News Looking at Play: Global, National and Local work from Healthy Cities Australia Over the last few week, the Play Australia’s has been hosting Australian National Plan for Play: A Framework for Children’s Right to Play and I was grateful to attend the Sydney summit. Surrounded about incredible professional what an energising, hopeful moment it was for anyone committed to building healthier, more childfriendly cities. As this inaugural series rolls out across Australia, we’re watching a movement take shape. At its heart, the Play Summit is a call to recentre children and acknowledging their rights in the way we design, govern, and imagine our cities. It’s a reminder that play is not a luxury or an afterthought, it’s a right, a public health priority, and a cornerstone of wellbeing. A Framework for Realising the Child’s Right to Play One of the most powerful anchors of the Summit is Dr Naomi Lott’s phenomenal framework for implementing the child’s right to play. Her work offers a practical, rightsbased roadmap for embedding play into policy, planning, and everyday practice. It challenges us to move beyond rhetoric and toward systemic change, where children’s freedom, agency, and joy are protected and prioritised. For healthy cities advocates, this framework gives language and structure to what many of us have long argued: that a city designed for children is a city designed for everyone. Learning from Global Leaders: Robyn Monro Miller AM Complementing this is Robyn Monro Miller AM’s Churchill Fellowship report, Weaving Play into the National Fabric. Her international research highlights how other nations embed play into policy, infrastructure, and cultural norms, and what Australia can learn from them. Her findings reinforce a truth we can no longer ignore: countries that treat play as essential, not optional, see benefits that ripple across public health, community cohesion, and longterm wellbeing. Together, the work of Dr Lott and Robyn Monro Miller AM set the stage for an afternoon of rich, critical reflection. We explored how these insights translate into local action, policy shifts, and new ways of thinking about children’s everyday experiences. Expanding the Risky Play Statement for Children 9+ We have been invited to contribute to the terms of reference for expanding the current risky play statement to better support children aged nine and above. This age group is often overlooked, caught between earlychildhood frameworks and adolescent-focused policies, yet they are at a crucial developmental stage where autonomy, challenge, and selfdirected exploration are vital. Active In-Betweens program has been providing this support for over 10 years and we look forward to bring the older children’s voices to the table in an opportunity to advocate for environments, physical and emotional that allow older children to stretch themselves, test boundaries, and build resilience. Read the National Risky Play statement here: National Risk Position Statement | Play Australia If you are interested in adding to this work please reach out to michelle@healthycities.org.au Taking the Conversation National: Physical Activity & Sports Conference, Melbourne This momentum continues as I prepare to present at the National Physical Activity and Sports Conference in Melbourne 1-2nd July 2026. My focus will be on the role of play in supporting physical activity for older children and including and advocating for children’s voices at the centre of our work, another area where our national conversation is overdue for expansion. Too often, physical activity frameworks for this age group default to organised sport. But older children need playful, unstructured, socially rich opportunities just as much as younger ones. They need spaces that welcome them, consult them, challenge them, and recognise their evolving identities. Bringing this perspective and in particular a play perspective to a national sports and physical activity audience feels like a critical step in broadening how we think about movement, health, and play as a critical part of it. Join the conversation here: National Sports Convention – National Sports Convention With all this amazing national advocacy work, it’s time to announce we’re planning the Connecting Communities through Play event! With over 100 people in the room last year across all disciplines, this will be an event you don’t want to miss! Save the date 10th of June on the eve of United Nations International Day of Play let’s get together, hear from a range of speakers including young people and bring our Illawarra Play passionate together for the power of connection. Secure your free ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/connecting-community-through-play-2026 If you have any questions about the Play Summit, the Risky Play work, the upcoming conference presentation, or the Connecting Communities through Play event, please contact Michelle at michelle@healthycities.org.au.