Goal 17:
Partnerships for the Goals
Collaboration with NGOs for the SDGs
The University of Newcastle is a founding and active member of the Hunter Region SDG Task Force; a coalition of businesses, government bodies, and NGOs working collaboratively to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals across the region. This partnership reflects the University's institution-wide commitment to sustainability and community engagement.
The University collaborates with NGOs such as the Samaritans, LIVE Free Project, Hunter Women’s Centre, and Save Our Coast, among others, through a variety of initiatives that align with the SDGs.
Educational Resources:
The University co-developed the Hunter SDG Dashboard, a public tool that tracks regional progress toward the SDGs using data from over 120 stakeholders. This dashboard (published in 2024) supports policy makers, educators, and community leaders in aligning efforts with global goals
Research Programmes:
Hosted by the Institute of Regional Futures, the University's Hunter Research Foundation leads regional economic and social research, providing evidence-based insights that inform SDG-aligned strategies. This includes projects on poverty reduction, gender equity, and environmental sustainability
Student Volunteering and Leadership:
The University launched the Hunternet Future Leaders Program, where students act as consultants to help local organisations implement SDG strategies. This hands-on experience fosters leadership, sustainability literacy, and real-world impact
These collaborations demonstrate how we integrate sustainability into our core mission, through education, research, and community engagement, while empowering students, including primary schools and NGOs to drive meaningful change.
The Task Force is essentially a collaboration of 17 action groups which have come together to set targets and take action on each of the 17 SDGs.
Each of the 17 action groups will be empowered to directly work on achieving that goal through, not only their current actions, but by identifying any other opportunities to better address all of the targets within the goal and collaborating with others in the region to do so.
Our Role and Goal
The role of the Hunter Region SDG Task Force is to drive the accountability, education and collaboration of the UN SDGs and to accelerate the delivery in our region.
Our goal as a region is to lead the world in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to do this by accelerating the achievement of the SDGs through facilitating collaboration, education and advocacy across the region.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.