Rethinking how we fund change — collaborative commissioning

Our panel

• Alison Roberts, Commissioner, Productivity Commission
• Clayton Noble, CEO, United Way
• Luke Craven, CEO, PLACE Australia

During the 2025 PLACE Listening Tour, communities told us about the barriers they face: funding is short-term and rigid, compliance is heavy, and services often work in silos rather than together.

These challenges are deepened by the way government funding is set up using traditional purchaser-provider models, which aren’t designed for complex, local realities and prioritises compliance over trust, outputs over outcomes, and competition over collaboration.

Earlier this year, PLACE published an article exploring an alternative approach, Rethinking how we fund change: an invitation to consider collaborative commissioning, and invited you to share your thoughts and questions. Many people expressed interest in exploring this idea, with lots of great questions and comments.

In this webinar, PLACE is bringing together a panel to discuss your questions, which include whether collaborative commissioning can help or hinder:

• Building community trust and including diverse voices

• Designing services to meet local needs

• Reducing duplication and helping navigate multiple funding sources

• Engaging small providers

• Governance and accountability

• Community capital building.

There will also be the opportunity to ask more questions on the day.

Join us virtually via Zoom on Wednesday December 10 from 12:30pm to 2:00pm AEDT.

We look forward to seeing you there to join the conversation.