Canberra, May 27-28

Digital Childhoods Summit

Policy, practice, and futures

27-28 May 2026

With a focus on policy and practice, the Summit is a peak meeting of the many key stakeholders – including government, regulators, industry, and the community sector – who care for children and their digital lives.

Our aim is to create partnerships that will help us support children’s wellbeing and safety within the digital world. The formal agenda is built around a series of panel in-discussion events and will include time for roundtable discussion by attendees. The program this year will include parallel sessions on Day 1.

  • Panel discussion themes: Inclusion and opportunities – Child participation and equity; Privacy and safety – Protection by design; Digital pathways – From evidence to resources; and Messaging and media – Making communication work
  • Parallel session themes: Health in the Digital Age: From Evidence to Action on Harms and Benefits; EdTech Under the Microscope – Measuring Costs and Benefits for Learning and Development; and Safety versus privacy – The costs and benefits of increased surveillance. 

If you would like to receive more information on this event, please email  info@digitalchild.org.au.

Summit program

Steering Committee

Professor Simon Smith (Chair), ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Annabel Astbury, ABC Education

Jackie Coates, Telstra Foundation

John Livingstone, UNICEF Australia 

Dr Sandra Cheeseman, C&K

Sara Cousins, eSafety Commissioner

Dr Kate Bower, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner