Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

Applications for Cohort 2 of the Murray-Darling Basin Leadership Program (MDBLP) are open now, and we are looking for people from all corners of the Basin to join us.

This is not your average leadership program. It is a 10-month experience built around real challenges, diverse perspectives and the kind of connections that stick around long after the program ends. You do not need to have all the answers. You just need to be ready to work alongside others who care as deeply as you do.

The program is fully funded by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, with travel support included. Applications close 2 August.

Head to the link: https://hubs.la/Q04mq7b80 to find out more and get your application in.

Murray-Darling Basin Authority

Our alumni network has more than 3,000 people in it. But the thing that keeps it alive is not the size.
It is the fact that people genuinely show up for each other. A phone call during a drought.

A connection to a new opportunity. Knowing there is someone who gets it.

They are now working in agriculture, health, education, politics, business, and community leadership right across the country. That network does not just exist at graduation. It grows. It connects. It shows up when it matters most.

Is someone you know part of it? https://hubs.la/Q04m5k2s0

Tell us where you are in rural, regional and remote Australia in three words.
We love seeing the places our community calls home.

Drop yours in the comments.

We say this a lot inside our programs. And our alumni carry it with them long after graduation.
In a world that rewards having the answers, choosing to stay curious takes real courage. That is exactly the kind of courage we try to build.

What question is driving your leadership right now?

There is a particular kind of stillness that comes with winter in rural Australia.

The frost that shows up. The work that keeps going regardless.

We are thinking of all the people out there right now, doing what needs to be done. Leading quietly. Leading well.

Where in Australia are you this winter?

The Torres Strait Young Leaders Program brought together young people from across the Torres Strait, Seisia and Bamaga in Bundaberg, Queensland to build confidence, strengthen connection and explore what leadership looks like for them.

There was laughter, song, energy and courage as participants stepped into new experiences, shared stories, took on challenges and built something real with one another.

This program creates space for young people who care deeply about their communities to grow their voice and consider the role they can play in shaping the future of the Torres Strait.
A huge thank you to the participants for the spirit, care and generosity they brought to the experience.

Funded by the Torres Strait Regional Authority and delivered by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF).

📸 Ainslie.Co Photography

There is something that happens when you bring people from different parts of rural, regional and remote Australia into the same space.

Stories get shared. Ideas spark. Something shifts.

We have watched it happen over 30 years and across thousands of individuals. The people we work with are proof that leadership is not a title. It is something you choose.

Where in rural Australia are you leading right now?

What does it look like when one act of generosity keeps growing?

Today, the 33rd Australian Rural Leadership Program begins in Sydney, and for the first time in over a decade, three participants are from the Northern Territory: Stuart McGifford, Claire Maradani and Chrischona Schmidt.

All three are on scholarships. All three are connected through an incredible thread of people choosing to pay it forward.

It started when Donna Digby, an Alice Springs local, received a scholarship funded by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation to do the ARLP back in 2020. Inspired by what the program gave her, Donna started the Leadership on Larapinta Fundraising Walk to raise scholarships for other NT leaders.

Since then, 525 donors have got behind the Walks. Today, two of those scholarships belong to Claire and Chrischona. Stuart’s scholarship comes from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, the same foundation that made it possible for Donna all those years ago.

And this July? Stuart and Claire will lace up their boots and together with Donna walk the Larapinta Trail themselves, fundraising for the next person who needs a hand up.

Generosity is contagious. Congratulations to all three. Your story already inspires us.

Donate to the current campign here 👉 https://hubs.la/Q04k--Xs0