North Queensland Work Well Conference 2024 - nested content

*Program subject to change

*Program subject to change

MC Chris Parsons

Chris is a seasoned television host and producer, with a passion for travel and exploration. He has hosted and produced countless episodes of popular travel shows such as 'Queensland Weekender', 'The Great South East', and 'Creek to Coast’.

Chris is also an experienced MC and has hosted a variety of events and functions around Queensland, from the Queensland Tourism Awards to sporting events and festivals.

Andrew Barrett

Andrew (Baz) Barrett was a trained health and safety professional before becoming a specialist coach for health and safety professionals.

He recognised the need to create sustainable change in safety that betters individual, team and organisational learning,  leading to better results.

This led to the creation of Safety on Tap - a change leadership company specialising in the development and growth of health and safety leaders, and more broadly, capability and innovation in the health and safety field.

Safety on Tap supports large organisations across many industries to improve the safety of work, reduce safety clutter and improve learning and operational performance.

Dr Mary Wyatt

Mary is an occupational physician who is active in policy development and research for many organisations, including Australasian Facility of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

She has decades of work in injury management including running an early intervention case management approach across several medium to large employers.

Mary’s other work has included Independent Medical Examiners, running RTWMatters.org (a non-profit seeking to share evidence-based practices that support better return to work outcomes), research on return to work, teaching at Monash University, work as a treating practitioner, conducting a state-based review of return to work for a regulator and advisory work for various insurers and regulators.

Dr Skye Charry

Skye is an associate professor of law and consults on matters of sex discrimination.

She is passionate about the elimination of sexual harassment, particularly in the dynamic rural context, having written and published a book ‘Whispers From the Bush – The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women’.

Skye has reviewed and facilitated gender equity solutions for a wide range of industries including Australian forestry, seafood, meat and also in the legal profession.

The Victorian Women's Trust produced a short documentary about Skye's research called 'Grace Under Fire.' She was recently the recipient of the Chancellor’s Young Alumni Award (University of Canberra) for her contribution to sexual harassment redress in Australia

Dylan Furey

Dylan is an accredited allied health professional, clinical physiologist and exercise scientist. His mission in life is to make people stronger.

He believes when people are physically strong, they are better equipped to manage any health challenge preventing them living their best life.

In the past 10 years Dylan has gained a reputation as a preferred treatment specialist in muscular skeletal rehabilitation.

During his time at the renowned North Sydney Sports Medicine Clinic, Dylan successfully worked with multiple return to work (Work Cover NSW) cases and return to full hours cases.

Kate Munari

Kate joined the Royal Australian Navy at the age of 18 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree.

Qualifying as a helicopter pilot in 2006, her skill and dedication to flying led to her being selected for a four and a half year posting to the Royal Navy, United Kingdom. There, Kate flew as part of Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) who fly in support of the Royal Marine Commandos.

Kate served in Afghanistan three times as part of CHF, flying day and night, in all weather conditions as aircraft captain and formation commander. She led teams in some of the toughest conditions any workplace can present.

Having been in the military for more than 15 years, Kate has added a new dimension to her professional life where she is keen to share her experiences with others to help them navigate challenges and achieve their goals.

Maryanne Harris

Maryanne holds a Bachelor in Exercise Science. Following her husband Daniel's spinal cord injury in 2010, she travelled internationally to research emerging wearable technologies with a focus on neuroplasticity.

This led to the duo launching RoboFit, with a focus on bringing emerging technologies to Australia as well as centres for individuals to trial assistive technologies to explore what's possible with neuroplasticity.

Maryanne and Daniel have also co-founded software business tappON, to connect individuals with aged care and National Disability Insurance Scheme with support professionals and small businesses.

Simon Brown-Greaves

Simon is an organisational psychologist and coach with over 35 years’ experience working with clients in complex environments, including law enforcement, judicial systems, regulatory bodies, superannuation, banking and manufacturing.

He has worked with various Federal and State Government bodies and has extensive experience in delivering occupational violence and aggression training, conducting peer support and leadership development sessions and providing strategic wellbeing recommendations.

Simon has facilitated hundreds of workshops, ranging from tactical sessions to high-level strategic workshops focused on enhancing organisational wellbeing and performance.

Ken Ware

As the founder of Neurotricional Sciences Pty Ltd and NeuroPhysics Therapy and Research, Ken has been in private practice for more than 35 years, while doing independent and collaborative research.

He has presented unique research at more than 30 major international science conferences including Neuroscience, Neurological Disorders, Physics, Psychology and Life Sciences and Advances in Rehabilitation, all of which cover a very broad scientific audience.

He has co-published highly recognised publications in ‘Frontiers in Clinical Physiology’, ‘World Journal of Neuroscience’ and the ‘World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases’. Ken has also authored and co-authored many scientific articles and book chapters.

Scott Dutton

Scott is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and recognized as one of Australia's top 100 speaking professionals. He created a simple yet powerful model for conflict management, delivering conflict intelligent insights, strategies, and skills with humour.

He's the founder and company director of a conflict resolution training and services consultancy, and his expertise is sought after by leaders across all sectors.

With a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Bachelor of Science (BSC.-Psych. Major), he's also a member of the Professional Speakers Australia (PSA), the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), a practitioner member of the Australian Dispute Resolution Association (ADRA), a Nationally Accredited Mediator, and a CSP.

Sam Popple

Sam is the Director of the Psychological Health Unit at Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Sam is an organisational psychologist registrar working in the growing field of psychological health and psychosocial hazard management.

Sam leads a diverse team that provides specialist psychological knowledge and expertise to help minimise Queensland’s work-related psychosocial risk.

Sam’s previous career was as an intensive care nurse and educator.

As Queensland's Mental Health Ambassador, Hayley shares her story and commitment to reducing stigma associated with mental illness and the importance of mentally healthy workplaces.

Hayley Lewis captured the hearts of Australians by winning five Gold Medals at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games at the age of 15. A year later, she went on to become one of Australia's youngest ever World Champions by winning the 200m freestyle at the Perth World Championships. In 1992, at her first Olympics, Hayley brought home a silver and a bronze followed by more medals at the '93 Pan Pacs, the '94 Commonwealth Games, the '95 World Championships and the '96 Atlanta Olympics. After a short break, she returned to swimming in 1999 and achieved her goal of making the 2000 Olympic team, as well as the 2001 World Championship team.

Since her retirement from professional swimming, Hayley has become the owner of multiple small businesses in her hometown of Brisbane, hosted five seasons of the reality show The Biggest Loser, authored a small business book Dream, Believe, Create and completed a psychology degree.

As the General Manager at Move 4 Life, Terry harnesses his background in medical science and physiotherapy to actively simplify the complexities of the human body. Renowned for his practical, common-sense approach, Terry empowers everyday individuals to lead lives free from pain and full of vitality.

He challenges commonly held beliefs, providing fresh perspectives that resonate with his audience. Terry focuses on delivering tangible value, guiding people towards a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Change strategist and bestselling author of ten books, Michael is also a regular contributor on The Morning Show (Channel 7) with a segment that explores the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the implications of these technologies for the future of healthcare, wellbeing, and aging.

His focus extends to the role of AI in injury prevention, workplace monitoring, and data-driven predictive maintenance within highly regulated environments, incorporating elements such as robots, digital twins, and smart sensors.

Michael is a familiar face on the international conference circuit having shared the stage with the likes of Bill Gates, Mel Robbins and Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak. Energetic and lively, he has engaged with over 500,000 people across 5 continents since 2004 and is known for his entertaining and practical presentations.

Michelle is a qualified Occupational Therapist/ Mediator and accredited AHPRA practitioner with over 25 years' experience in injury management and health management services. Michelle commenced her career in a large tertiary hospital environment before moving to WorkCover Queensland where she held various roles in their statutory and common law divisions.

Having now moved into private practice, Michelle is a highly regarded and respected industry expert, with extensive experience in providing support and rehabilitation for catastrophic injuries and facilitating complex and challenging cases. She owns and operates Brisbane-based Occupational Consultants which employs a 15 Occupational Therapists and assistants.

Dr Sid O’Toole is an Occupational and Environmental Physician, providing expert advice on a wide range of issues relating to the health of workers and employers. His experience includes the development of best practice protocols for national and international operations for both private and government organisations.

As the current Chair of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine QLD Regional Committee, Sid is an advocate for evidence-based medicine and is a strong supporter of the ‘It Pays To Care’ —an initiative developed by the Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It is this drive to promote best practice that led Sid and his business partner, Dr Angus Forbes, to establish Phoenix Occupational Medicine in 2019.

As Sentis CEO, Anthony has worked with thousands of people, across hundreds of organisations globally, to develop safety culture solutions that support strategy and enable the person component to reach its full potential.

Anthony has been committed to the application of psychology to enhance human performance for over 20 years and his background as a psychologist managing addiction and chronic mental health treatment facilities has informed his cognitive-behavioural insight. Regarded as a dynamic facilitator and keynote speaker, Anthony has presented globally on safety, leadership, wellbeing and organisational performance.

With a strong background in research, data analysis, and policy advocacy, Dr Potter specialises in psychosocial factors and workplace safety. One of her current projects is a five-year undertaking at the Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory (PSC-GO)—a world-first research platform for managing national and international research on workplace psychosocial safety.

In addition to contributing to high-level journals and media outlets, Dr Potter has conducted extensive research on various aspects of workplace psychology, including national and international public policy analysis, leadership in psychosocial factors, and the impact of digital communication on work stress. Throughout all of her work and advocacy, she is committed to improving work-related psychological health and injury prevention.

Matt is a thermal physiologist, adjunct professor, former exercise scientist of the year, and has contributed to over 50 published papers and book chapters.

Prior to specialising in worker heat stress in 2010, Matt was the heat specialist of the Australian Olympic Team in the lead up to, and during, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He is Australia's pre-eminent occupational heat stress consultant, working across a wide range of industries to maximise the health, safety and performance of heat-exposed workers.

Jordana, a multi-talented keynote speaker, humourist, communications expert, author, and magician, brings dynamism, playfulness, and vibrancy to her presentations. She shares creativity, insights and learnings in an engaging and meaningful manner, inspiring audiences to feel excited, confident, and passionate about connecting, collaborating, communicating, and innovating in brand new ways.

Previously, Jordana served as a News Corp Australia journalist and worked at Nova Entertainment as an online music editor, content producer, and social media manager. She has authored two business-marketing books and an illustrated children's book.

Sharon has a background in Occupational Therapy, and serves as an Organisational Consultant and Mediator, while also being the Founding Director of Strive Occupational Rehabilitation. Drawing on over 25 years of consulting experience, she developed the M.A.G.I.C. model to assist businesses, teams, and individuals in rediscovering what makes work effective for them.

The ethos of early intervention underpins Sharon's work at Strive, wherein she advocates for workplaces to prioritise their people and make business decisions that promote the overall health and wellbeing of their workforce.

Nicole is a registered Occupational Therapist and Principal Advisor in the Psychological Health Unit at Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Nicole has 20 years' experience working in workplace mental health with a particular interest in psychological safety, employee support, injury management and early intervention.