People's Assemblies on Care

Royal Commission after Royal Commission together with the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the deep cracks in Australia’s care systems. At the same time, Australians like many others around the world are losing faith in democracy. They want greater engagement with policymakers to address a perceived failure to tackle the serious challenges we face as a nation. 

To rise to the challenge presented by the dual crises of care and democracy,  Sydney Policy Lab is exploring the potential of deliberative democratic processes with the development of a series of People’s Assemblies on Care.

The People’s Assemblies on Care will bring together a representative sample of people in two distinct communities: Westmead in Western Sydney and Broken Hill in regional NSW, to discuss local care concerns and reimagine solutions. 

Guided by trained facilitators and supported by subject matter experts from the University of Sydney and from within civil society, our assembly participants will be tasked with identifying a key question they will take to a full day of deliberation, whereby our participants will work collectively to develop place-based recommendations for policymakers.

The People’s Assemblies on Care will be rolled out in Broken Hill in August and October and in Westmead in September and November, and publicly released soon afterwards.

To find out more about this project or to express interest in participating as an assembly participant or subject area expert, please contact Christine El-Khoury, Project Manager: People and Democracy on policy.lab@sydney.edu.au.