Progress Partners
UNSW’s flagship partnership initiative brings together industry, government, community organisations and academic experts to solve complex challenges.
We translate evidence and expertise into practical tools, policy, professional practice and measurable societal outcomes.
What is Progress Partners?
Progress Partners is a structured collaboration model that connects organisations with UNSW expertise and with each other.
Each initiative begins with a challenge identified by participating organisations. UNSW brings together a network of industry, government, community, policy, professional and academic experts to explore the issue, share knowledge and evidence, and identify practical responses.
Cross-sector collaboration finds breakthroughs.
Progress Partners initiatives are supported by UNSW's Centre for Social Impact, which has extensive experience in convening cross-industry experts and translating evidence into practical action.
Progress Partners forms part of the UNSW Progress for All Strategy and develops long-term partnerships with the University.
Why become a Progress Partner?
Today's most complex challenges, including financial wellbeing, climate adaptation, housing, health, workforce capability and emerging technologies, require coordinated action across sectors.
As a Progress Partner, your organisation can:
Shape responses to major societal challenges
Build relationships with cross-sector leaders and internationally recognised academics
Strengthen organisational capability through executive education and lifelong learning
Explore research, innovation and knowledge-sharing opportunities
Connect with students, graduates and future talent
How Progress Partners works
Every Progress Partners initiative follows three connected steps. Organisations and UNSW identify a significant challenge; UNSW convenes relevant organisations and experts through a Progress Network; and participating organisations work with the network to develop practical responses and build an ongoing partnership with UNSW.
Step 1
Identify a Progress Challenge
A Progress Challenge is a significant societal, economic or industry issue that could benefit from collaboration across sectors.
Challenges are identified with participating organisations and aligned with the UNSW Societal Impact Framework. We focus on areas where UNSW has recognised expertise and the ability to translate knowledge into practical impact.
Organisations contribute their experience, priorities and understanding of the challenge.
UNSW contributes expertise and an evidence base to help define the opportunity for collaboration.
Step 2
Build a Progress Network
Once a challenge has been defined, UNSW convenes a dedicated Progress Network of organisations, experts and practitioners who can contribute to addressing it.
The network may include:
- industry, government and community organisations
- UNSW academics and subject matter experts
- policy experts and practitioners
- multidisciplinary research and education teams.
Together, network members share evidence, expertise and experience to identify practical opportunities for action, such as capability building and resource development.
UNSW acts as an independent and trusted convenor, supporting collaboration in accordance with ACCC guidelines.
Step 3
Ongoing partnership
Organisations that participate in a Progress Network become Progress Partners.
As Progress Partners, organisations can continue working with UNSW beyond the initial challenge. They can:
- apply shared knowledge and solutions in their own organisations
- collaborate with UNSW academics and subject matter experts
- access executive education and lifelong learning
- explore research, innovation and student engagement opportunities
- build longer-term strategic relationships across UNSW.
UNSW connects partners with expertise, programs and opportunities as their needs evolve.
Reducing the incidence of financial abuse
Our first Progress Challenge
Financial abuse affects more than 600,000 Australians each year and is estimated to cost victim-survivors $5.7 billion annually. Impacts extend beyond financial harm, damaging mental health, wellbeing and family cohesion.
Financial abuse can occur at multiple points across the superannuation system.
We're bringing a network of financial services, legal experts and community stakeholders from across the superannuation sector together with UNSW researchers to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen responses and future-proof the sector's capacity to prevent financial abuse.
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- What are the warning signs of financial abuse?
29 Jan 2026 | UNSW Newsroom
UNSW Professors Ann Kayis-Kumar and Jan Breckenridge identified key warning signs of financial abuse and explained how new ATO protections could help victim-survivors regain control of their tax affairs. - 33rd Colloquium on Pensions and Retirement Research
24–25 Nov 2025 | CEPAR/UNSW Sydney
UNSW’s School of Risk & Actuarial Studies and CEPAR brought together researchers, government and industry leaders to share the latest research on pensions, retirement income, longevity, housing wealth and emerging technologies. - The retirement blind spot: Is the super system failing vulnerable members?
20 Nov 2025 | UNSW Newsroom
UNSW Professors Katja Hanewald and Scott Donald warned that Australia’s superannuation system defined vulnerability too narrowly, leaving many at-risk members without the tailored support they needed in retirement. - UNSW Researchers Propose Pension Reform Blueprint for Emerging UNSW Researchers Propose Pension Reform Blueprint for Emerging Economies
14 Jul 2025 | UNSW News
UNSW economist Dr George Kudrna led an ARC-funded study using Indonesia to show how a higher retirement age combined with a social pension could improve retirement outcomes without putting undue pressure on public finances. - National Plan to End the Abuse & Mistreatment of Older People 2024–2034 (KLC submission)
17 Feb 2025 | Kingsford Legal Centre, UNSW
UNSW’s Kingsford Legal Centre provided feedback to the Australian Government on its draft 10-year National Plan, supporting its human rights approach and recommending improvements to its priorities and focus areas.
Note: Summaries above are original paraphrases prepared for reference purposes only, not reproductions of the source articles. Please follow each link to read the full original piece.
- What are the warning signs of financial abuse?
Future Progress Challenges
New Progress Challenges will be developed with organisations seeking collaborative approaches for tackling complex societal issues.
We'll focus on challenges that demonstrate:
- a clearly identified industry, government or community need
- the potential to create significant societal impact
- alignment with UNSW strategic priorities
- opportunities for cross-sector collaboration
- existing knowledge or evidence that can be translated into action.
If your organisation has identified a challenge that could benefit from collaboration across sectors, we invite you to get in touch.
Ready to collaborate?
Whether you want to join an existing challenge, propose a new one or strengthen your organisation's relationship with UNSW, talk to us about how we can work together.
Related strategic partnerships
Progress Partners connects to UNSW’s broader ecosystem of strategic partnerships.
UNSW is already driving change with:
ACOSS–UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership
ACOSS (the Australian Council of Social Service) and UNSW Sydney have partnered since 2017 to tackle poverty and inequality head-on.
