Relationships Australia Blog
75 Years of better understanding – Relationships Australia’s 75th-Year Celebration at the National Gallery, Canberra
Relationships Australia marked its 75th anniversary with a celebration at the National Gallery in Canberra on Tuesday November 14 The event was attended by Relationships Australia members, past and present, from across the federation as well as Ministers,...
Guest Blog: We urgently need a community big build
It’s understandable we want to put COVID behind us. But in our desire to move on, let’s not throw out this hard-won lesson: given the opportunity and support, local communities come up with the best solutions. Communities through COVID banded together to fight...
Guest blog: Play as an antidote to social isolation and loneliness.
Do you remember as a child neighbourhood street play? An international movement, now here in Australia, is revitalising street play and reconnecting socially isolated communities. A Play Street is a simple concept, it is a temporary street closure on a quiet...
Guest Blog – Volunteers Are Change Makers – Relationships Australia – National Volunteer Week
Guest blog by Mark Pearce, Chief Executive Officer Volunteering Australia Volunteers Are Change Makers Millions of volunteers across Australia are giving their time and energy to make change in our communities. This National Volunteer Week we are celebrating the power...
Good neighbours help communities flourish
By Harry Lovelock, Acting CEO Mental Health Australia. Last weekend, amid an anti-trans rally, the passing of South Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament Bill, and the New South Wales state election results, Neighbour Day had its 21st anniversary. Neighbour...
A new online service directory launches to help more than 5 million Australians experiencing loneliness, find connection
To mark Neighbour Day, Ending Loneliness Together have launched Australia’s first national online directory to help more than five million people experiencing loneliness find meaningful connections so that they can live healthier lives. Loneliness is a serious but...
Reflecting on Belonging this Neighbour Day
By Nick Tebbey, National Executive Officer, Relationships Australia, March 21, 2023 Neighbour Day, the annual day of celebration and hallmark of Relationships Australia’s Neighbours Every Day campaign is finally here! On Sunday 26 March 2023, communities across...
Guest Blog – It’s not where you live, it’s how you live
Guest blog - Neighbours Every Day Ambassador Hugh Mackay AO Every community has its differences of opinion, its social divisions, and its cultural tensions, which is simply to say that every community is both diverse and, inescapably, human. If you want to master the...
The role community relationships play in fostering resilience
By Claire Fisher, Senior Research and Project Officer, Relationships Australia At Relationships Australia, we have been championing the importance of community relationships for many years. Evaluations of our Neighbours Every Day campaign demonstrate that those who...
Guest Blog – Connection & Belonging
Guest blog - Neighbours Every Day Ambassador Hugh Mackay AO We become deeply attached to particular places because of the life we associate with them. The most lavish house in the world will ultimately seem pointless and empty – except as the equivalent of a...
Creating belonging through respectful relationships
By Nick Tebbey, National Executive Officer, Relationships Australia. At Relationships Australia we talk a lot about the importance of respectful relationships. We know that having supportive, respectful relationships is good for our mental health, builds resilience,...
Our Actions Create Belonging
Building a future where everyone has equal opportunity to belong, contribute and thrive. This is the heart of Welcoming Australia’s mission, and it’s also a fitting way to enter the holiday season. When our families and communities gather as another year comes to a...
Relationship Indicators 2022 is live!
Relationships Australia is pleased to announce the release of Relationship Indicators 2022. The Relationship Indicators project is a nationally representative survey into the state of relationships in Australia. These findings inform our efforts to support all...
A journey from Neighbour Day to Neighbours Every Day – create belonging in your community
Neighbours Every Day You may have noticed that we’ve had a bit of a ‘makeover’ here at Neighbour Day. While our mission remains the same, our messages and resources are just a little bit different – and we hope even more helpful. We’ve been saying for some years now...
New PhD Scholarship Opportunity – help improve service delivery for children and young people
By Claire Fisher, Senior Research and Projects Officer, National Office Children and young people may have decisions made for them every day. From when to go to school to what to have for dinner, their lives are often planned and arranged. But when a family is...
Volunteering Australia guest blog – Volunteering: Bringing people together
Guest blog by Mark Pearce, Chief Executive Officer - Volunteering Australia Volunteering: Bringing people together This year’s National Volunteer Week theme is ‘Better Together’, which recognises volunteering brings people together; it builds communities and creates a...
2021 Research Overview – Assessing the Social Impact of Neighbour Day
By Claire Fisher, Senior research and projects officer, National Office Assessing the social impact of a campaign is no easy feat. As outcome-focused approaches have come into favour, the need to shift from measuring outputs, to measuring outcomes, has helped the...
Personal connection in the new world
Guest blog by Dr Leanne Beagley, Chief Executive Officer - Mental Health Australia It is a new world. The pandemic has left us with a new appreciation of our home and work spaces. It has left us with increased recognition of the important contribution school makes to...
Resilient Sydney Blog – Neighbour Day – “Beat pandemic isolation, get connected”
Guest blog by Resilient Sydney In the third year of a global pandemic, there is no better time to beat the COVID iso and make every day ‘Neighbour Day’. A group of councils working with Resilient Sydney have been getting their communities better connected through a...
Neighbour Day: Connecting Communities for 20 years
By Nick Tebbey, National Executive Officer, National Office February 2022 When I was growing up in the suburbs of Adelaide in South Australia, we knew our nearby neighbours well. The kids would play in the street together, and our parents would lend each other a hand:...
Neighbour Day Research – What we’ve learnt over the years
Neighbour Day Research 2016 – 2022 By Claire Fisher, Senior research and projects officer, National Office January 2022 Relationships Australia has been the custodian of the Neighbour Day campaign since 2014. Much has changed in the world since then, and with that,...
Family Connect – Connecting Families in Four Practical Steps
Relationships Australia is proud to announce its custodianship of the popular Family Connect program aimed at increasing emotional well-being and encouraging families to connect in practical and meaningful ways. The Program, created by Uplifting Australia, is a four...
Managing Loneliness
Loneliness is not a single emotion, but rather a cluster of emotions.[1] Being lonely can feel like grief, jealously, sadness, shame or anger. This suggests that loneliness is a very personal experience and reactions to loneliness can vary. Despite this, almost...
Relationships Australia celebrates the launch of Phase 2 of Families Un-Locked
Relationships Australia’s partnership with Griffith University, and the University of Worcester UK and Relate UK continues to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on society, families and relationships with the launch of Phase 2 of the international...