---
title: Lismore People's Assembly
type: practice
status: active
country: AU
website: https://reclaim.org.au/lpa-home/
logo: /assets/org-logos/lismore-peoples-assembly-icon.jpg
banner: /assets/org-logos/lismore-peoples-assembly-banner.jpg
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-08
  email: reclaimourrecovery@protonmail.com
  form: https://reclaim.org.au/contact
  source: https://reclaim.org.au/lismore-peoples-assembly-on-housing/
summary: A grassroots deliberative assembly in Lismore, NSW, set up by residents in
  the aftermath of the 2022 floods to practise participatory and deliberative democracy
  outside the formal political system.
concepts:
- citizens-assembly
- deliberative-democracy
- direct-democracy
- democracy
location:
  latitude: -28.8166
  longitude: 153.2803
  name: Lismore, NSW, Australia
news_page: https://reclaim.org.au/category/lpa-resources/
rss_feed: https://reclaim.org.au/feed
events:
- date: '2024-08-10'
  title: Inaugural Lismore People's Assembly on Housing held at the Red Dove Cafe,
    Lismore
  url: https://reclaim.org.au/inaugural-lismore-peoples-assembly/
  quote: ROR is now bringing a new front to their grassroots community advocacy, with
    the inaugural Lismore People’s Assembly on Housing taking place this Saturday.
  note: Assembly run by Reclaim Our Recovery, the residents' group formed after the
    February 2022 floods; approximately fifty residents attended (Northern Rivers
    Times).
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-07-16
    date: 2026-02-09
    note: 'RSS feed''s latest entry dated Feb 9, 2026: ''Nearly four years after the
      NR Floods, the community is given a (small) chance to be heard'''
    url: https://reclaim.org.au/nearly-four-years-after-the-nr-floods-the-community-is-given-a-small-chance-to-be-heard/
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-02-09
    note: 'Latest post: Nearly four years after the NR Floods, the community is given
      a (small) chance t'
    url: https://reclaim.org.au/nearly-four-years-after-the-nr-floods-the-community-is-given-a-small-chance-to-be-heard/
  scrape:
    date: 2026-02-01
    note: 'Latest post: Gallery'
    url: https://reclaim.org.au/category/lpa-resources/
    checked: 2026-08-17
last_checked: '2026-07-16'
---

The Lismore People's Assembly emerged from the 2022 flood crisis, when conventional governance structures were seen as failing the community. It runs as a project of [Reclaim Our Recovery](https://reclaim.org.au/), a grassroots flood-recovery advocacy group, and describes its aim explicitly as reinventing democracy from the ground up: bypassing vested interests and giving everyday people a direct voice in decisions that affect them.[^inaugural]

The assembly format runs ~2 hours: two speakers or community testimonials set the frame, then attendees break into small groups (~8 people) for 45 minutes of facilitated deliberation with a notetaker. The whole group reconvenes to hear each group's ideas and vote on the most popular. The first assembly, held in August 2024, drew around fifty people ranging in age from twenties to seventies, and focused on the question "What can this community do to get everyone a home?"[^housing]

Since launching in May 2024, the LPA has held assemblies on housing (two sessions, Aug–Sep 2024) and disaster preparedness (two sessions, late 2024). The housing assemblies generated three solution categories — using empty buyback houses, building community-based cooperative housing models, and pursuing regulatory reforms — with participants voting on priorities for action.[^housing] [^outcomes]

At a planning day in May 2025, the group set its priorities for the year ahead: supporting local tiny house production, erecting 2022 flood-level signage, neighbourhood picnics ("Neighbourocracy"), a regular stall at local markets, and training and workshops.[^year-ahead] The organising group meets weekly on Thursdays.

## Links

- Website: [reclaim.org.au/lpa-home](https://reclaim.org.au/lpa-home/)
- Instagram: [@lismorepeoplesassembly](https://www.instagram.com/lismorepeoplesassembly/)
- YouTube: [@LismorePeoplesAssembly](https://www.youtube.com/@LismorePeoplesAssembly)
- Blog: [LPA Resources (Reclaim Our Recovery)](https://reclaim.org.au/category/lpa-resources/)

## See also

- [Citizens' Assembly](../concepts/citizens-assembly.md)
- [Direct Democracy](../concepts/direct-democracy.md)
- [People Powered Democracy Forum](../../blog/posts/2026-05-29-people-powered-democracy-forum.md) — event featuring the Lismore People's Assembly, May 2026

[^inaugural]: "The Lismore People’s Assembly seeks to change this in the hopes of reinventing democracy – starting from the ground up" and "not just any kind of democracy, but participatory and deliberative democracy," [Inaugural Lismore People's Assembly](https://reclaim.org.au/inaugural-lismore-peoples-assembly/), originally published at *Echo Net Daily*, August 2024.

[^housing]: "On Saturday 10th August, around fifty people gathered" and "The attendees were diverse and ranged in age from their twenties to seventies," [Lismore People's Assembly on Housing](https://reclaim.org.au/lismore-peoples-assembly-on-housing/), Reclaim Our Recovery, recounting the August 2024 assembly.

[^outcomes]: "Community based diverse and cooperative solutions for housing" [#1 Lismore People's Assembly/Housing](https://reclaim.org.au/1-lismore-peoples-assembly-housing/), Reclaim Our Recovery — full list of solutions generated.

[^year-ahead]: "Support local tiny house production (one of the solutions from the housing assembly)" [The year ahead for the Lismore People's Assembly](https://reclaim.org.au/the-year-ahead-for-the-lismore-peoples-assembly/), Reclaim Our Recovery, May 2025.