ACADEMY 4 LEARNING

Initiative Overview:

Homelessness Qld Academy of Learning, a division of HQ dedicated to building and strengthening the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) Sector. This initiative will deliver a robust suite of professional development offerings, including a 12-month calendar of training events, webinars, and support mechanisms for SHS providers to implement new initiatives in the workplace and the workforce. Through this division of HQ, we aim to elevate workforce competencies, improve service delivery, and foster leadership across the sector, striving for enhanced support for individuals and families facing homelessness.

Monthly Reflective Practice Training – 12-Month Professional Development Calendar

The Academy will provide a year-long series of tailored, practice-focused sessions aligned with a comprehensive framework specific to SHS. Monthly topics will equip professionals with essential skills and knowledge, covering areas such as trauma-informed care, leadership, case management, cultural humility, and collaborative approaches. Each session will offer practical tools and strategies to enhance daily work and improve outcomes within homelessness services.

Workplace Wellness: A dedicated workshop to support the wellbeing of workers on the frontline of homelessness response. Working in the homelessness sector is deeply meaningful — but it can also be emotionally demanding, complex, and at times, overwhelming. This interactive workshop is designed to support the people who support others, by creating space to reflect, recharge, and build sustainable self-care strategies.

Collaboration Practices: Join us for an interactive training workshop designed to strengthen collaboration, communication, and coordinated practice across the homelessness sector. Effective collaboration doesn’t happen by chance — it’s built through shared purpose, respectful relationships, and intentional practice. This workshop brings together frontline workers, service leaders, and sector partners to explore practical tools and frameworks for working better together.

Supervision and Mentoring: This Supervision and Mentoring workshop run Bi Monthly is designed to support both supervisors and supervisees in navigating their roles within the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) sector. It offers structured guidance, shared language, and consistent practice approaches to enhance professional development, ensure high-quality service delivery, and promote a culture of reflective practice, ethical integrity, and wellbeing.

Embracing Lived Expertise:  This monthly session will provide structured, evidence-informed guidence for embedding the voices, insights, and leadership of people with lived Expertise of homelessness into the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) sector and beyond. Grounded in the principle that lived Expertise is a form of professional expertise, this model is essential to advancing inclusive, person-centred, and recovery-oriented practice across the sector.

Messuring Outcomes: This training is designed for anyone with an interest in homelessness services. It is particularly relevant to Specialist Homelessness Services professionals, but also Allied Health Professionals, who are involved in the planning and delivery of homelessness services. This training will provide guidance for planning services across the entire pathway of support, ensuring a focus on the individual’s needs and circumstances

Foundations for Frontline Practice: An Introduction to Working in Homelessness Services: A four-part training series for new and emerging workers in the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) sector. Starting out in homelessness services can feel like jumping into the deep end — this training series is here to support your first steps. Delivered across four interactive sessions, Foundations for Frontline Practice is designed to equip new staff with the confidence, knowledge, and tools to navigate the complexity of the work while staying grounded in values and good practice.