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How do we ensure the Government’s “Pacific Step-up" prioritises the needs of the region's most poor, vulnerable and oppressed?
This year, we will be inviting key church and community leaders from Pacific nations to join us in Canberra to bring their perspectives, while continuing to speak up for a generous aid budget so that Australia is doing its fair share across the world.
*$175 for students, NT & WA delegates
Voices for Justice runs for four days from 30 November - 3 December this year. From Saturday 30 November to Sunday 1 December in Canberra, you will engage in two days of worship, workshops, teaching and training led by some of the most inspiring and influential leaders in church, development and advocacy circles.
On the Monday and Tuesday, we will be in lobby meetings with MP's and Senators as well as attending special events at Parliament House. The full program will be released closer to the date.
You will be inspired by God’s heart for justice and grow deeper in understanding our biblical response. You will be empowered to put faith into action and use your voice to speak on behalf of the voiceless. You will be heard by our nation’s leaders and have an impact on Australia’s response to global poverty. And you'll have fun doing it!
Plus, you will get to meet with like-minded Christians from all over Australia, this is often the most rewarding part of the experience; making new friends and building community together.
One of the most important things about VFJ is ensuring we have a good spread of electoral representation to ensure our voice is being heard in every electorate and state and by each member of Parliament! This year, in order to maximize the impact of the event, we have launched a new application process for delegates.
We also want to encourage new delegates this year who have never been to VFJ before to attend.
The process is outlined below:
It’s important to understand that when you apply, you may not be accepted to attend this year.
This is nothing personal, it may just be that we already have a large number of people attending from your electorate, and we need to focus our efforts on getting more people from other electorates which are not yet represented.
We will endeavor to communicate the outcome of your application within one week of you submitting your application form. This contact will happen via email (the email address you put into the application form).
Absolutely! We will encourage everyone to apply but as explained above, there will be some factors we will be considering this year when looking at applications.
This year, there is no ‘group registration’ option available. We still encourage you to come in a group, but please note that each individual needs to fill out their own application and registration form. If you have any questions about this, please email info@micahaustralia.org.
The early bird price will run until 31 August and is:
After 31 August ticket prices will move to:
Applications will close on Friday 4 October.
Your ticket includes entry into the four-day conference, which also includes some meals during the event (TBC- afternoon tea and dinner on Saturday, morning and afternoon tea on Sunday).
On Saturday and Sunday, we will convene at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, located at 15 Blackall St, Barton ACT 2600.
The Centre is located on a five-hectare site on the edge of the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra and is a beautiful and inspiring place! The Centre has up to 150 free parking spaces onsite with paid parking nearby.
During the two lobbying days on Monday and Tuesday, we will be onsite at Parliament House. There is plenty of public parking onsite at Parliament House but it is all paid (max $20 per day). For more information visit:www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Plan_your_Visit/Rates
Unfortunately, this year we are unable to offer billeting options. Delegates are responsible to find their own accommodation while in Canberra. There are a couple of cheap accommodation options that we can recommend to you:
If you are attending with an Micah member organisation or church, we encourage you to see if they know any supporters/advocates in Canberra that may be happy to billet you for the duration of the conference.
We ask delegates to make their own way to Canberra for the conference. Once in Canberra, we encourage people to use public transport or car pool as much as possible—if you have your own vehicle and can provide assistance with transportation during the conference, we would appreciate you doing so by emailing us at info@micahaustralia.org
Go to https://www.transport.act.gov.au to find out more about public transport.
The two venues (Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and Parliament House) are within walking distance of each other.
Included in your ticket price is a few meals on the Saturday and Sunday. For other meals, delegates will be required to make their own arrangements. There are many cafes, shops and grocery stores within a short distance of both Parliament House and the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. You’ll receive more information on this in the lead up to the conference.
This year’s focus will be “Pacific Perspectives”, which means will be advocating and lobbying around Australian aid in the Pacific region.
We will be looking at how we ensure the government’s “Pacific step-up" prioritises the needs of the region's most poor, vulnerable and oppressed.
In line with this focus, we will also be inviting key church and community leaders from Pacific nations to join us in Canberra to bring their perspectives. We will also continue to speak up for a generous aid budget so that Australia is doing its fair share across the world.
Yes. Voices for justice is designed for every Christian with a heart for justice. That is the only prerequisite for attending. You don't have to of had any experience in lobbying before and it is open to all ages.
Yes! Our heart is for Voices for Justice to be a family event and we want to support you as much as possible in bringing your children along. It is not advised that young children be included in the lobbying appointments on Monday/Tuesday so we advise you arrange alternative care. We understand that this may present an obstacle for families, however this will help ensure meetings retain the focus they need in the limited time available.
High school aged students are welcome to attend and participate in every part of the program.
We understand that not everyone may be able to stay in Canberra for the full four-day program. We would encourage you to attend as much as possible to have the full experience, however if work commitments mean you need to leave early on the Monday or Tuesday that is not a problem. If this is the case, please make note of this in your registration form.
The event starts around 12pm on Saturday 30 November. If you are a lobby group leader, you may need to arrive slightly earlier than this. The event will be finished by 5:30pm on Tuesday 3 December, and if you need to leave a little earlier than this in order to catch a train or travel, that’s fine.
Given the significant logistics involved in organising VFJ, we won’t be able to let you know what lobby group you are in until you arrive on the Saturday.
We will endeavor to put you in a group with other people from your electorate, but that may not be possible.
Meeting requests for politicians are submitted well in advance, but often we don’t get confirmations until a few days before the conference, meaning it is also difficult to let you know beforehand what politicians you will be meeting with. But don’t worry! There will be plenty of time on the Saturday and Sunday to meet with your lobby group, get to know each other and do some research on the politicians you are meeting with.
