From The Team…

Spring has sprung and we have had a glorious start to the last quarter of 2025!

This edition we have a fresh new approach to our E-News

This month we can report on successful advocacy resulting in a Position Statement from the Australasian Society of Developmental Paediatricians, and the forthcoming release of a Global Statement on the Importance of Outdoor Play. Plus, a number of new initiatives are detailed in this edition and plenty of invites for you to take up and dates to save.

Play Aus CEO Robyn is now overseas and undertaking her Churchill Fellowship looking at policy initiatives for play. Her adventure highlights will be captured in a new newsletter “ Wandering with Winston” that will be released fortnightly commencing on the 30 September and the last edition on 11 November . The full research report will be released in January 2026, and we will be hosting events in February 2026 to discuss the next step for play policy in Australia.

Robyn is still undertaking Play Aus work, and Patricia and Pete are keeping their feet on terra firma in Aus, so it is business as usual. Although if you need to contact Robyn, email is the best way and allow 36 hours for a response.

Yours Playfully

Robyn, Pete and Patricia.

The Australasian Society for Developmental Paediatrics ( ASDP) has released its position statement on play. This statement provides the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand context for the ASDP endorsement of the Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement on risky play.

Background to the Position Statement:

In June 2024, for the first International Day of Play, Play Australia drove a successful Australian media campaign, capturing over 2 million views, on the important role of play that allows children to take risks. IPA World hosted a webinar on the Canadian Paediatric Society’s national position statement which was released in January 2024. Titled Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention (https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play).

The Canadian statement was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a collective of respected medical professionals had made such an influential statement identifying the essential nature of play and its role in healthy human development. At that IPA webinar, IPA World President and Play Australia CEO, Robyn Monro Miller called for advocacy from across the world to try and secure similar statement across different countries. Play Australia took up the challenge and in the second half of 2024, Play Australia commenced working on securing an Australian response to the Canadian Paediatric Society’ position statement on risky play.

To achieve this Robyn met with Play Champions Dr Anthea Rhodes and Professor Jill Sewell to determine which peak body may be the best to respond to the statement. It was identified that it would be of interest to the members of Australasian Society for Developmental Paediatrics ( ASDP) and Jill quickly undertook facilitating an introduction. ASDP is a not for profit membership organisation comprised of more than 800 doctors, largely paediatricians, working in the field of developmental paediatrics. One of their strategic pillars is to undertake advocacy in the field to achieve improved developmental and behavioural outcomes for the children they care for. ASDP actively engages in advocacy, providing expert insights and evidence-based recommendations to inform policy, improve services, and support better outcomes for children and families.

In the last quarter of 2024, Play Australia connected with ASDP to update them on the international work being undertaken. Supporting documentation regarding the Canadian Statement, including a link to the IPA Webinar on the Canadian statement from IDOP 2024, was sent to ASDP to assist their deliberations. In February 2025, Play Australia CEO Robyn Monro Miller met with the EO of ASDP Julie Kreiger, Chair of ADSP Dr Katie Heathershaw, and members of the Board to discuss the need for a position statement, or alternatively how best to support the Canadian Paediatric Society’s position statement. In early May 2025, Play Australia was invited to present a webinar for ADSP members on the benefits of risky play and why it should be promoted. Following this, the ASDP membership committed to working on a response to create our own Australian and New Zealand statement. We are delighted to see that only 3 months later, the Position Statement: Risky Play for Children in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand has been released.

Commentary on reference to “ Goal Directed play: in the document:

The only concern Pay Australia has with the statement is the references in the document to “goal directed” risky play. We have raised this concern with ASDP.

Goal-directed behaviour as a theoretical model is used in psychology and neuroscience, however in the context of play it is not so straightforward. Experts in playwork and early childhood education often emphasize that free play is not goal- driven. Globally, this perspective is shared among play advocates: for example, the United Nations General Comment #17 on Article 31 (Children’s Right to Play) notes that play is “intrinsically motivated” and not about external objectives.

There is a strong ethos that play should be freely chosen, intrinsically motivated, and not imposed by external goals. The Playwork Principles explicitly define play as behaviour “performed for no external goal or reward”, controlled by children’s own instincts and interests. The rationale is that play is valuable in and of itself for development (providing joy, creativity, flexibility) rather than offering a prescribed outcome.

This approach makes goal-directed behaviour peripheral to play. For example, a child in free play might not have a fixed goal; the value is in the process of experimentation, not in completing a predetermined project. It’s better seen as one aspect of development (children’s growing ability to pursue goals) that should be nurtured in balance with fostering autonomy.

Play Australia will continue to advocate for the Position Statement to reflect international best practice and remove reference to “goal directed” in the statement.

(With thanks to Mike Greenway, Play Wales and Dr Mariana Brussoni, Outdoor Play Lab, Canada, for their assistance with this commentary)

Access the National Position Statement here https://asdp.au/files/1195/risky%20play%20position%20statement%20.pdf

To view the IPA Webinar “Safe as necessary, not safe as possible “ on the Canadian Statement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG-22Jv7wK4

Recommended Reading:

Here are 2 other important documents worth reading that have been released by the medical profession in recent years:

         1. "The Power of Play: A Paediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children" (American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) 2018, reaffirmed January 2025)

                 o Clinical Report providing comprehensive overview of play's developmental benefits

Free download https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/3/e20182058/38649/The-Power-ofPlay-A-Pediatric-Role-in-Enhancing

          2. Nijhof, S. L., et al. (2018). Healthy play, better coping: The importance of play for the development of children in health and disease. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 95, 421-429. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30273634

New Global Position Statement to be released on Outdoor Play for everyone.

Outdoor Play Canada will release the 2025 Global Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play on September 25, 2025 at the Breath of Fresh Air Summit in Ottawa, Canada. Play Australia has endorsed the statement  which serves to extend the 2015 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play by expanding its reach worldwide, broadening its content, and emphasizing inclusivity across all ages.  Our CEO Robyn will be in attendance at the Summit and was on the advisory group informing the development.

The 2025 Position Statement highlights the benefits of active outdoor play for people of all cultures and abilities, communities, environments, and the planet. The 2025 Position Statement reflects our commitment to promoting the health of humans and the environment, and we believe it represents a vital step forward to the sectors that intersect with outdoor play including, but not limited to, health, education, urban planning, environment, child development, recreation, and climate change. By offering a shared foundation grounded in evidence and equity, this Statement encourages cross-sector collaboration to advance the well-being of individuals, communities, and ecosystems.

Your voice carries significant weight in advancing this cause, and we would be delighted for you to get involved by  Endorsing the Position Statement online  once released : outdoorplaycanada.ca/aop10/

Your support, whether through endorsement, sharing with your networks, or attending the launch, will help strengthen the collective voice for active outdoor play and inspire action globally.

Since the partnership between Coverforce Complete Insurance Brokers and Play Australia was established two years ago, our shared mission has been to address the significant premium increases and reduced coverage options affecting the playground manufacturing, installation, design, maintenance, and certification industries.

We are pleased to provide an exciting update: Coverforce now manages insurance solutions for over 75 playground-related businesses and holds exclusive agreements with two separate insurers, one for Public Liability and another for Professional Indemnity. These exclusive arrangements enable Coverforce Complete to offer quotes that no other broker in Australia can access, reinforcing their position as the leading playground insurance broker in the country.

Their ongoing goal is to expand market share, which will help mitigate further premium hikes and address the coverage gaps currently prevalent across the industry. As the only broker nationwide working on a unified facility tailored specifically for this sector, increasing they’re their client base will enhance their bargaining power, ultimately delivering broader benefits and more comprehensive solutions for the entire industry client base will enhance our members bargaining power, ultimately delivering broader benefits and more comprehensive solutions for the entire industry.

If you have not already looked into the benefits of Coverforce cover, contact Ryan Fisher on Ryan_Fisher@coverforce.com.au

Play Australia has introduced a new monthly webinar series “ Adventures in Playspace Design”.  Once a month we feature a designer talking about one or two of their projects and their thought processes about what makes a good design.

Fiona Robbe was the first speak to launch the series on 9 September and we had approx. 30 people online, plus have recorded it so you can access it for free via our online learning portal. The feedback was excellent! Fiona focused on her passion which was collaboration with children, and we suspect every designer will have a passion point that they want to share.

On Thursday October 30 at 1pm,  we will be featuring Mary Jeavons and Leong Koo, who together have just finished a big 'destination' fully accessible  public play spaces at Hays Paddock, Kew and Rippleside Park, Geelong.  Free member registrations open on our events section of the Play Australia website next week.

If you would be interested in being one of the featured designers in 2026, please let us know! Generally,  we are running them for one hour at 1pm, once a month. We allow 30-35 mins for presentation and 20 mins for discussion with attendees.  It is very relaxed, and we do these events on zoom.  We will give priority to award winning designs.

If you would like to be a part of this series, we would love to hear from you, and you preferred date.  It would be great in replying if you could provide a photo and brief bio and the play space design and a photo of your featured  play spaces and link.  Email to info@playaustralia.org.au and include in the title of the email “Adventures in Playspace Design”.

Call for Expression of Interest for role of Co-Chair, Australian Playworkers Forum.

The Play Australia Australian Playwork Forum is a new initiative announced on International Day of Play in June, it  aims to

• Serve as a platform for knowledge exchange, networking, advocacy, and the promotion of best practices in playwork.
• support and enhance the professional development of playworkers across Australia.

The forum will be governed by the Board of Play Australia and will be subject to terms and consideration in the Play Australia constitution for sub-committees.

The Forum will have 2 co-chairs, one of whom will be a member of the Play Australia Board with relevant expertise and the 2^nd of which will be a general member, active in playwork and Play Australia activities. In the first instance, the co-chair will be selected by an EOI process based on a desired skill set and appointed for a 12 month term.

The role of Co-Chairs  will be to report back to the CEO and Board on a regular basis  and alert the CEO to any issues requiring follow up and action, set the agenda, chair meetings, and ensure all voices are heard and valued.

Play Australia is seeking from our membership, a co-chair to work with Board member, David Kutcher, in the role of Chairperson of the Play Australia Playworkers Forum.

      Criteria

• Eligible for membership of the forum as identified in the Terms of Reference.
• Previous experience in a chairing an organisation or group.
• Capacity to collaborate and facilitate constructive debate and discussion.
• Experience in development of policy and national advocacy highly regarded.
• Ability to understand and manage conflict of interest.
• Ability to work constructively with the Board and CEO of Play Australia.

Written applications directly addressing the criteria should be prepared and sent to Board@playaustralia.org.au by cob 10 October 2025. Late applications will not be considered.

To learn more about the Playworkers Forum https://www.playaustralia.org.au/playwork-forum