Latest news

Unique program supports regional leaders driving change
A unique new program designed to bolster leadership across regional Australia is set to support communities to meet challenges and drive the positive changes they want to see. The Leading

Alumni connect July
The monthly column from our Alumni Engagement Manager. On Monday, we sent out the 2022 Alumni Survey and so many of you have already responded. Thanks to all of you

The meaning of NAIDOC Week
A column by 2021 Milparanga Leadership program alumna Annette McCarthy My mother is Warumungu, she was a culturally strong woman who spoke her language. Her Country is within the plains

How a mentor helped Djugun woman Jaala Ozies find her own way of changing outcomes for Kimberley youth
When Australian Rural Leadership Program alumna and former ARLF board member, Anna Carr, sat beside Djugun woman Jaala Ozies on the night of her Milparanga Leadership program graduation, Anna knew

Apply now for iconic Australian RuraL Leadership Program
Applications are currently open for the Australian Rural Leadership Program announced Matt Linnegar, Chief Executive of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF). “Applications are encouraged from individuals committed to and

Participant initiatives help communities face future droughts
Twelve groups and five individuals from five drought-prone regions share $152,000 in grant funding to prepare their communities for future droughts. The in-total 38 grant recipients are part of a

Measuring your impact
Firstly, I would like to encourage you to keep your eyes peeled for our alumni survey to be sent out early July. With over 2,000 alumni in the network

Enriching leadership with voluntarism
Last month I was reading a few articles about National Volunteer Week and the role volunteers play in society. Voluntarism is a significant but undervalued aspect of building social

Building Community leadership capacity in Snowy Valleys
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation is bringing a free regional leadershipdevelopment program to the people of Snowy Valleys. The eight-day program, entitled Regenerate Snowy Valleys, runs across four days inSeptember

First Nations leaders announced
Seventeen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders graduated from the 2022 Milparanga Established Leadership Program in late May. After 9-days on program, the cohort was the first to complete Milparanga

Leadership collaboration a lever for change
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, along with partner organisations the Regional Australia Institute, Leadership Victoria, Leadership Western Australia, the Leaders Institute of South Australia, and Tasmanian Leaders has been successful

From the platform to the stage
Written by Andrew Bryant I wasn’t expecting to be standing on the platform of Flinders Street Station, approaching perfect strangers to ask them about their thoughts on leadership. Couldn’t we get

Regenerate Nambucca Valley kicks off in Bowraville
For Heidi March, Regenerate Nambucca Valley was an opportunity to connect with the community and hear people’s stories and perspectives after the bushfire events of 2019. She was one of fourteen leaders

Meet our team – Kas
With more leadership programs on the horizon, our team is growing faster than ever. Join us as we introduce our newest and established team members. This time, Kas Al-Shehari. Apart from

First Milparanga for emerging leaders
From the vast Central Australian Desert to the tropical islands of the Torres Strait, the first Milparanga Emerging Leadership cohort was as much a leadership as a culturally immersive experience

Partner conference brings alumni together
By Alumni Engagement Manager Julia Strang The National Farmers’ Federation Conference was held on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra on 5 and 6 April. I was a last-minute call-up, and it

Notice from company secretary to members
This notice is issued under the Constitution of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF). I call for expressions of interest to fill a casual vacancy on the Board of Directors

First Nations leadership program cohort announced
We are excited to announce the Milparanga Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Emerging and Established Leadership Program cohorts. A total of 45 participants hail from every state and territory, span

Upcoming fundraiser your chance to give back
As a not-for-profit, we rely on our valued partners and sponsors who, in turn, believe in the value of and our ability to develop changemakers and adaptive leaders committed to

Meet the 29th Australian Rural Leadership Program
28 diverse rural leaders have been selected as the 29th cohort of the prestigious Australian Rural Leadership Program to commence in June 2022. The line-up includes a Social Entrepreneur from

ARLP 27 graduates
Courage, tenacity, and resilience – what started with the onset of a pandemic, ended in a celebration of new normal with a cohort better equipped to lead change than any

Welcome to our new and farewell to our departing team members
February has been a busy month for our growing team with a number of new appointments, internal shuffles and, sadly, also farewells. Welcome Lesley Lesley Vick joined us as the

Welcome to our new alumni engagement manager
Please join us in welcoming Julia Strang as our new Alumni Engagement Manager. Julia has been working for the Foundation since August 2021, supporting the Drought Resilience Leaders Mentoring Team

Have your say on our Reconciliation Action Plan
We are glad to announce that we have begun working on the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). As an organisation that supports reconciliation with strong internal support

Leadership development for Nambucca Valley community champions
Under the banner of ‘Regenerate Regional Leadership’ the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation is bringing a regional leadership development program to people in the Nambucca Valley. Across 8 days between May

Drought resilience leadership development underway in the Northern Wheatbelt
Farmers and people working in agriculture and natural resource management, including local business owners, communication managers, volunteers and a teacher are amongst 38 people from the Northern Wheatbelt who today

Drought resilience leadership development underway in the Eyre Peninsula
Farmers and people working in agriculture, including local business owners, bankers, administrative staff and a hair salon owner are amongst 19 people from the Eyre Peninsula who commenced the Drought

Drought Resilience Leadership Development underway in New South Wales
Farmers and people working in agriculture, local business owners, financial services providers and health professionals are amongst 35 people from the North West Slopes and Plains region of New South

Central West Queensland graduates launch drought resilience initiatives
Central West Queensland local participants who have completed the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund Drought Resilience Leaders Development Program have received a total of $64,000 in Community Engagement Grants to

COVID-19 Policy now in effect
At the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, we pride ourselves on the incredible diversity and reach that our network has across regional, remote and rural communities and beyond. As we approach

Our first cohort meets
From ‘this is my second Zoom meeting’ to family members offering advice ‘now you can see everyone’ – hiccups with technology and even technology itself didn’t take away from the

Associates deliver successful hybrid program for SARRAH
Some called it the séance machine, but adapting to Zoom and Teams during the first 2020 lockdown simply felt odd. Phrases that became all too familiar to us include –

Building Leadership Resilience for the Future
Rural leaders across Australia will soon have access to leadership training and a mentoring program with a focus on building drought resilience, with the launch today of the Future

ARLF Thanks to Tim and Gina Fairfax
Tim Fairfax AC and Gina Fairfax were guests of honour at a recent ARLF luncheon in Brisbane attended by five of the 13 recipients of a Tim Fairfax Family Foundation

In search of ‘risk absorber’ foundations
This paper shines a light on the complexity of the philanthropic ecosystem and the diverse roles that foundations can play as intermediaries in supporting charities to achieve their mission or

A global network for rural leadership
JD Dunbar, RULE Leadership Program Director in Pennsylvania USA, has credited the ARLF’s Chief Executive, Matt Linnegar with the idea to engage Rural Leaders from across the globe in the
April 2021 update
Following many months of disruption and uncertainty on a national and global scale, the ARLF has successfully completed sessions for multiple leadership programs involving participants from across the nation coming

Indonesian leader carries powerful imprint
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation has benefitted from the generosity of in-country leaders guiding leadership cohorts through its cultural immersion sessions. Through an exchange of culture and knowledge, these leaders

ARLF to lead consortia to deliver Drought program
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) in conjunction with consortia partners the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) and the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE) has welcomed the

Meet our team – Emily Pillow
Growing up on a small farm outside of Wagga, I never understood the hold the country had on me until I left. In my final year of school, the question

Meet our team – Stacey Pyke
As a daughter of a dairy farmer growing up on the family farm in Maroon, South East Queensland, there were a few certainties in my life – the cows would

Regional collaboration and vision harnessed in WA Leadership Program
The South West region of Western Australia is a complex area, encompassing stunning tourism drawcards like Margaret River, alongside industrial towns feeling their way in a post-resources-boom environment. Each regional