11/09/2026
Queensland Child Protection Week 2026 💛
This week means something deeply personal to me.
I spent more than 15 years working across Child Protection, Youth Justice, residential care, foster and kinship care, and community services. During that time, I saw firsthand the impact that trauma, neglect, instability and disrupted attachments can have on a child not just in childhood, but well into adulthood.
What often gets missed in these conversations is what happens after care.
For people with disability, the effects can be even more complex. Trauma does not simply disappear when someone turns 18. It can continue to influence emotional regulation, relationships, communication, trust, daily functioning, decision-making and the way a person engages with services and support.
This is why trauma-informed, person-centred practice matters so much.
This year’s theme, “Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action,” speaks directly to that.
Because awareness on its own is not enough.
We need to listen when something does not feel right.
We need to notice changes in behaviour.
We need to ask better questions.
We need to believe children and young people.
We need to support families before they reach crisis.
And most importantly — we need to act.
At BETTAbility, our work is grounded in the belief that safety, connection, dignity and belonging are not optional extras. They are fundamental.
Whether we are supporting a child, a family or an adult living with disability who carries the impact of childhood trauma, our responsibility remains the same: to see the whole person, understand the story behind the behaviour and create environments where people feel safe enough to belong and supported enough to thrive.
Every conversation matters. But it is what we do after that conversation that creates change.
💛 Jo, Director
BETTAbility Holistic Support Services
ProtectingChildren SafeChildren StrongerFamilies SaferCommunities DisabilitySupport NDISProvider BETTAbility
