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National Health Workforce Summit 2025

Solutions for a Sustainable Workforce

18 -19 August 2025 | NOVOTEL MELBOURNE ON COLLINS

BUY A PASS Register Your Interest Download Brochure

Early bird rate expires on 7 July 2025

overview

The 4th Annual National Health Workforce Summit returns in 2025, bringing together leading voices and fresh ideas to solve one of the biggest issues facing Australia’s healthcare system — our workforce. This year for the first time, we will be co-locating a new event – the Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference.

The conference aims to explore innovative solutions and strategies to enhance the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of the healthcare workforce, ensuring that it meets the evolving needs of the workforce. The summit will provide a platform for attendees to engage in thought-provoking discussions, exchange ideas, and establish collaborative networks.

Why Attend?

  • Solution-focused panels and keynotes
  • Action-oriented case studies and challenge clinics
  • Peer learning through interactive roundtable workshops
  • Strategic insights from thought leaders, tech experts and frontline professionals

Co-located with:

🛡️ Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference
Expand your learning and collaboration opportunities by accessing sessions that focus on workforce wellbeing, occupational violence, psychosocial risk management, and creating mentally healthy workplaces.

Speakers

Natalie Bekis

Assistant Secretary, Workforce Planning and Strategies Branch, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Dr Shannon Nott

Executive General Manager – Health & Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer, Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section)

Prof Erwin Loh

National Director of Medical Services, Calvary Health Care & President, Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA)

A/Prof Jared Watts

RANZCOG Vice President Elect and Board Member, Chair of RANZCOG Workforce Working Group

Dilani Bamford

Primary Health Coordinator – Workforce Development, Healthy North Coast

Chris Robertson

Executive Director, Strategy, Policy and Health Workforce, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

Dr Jess Dean

Intensive Care Specialist, Eastern Health and Non-Executive Director, Grampians Health

Dr Neel Gobin MBBS

Regional Director of Medical Services, Hunter New England LHD (Belmont, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Scone Hospitals)

Dr Claire Quilliam

Rural Nursing and Allied Health Research Fellow, Department of Rural Health, University of Melbourne

A/Prof Alicia Martin

Director of Allied Health and Support Services, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Mpilwenhle Mthunzi

General Manager and Director of Nursing, The Royal Children's Hospital

Robyn Peel

Director Education and Learning, Western Health

Donna Burns

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Indigenous Doctor’s Association (AIDA)

Ingrid Sivertsen

Associate Director, Primary Health Programs, Healthy North Coast, Personify Care

Paddy Kelly

Sales Director, Personify Care

Belinda Hibble

Director of Emergency Services, Barwon Health

Cate Cannon

Quality & Safety Manager, Belmont Hospital

Prof Tina Brock

Director Collaborative Practice Centre, University of Melbourne

Ken Griffin

CEO, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)

Valerie Ramsperger

Director, Medical Workforce policy and Strategy, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Aisling Smith

Founder & NeuroInclusion Expert, NeuroEmpowerment Solutions

Donna Gleisner

General Manager, Career Pathways Program, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)

Leanne Ovington

Nurse Manager Workforce and Planning, Southern NSW Local Health District

Kim Ashwin

Senior Strategist, Australian Medical Council

Jen Desrosiers

Researcher, Australian Medical Council

Dr Kudzai Kanhutu

Dean of the College and Interim Executive General Manager, Policy and Advocacy, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Philippa Gately

Senior Manager, Workforce Planning & Prioritisation, Capital Health Network (CHN)

Jasmine Glennan

Senior Manager – Primary Care, WentWest, Western Sydney Primary Health Network (WSPHN)

Dr Kym Jenkins AM

Consultant Psychiatrist, Founding Member and Board Chair HandnHand Peer Support, Past Chair, CPMC, Past President, RANZCP

Agenda

JOINT PLENARY KEYNOTE SESSION

8:30 am

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

9:00 am

The Journey Begins: Opening insights from the Conference Chair

Dr Kym Jenkins AM, Consultant Psychiatrist, Founding Member and Board Chair HandnHand Peer Support, Past Chair, CPMC, Past President, RANZCP

9:10 am

OPENING ADDRESS | Implementing the national medical workforce strategy

Natalie Bekis, Assistant Secretary, Workforce Planning and Strategies Branch, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

9:40 am

  • What approaches to professional resilience and wellbeing programs deliver the best outcomes for workforce sustainability?
  • What are the key things that really impact staff wellness and how can organizations adapt and respond with approaches which genuinely prioritize staff wellbeing?
  • How can we help people to stay in the workforce? What are some effective approaches to managing flexibility?
  • What proven strategies and workforce models are most effective for improving retention and preventing burnout?
  • Solutions and strategies to enhance the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of the healthcare workforce
  • How do you balance that safety for patients with quality standards?

10:25 am

Megatrends and what they will mean for the health workforce of the future

Dr Shannon Nott, Executive General Manager – Health & Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer, Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section)

10:55 am

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

11:30 am

  • How AHPRA is working to increase the number of registered practitioners in Australia
  • Where are we seeing success?
  • How is AHPRA reducing complexity, removing regulatory barriers and reducing the time it takes to register practitioners
  • Challenges and the risks associated with emerging models of care

12:00 pm

Digital patient pathways: Freeing up the frontline to deliver high-value care

Paddy Kelly, Sales Director, Personify Care

12:30 pm

  • What models of care are we trying to support?
  • How do we more effectively utilise what we have available now?
  • Defining competencies to inform scope of practice – where is this done well?
  • How can we better integrate and drive collaboration between different healthcare professions? How do we ensure that scopes of practice with one workforce, work well with others?
  • Understanding the possibilities with your supporting workforce and using alternative models of care around clinical practice e.g. living experience workforce
  • A holistic approach vs a piecemeal approach

1:15 pm

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

2:15 pm

Preparing Australia’s health workforce for the data and digital future

Prof Erwin Loh, National Director of Medical Services, Calvary Health Care & President, Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA)

2:45 pm

CASE STUDY | AI & Technology – use to reduce admin burden?

3:05 pm

  • What recruitment strategies ensure we select candidates with both technical skills and emotional resilience?
  • How effectively are we preparing new healthcare workers for the emotional and psychological demands of their roles?
  • What strategies can bridge the gap between early-career support and clear long-term progression?
  • How do we adapt our systems to meet modern workforce demands for flexibility and mobility?
  • How can organizations identify and develop authentic healthcare leaders who understand frontline realities?
  • What frameworks ensure genuine leadership engagement and service innovation?

3:50 pm

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

4:15 pm

  • Optimizing nurse numbers and skills mix for patient needs
  • Connecting rostering decisions to measurable outcomes
  • Data-driven approaches to validate staffing levels
  • Practical tips and implementation strategies
  • Addressing attraction and retention challenges in regional healthcare settings
  • Combatting underutilisation of IMG talent with flexibility
  • Holistic support strategies for international graduates and their families
  • Navigating cultural transition, accommodation, and community connection
  • Streamlining regulatory processes while maintaining quality standards
  • What are the current concerns relating to working conditions and working practices in challenging environments like EDs?
  • How do we better engage and support staff in these challenging environments? What works and what doesn’t?
  • Recruitment for high pressure environments
  • What are the key drivers of change in these environments i.e. strong leadership, staffing etc?

4:55 pm

Facilitators share top 3 solutions from each roundtable.

5:00 pm

Closing Remarks

5:05 pm

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

8:30 am

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

9:00 am

Opening Remarks from the Chair

9:10 am

  • Unpacking the challenge
  • Building a solution to address a shortage of maternity services and to help maintain the skills of GP obstetricians and other healthcare providers
  • How it works – case-based learning and interactive training for multiple medical disciplines
  • Feedback and impact on teams
  • How can it be adapted and adopted?

9:40 am

  • Insights from recent survey data highlighting the primary challenges faced by IMGs (International Medical Graduates)
  • Proposed strategic interventions and change initiatives directly addressing identified pain points
  • Compelling case studies and exemplary implementations that demonstrate effective solutions

10:10 am

  • The challenge of IMG onboarding, significance of integration and impact on healthcare delivery and retention
  • Detailed documentation, clear guidelines and observership logbooks
  • Recruitment requirements, appraisal processes, and orientation
  • Future directions – scalability and continuous improvement

10:40 am

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

11:10 am

  • How do effective leaders create and sustain a positive organizational culture?
  • How can organisation effectively balance top-down direction with bottom-up feedback and engagement?
  • Collaborative workforce design – co-creating workforce models with employee input and implementing meaningful feedback
  • Creating a proactive safety culture vs. reactive compliance
  • Effective management development – essential skills, building emotional intelligence and creating supportive management frameworks
  • Strategic recruitment, comprehensive onboarding and role preparation

11:55 am

  • How do we build capacity in the health workforce?
  • Bridging the skills gap – are we aligning education and training with emerging healthcare needs and evolving healthcare delivery models? How can we improve this?
  • How can we create more adaptive and innovative career pathways?
  • Dismantling silos – how can we do better at balancing specialist experience with versatile care delivery?
  • How do we better prepare graduates for real world challenges and embed essential competencies in education?

12:35 pm

Hosted with Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference in the pre-function area

1:45 pm

  • Connecting GPs and specialists to reduce health demand and burden
  • Boosting early-career retention – GP registrar handbook
  • Increasing medical student interest in general practice with GP visibility in hospital teaching sessions
  • Empowering cross-sector workforce initiatives and removing institutional barriers to collaboration
  • Building lasting professional relationships with “Our Hospitals Together” events

2:15 pm

  • How 11 Primary Health Networks collaborated to develop informed GP workforce planning through authentic stakeholder engagement across NSW and ACT
  • Transforming qualitative and quantitative insights into strategic GP registrar placements to address community needs and workforce gaps
  • How comprehensive regional data empowers training organisations to make more informed decisions about GP registrar allocation and support

2:45 pm

  • Recognising the signs of neurodivergence in healthcare settings
  • The business and human case for neuroinclusion
  • Real-life lessons and strategies from public health examples
  • Low-cost, high-impact adjustments that improve staff
  • performance and retention

3:15 pm

Closing remarks

3:20 pm

Conference concludes

Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

exhibitors

Pricing

Packages Price
National Health Workforce Summit$2195$1895+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference$2195$1895+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Packages Price
National Health Workforce Summit$1795$1495+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference$1795$1495+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate

Early bird rate expires on 7 July 2025

Interested in sending a group at a discounted rate? Email [email protected] to find out more.

*This event is co-located with the Healthcare Workplace Safety Conference. One pass gives delegates access to both events which are running concurrently.*

Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities

Reconnect and re-engage with your industry peers at the National Health Workforce Summit.

There are many opportunities for networking including social events such as the annual networking drinks, refreshment breaks and lunches, making this not just a conference… but an all encompassing industry “experience”.

Event sponsorship or exhibiting will allow your organisation to:

  • Build relationships with potential and existing clients
  • Generate leads from a high-level, targeted audience
  • Close sales in a more personal manner than via phone
  • Demonstrate your product in person
  • Network with the industry
  • Build brand awareness

To see what is on offer please contact:

Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +61 (2) 9080 4318

Insights

What can we do to support the healthcare workforce in rural, regional and remote areas?
While a national shortage of healthcare workers is being felt across Australia, nowhere is doing it tougher than the country’s rural, regional and remote communities.
Read more >>

Simple fixes to the healthcare workforce crisis
Statistics around the future of Australia’s workforce have sent shock-waves through the already overburdened sector, but there may be some simple strategies to overcome them, according to Dr Joseph Occhino of Queensland Health.
Read more >>

How to channel more medical graduates into primary healthcare
Read more >>

How digital health can relieve our healthcare workforce crisis
Read more >>

Renewed focus on nurse and midwife safety needed during COVID-19, says ANMF President
Read more >>

The WHO’s COVID-19 Risk Communication Package for Healthcare Facilities
Click here to download >>

Providing a safe environment for hospital staff, patients and visitors
Read more >>

Safety And Security Risks in Hospitals
Read more >>

Dealing with agitated patients: Balancing staff safety and duty of care to the patient
Read more >>

Event Images

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Event Code Of Conduct

We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.

Sustainability

Our Commitment to Sustainability

Our purposeful and informed content incorporates commitments for sustainability within our events. In Australia, we are committed to running our events in an environmentally and socially responsible way. We also want to go further and inspire sustainable development for the industries we serve. Bringing together diverse eco-systems providing a platform for decision makers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs to implement widespread change.

Moving Faster Forward with Informa Connect

Across Informa Connect we are focusing on the short and long-term sustainability impacts we have on customers and colleagues alongside the communities we work in.

We recognise that it’s not just about the way we produce our events and products but recognising that we have a role to play in providing a space to work in partnership together with our markets to inspire the sustainable development of the industries we serve. Explore our work, including our latest sustainability reports and Faster Forward initiatives with the link below.

LEARN MORE

when & where

18 - 19 Aug 2025

NOVOTEL MELBOURNE ON COLLINS
270 Collins Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION RATE
Secure your accommodation at the Novotel Melbourne on Collins with a 15% discount* off the best available room rate at the time of booking.

To secure this rate, please click here to view the special rates.

* Room availability and rates are subject to availability. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Book accommodation with HotelMaps
To access the best available rate, book here.

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contact

Still have a question?

General Information & Registration
Customer Service
02 9080 4307
[email protected]

Speaking Enquiries
Frankie Brewer
GM – Health & Life Sciences
[email protected]

Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities
Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
02 9080 4318
[email protected]

Marketing & Media Enquiries
Libbie Sinclair
Marketing Manager
[email protected]

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