What are Families Panels?

The Families Commission has set up the Families Panels to help it keep in touch with the views of families in diverse circumstances from across the country. This is central to the Commission’s engagement with families under the Families Commission Act.

There are currently 10 Families Panels across the country. Each Families Panel includes eight to twelve participants in similar circumstances. Each group meets three times a year for two years. The Families Panels are designed to generate in-depth, reflective dialogue directly based on the experience of participants and their peers. While each discussion meeting has a theme, often a topic of current interest to the Commission, a key purpose of the project is to hear news of emerging issues.