capability, cybersecurity needs and systems challenges across the NFP sector. The findings offer valuable lessons and opportunities that resonate strongly with our own sector’s priorities, and we will continue to work with members across 2026 on these topics.

To close I want to highlight the important roundtable discussions we are hosting, starting next week, for your agency to speak into the creation of ACFID’s new strategic plan. The CEO Roundtables take place next week in Sydney, Melbourne and there is an online version for anyone who can not join in-person. If CEO’s can not attend, they are welcome to appoint another senior staff member to participate in order to ensure your agency voice is heard. Details and registration links are included below.

To Attend

ACFID 2026 – 2031 Strategic Planning: CEO Engagement Sessions 

ACFID is developing its new 5-year strategic plan, and we want all of our members to add your voice to shape our priorities. We will be doing this as part of our CEO networking events in November. Two of these will be in-person meetings and one will be online. We are hoping that CEOs will be able to attend one of these three events. 

Sydney Member CEOs (or their designate)

Date: 20 November 2025

Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM (AEDT)

Venue: Institution of Surveyors NSW, 4/162 Goulburn St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Register here.

Online Session (All CEOs who can not join in person) 

Date: 21 November 2025

Time: 10:00AM – 12:00PM (AEDT)

Venue: Online

Register here.

Melbourne Member CEOs (or their designate)

Date: 24 November 2025 

Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM (AEDT)

Venue: Australian Red Cross National Office, 637 Flinders St, Docklands VIC 3008

Register here.

To Apply

DFAT Australia Awards Fellowships: Round 21 now open

DFAT Australia Awards Fellowships aim to build networks of influence and leadership by strengthening partnerships between Australian organisations and partner organisations in the region. Fellowships target senior and mid-career officials and professionals who are in a position to advance development outcomes in priority areas and increase the institutional capacity of partner countries through their leadership.
Through Australia Awards Fellowships, Australian organisations can apply for funding to host and support a range of professional development activities including work attachment; supervised research; a management or leadership course; a study tour; program meetings and visits or a combination of these. Fellowships can vary in length, ranging from 2 weeks to 52 weeks.
 

Applications close: 16 January 2026, 11:59pm AEDT  | Find out more

To Attend

ACFID Finance Community of Practice November Meeting

Join the Finance CoP for their November meeting with technical updates from guest speakers from KPMG and StoneX. If you have a colleague working in finance, please share this opportunity to connect with peers in the sector. Instructions to join CoPs can be found here

Date: 26 November 2025 

Time: 9:30PM -12PM (AEDT) 

To Attend

ACFID Connect Session: New Locally Led Action Guidance 

​​Join us as we unveil ACFID’s new Guidance on developing a Locally Led Action Policy – developed with members through our recent Writeshop series. Hear the latest from ACFID’s work in this space, including insights from the Locally Led Action Community of Practice and the Development Practice Committee. We’ll also share findings from members’ Code of Conduct self-assessments and showcase case studies of locally led approaches in action. 

Date:  9 December 2025 

Time: 2:00PM – 3:00PM (AEDT) 

Venue: Online 

Register here.

Jobs

Funder Engagement, Reporting and Evaluation Officer | Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility | Read more here

Chief Executive Officer | Love Mercy Foundation | Read more here

Consultants – String Theory

Skills: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

We work alongside organisations and communities to understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve.

We simplify the monitoring and evaluation process so everyone can be part of it.

We seek the views of multiple groups to ensure that as many as possible have a voice.

We don’t just deliver data; we use creative ways to tell the story of a program to ensure findings are meaningful for the intended audiences.

We have decades of experience and have managed over 100 monitoring and evaluation projects across 19 countries. Visit our website to learn more.

Read more here.

Consultants – Athena Board

Exclusive Offer – Transform Your Board & Committee Governance

Athena Board is proud to partner with ACFID to help not-for-profits save time, secure documents,and improve governance.

Trusted by charities, international aid agencies, and community organisations across Australia,Athena Board’s secure platform makes it easy to collate, produce, and share board materials while protecting sensitive information. ISO27001 certified and fully encrypted, it’s built to meet the highest standards of security – at a price designed for the NFP sector.ACFID members receive 10% off Athena Board’s already low NFP rates, giving you a high-performing,low-cost solution to:

• Reduce admin time and streamline meeting preparation

• Strengthen governance and compliance

• Provide directors with tools like digital voting, annotations, conflict registers, and offline access

Upgrade your governance with a platform your board will actually enjoy using. Read more here

Upcoming Events