Last week I attended the Sydney Engagement Meetup – a relaxed, practitioner-led space for honest conversations about what’s working in engagement, and what isn’t.

Alongside catching up with fellow engagement practitioners, we were invited to suggest discussion topics. I hosted a small-group conversation on Accessibility and Inclusion, and the takeaway was simple but important: effective engagement respects people’s time, language, and lived experience. It prioritises accessibility, plain language, and practical design choices – and, crucially, it follows through on what it hears.

When engagement is done this way, trust isn’t something you ask for – it’s something you earn.

Conversations like this are exactly why practitioner-led spaces matter.

Notes from a small-group discussion on Accessibility and Inclusion at the Sydney Engagement Meetup – a reminder that good engagement is practical, considered, and designed with people in mind.

Eshita presenting the Guildford Laneway project at the Melbourne Engagement Conference before receiving the award.

Cumberland City Council receives its first IAP2 Core Values Award for Community Development at the 2024 Engagement Conference.

Cumberland City Council has taken home its first ever IAP2 Core Values Award — a milestone that reflects years of genuine community-centred practice. The win recognises the Guildford Laneway upgrade, delivered as part of Transport for NSW’s Safer Cities: Her Way program, and I couldn’t be prouder of my former team. This project brought together Community Engagement, Place Activation, Economic Development, and Smart Places in a true whole-of-organisation effort, supported by our fantastic partners at CRED Consulting and the original team members who’ve since moved on.

This project remains one of my favourites from my time at Cumberland. It was community-centred, creatively delivered, and powered by a genuine whole-of-organisation approach — bringing together Community Engagement, Place Activation, Economic Development, and Smart Places. Our collaboration with CRED Consulting added even more strength, insight, and heart to the process, and I’m grateful to the original project team members who’ve since moved on but left a real legacy in the work.

It was also my introduction to walkshops — an incredibly effective, hands-on way of connecting with people in the places they actually use. CRED led the way beautifully, and Ivana, Eliza, Erica and I threw ourselves into those walkshops and pop-ups with gusto. Hearing directly from residents across all three suburbs and then watching their ideas shape the design was one of the true highlights of the project.

Seeing Eshita present our work at the Engagement Conference in Melbourne before accepting the award was a moment of real pride. This win is so well deserved. Congratulations to everyone involved — it was a privilege to contribute to such a bold, creative, and community-driven project.

I had the pleasure of attending the 2025 Engagement Conference in Melbourne — always one of the most energising events on the engagement calendar. Alongside catching up with colleagues from across the sector, I particularly enjoyed Bernard Salt’s keynote on demographic change and Australia’s emerging “next normal.” His reflections on population shifts, urban renewal, and community identity were spot on for anyone working in place-based engagement.

It was inspiring to see the breadth of projects being delivered across Australia, each one showing how thoughtful engagement shapes better outcomes. And of course, it was a proud moment to watch Cumberland’s Guildford Laneway project recognised with an IAP2 Core Values Award during the conference.

A terrific few days all round — and plenty of ideas I’m bringing back into my work with ERIS Consulting as we head toward 2026.

Keynote speaker Bernard Salt addressing the audience at the 2025 Engagement Conference in Melbourne, sharing insights on Australia’s demographic future.

At ERIS Consulting, we have been a member of the leading body for Community Engagement in Australia since 2018. At the time it was called the International Association for Public Participation, known as IAP2 Australasia.

There have been ongoing discussions about the name for some time - largely because we don't use the term 'public participation' so much in Australia. It is more common to see the words 'community engagement'. So it is unsurprising that members have been active in these discussions over the past few years, including at the national conference in 2024.

Earlier in 2025, a new name was unveiled. While still part of IAP2 globally, locally the organisation is now called the Engagement Institute.

You can read more about this rebrand and the discussions behind it on the Engagement Institute website. This is a great move to raise the profile of this organisation, and the role of community engagement in Australia more generally. The new logo is great too!

In November 2024, the Westmead Master Plan Engagement project received a Highly Commended award in the Stakeholder Engagement category at the Planning Institute of Australia’s NSW Awards for Planning Excellence. I was part of the engagement team at Cumberland City Council during this project, and it was a real privilege to be there on the night as the work was recognised.

The SMART Cumberland Program was also acknowledged with a Highly Commended award in the Technology and Digital Innovation category – a great reflection of the talent, creativity and collaboration across the Place and Economy and Urban Strategy and Planning teams.

Image: PIA NSW Awards for Planning Excellence 2024 – official event photography.

Cumberland Staff at the PIA NSW Awards 2024