WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES CONFERENCE 2026

DAY 1 - TUESDAY 5 MAY

8am – Registration

9am – Acknowledgement of Country
Ganga Giri, Queen Acknowledgements

9.10am – Conference open – day 1
Maddy Harradence, Secretary, ANMF (Vic Branch)

9.15am – Conference welcome

9.20am – What is clinical forensic medicine?
Elizabeth Mackie, Clinical Forensic Medicine Nurse Manager, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

10.05am – Gold sponsor address: HESTA

10.10am – Morning tea

10.40am – Positive impact of the 100,000 Lives program
Louise McKinlay, Chief Executive Officer, Safer Care Victoria, Victorian Department of Health

11.10am – The Standing Together Against Racism report
Giridharan Sivaraman, Race Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Michael Whaites, Assistant General Secretary, The New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA)

11.40am – Empowering care: the importance of digital health in nursing and midwifery
Karen Booth, Chief Clinical Adviser (Nursing), the Australian Digital Health Agency

12.15pm – Lunch

1.05 – 1.30pm – Concurrent sessions 1

1A – Nursing – Trilogy room – Reducing ventriculostomy-associated infection in neurosurgical patients
Carly Rienecker, RN, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital City Campus, Lecturer, Monash University

1B – Maternity – Fairmont 1 – Victorian Maternity Taskforce – an update on the recommendations arising from the taskforce
Nicole Allan, Assistant Secretary, ANMF (Vic Branch)
Elisa McDonald, Senior Maternity Advisor – Governance, Strategy & Research Branch Safer Care Victoria

1C – Public health – Ballroom – The bedside to the boardroom: a framework for impact, influence, and value in leadership
Arun Thomas, experienced Non-Executive Director and Registered Nurse Leader, University Fellow – Charles Darwin University, Honorary Adjunct Clinical Associate – Adelaide University

1D – Digital health – Fairmont 2 – Approaching refusal of care in the virtual space
Dr Marija Kirjanenko, Emergency Physician, Victorian Virtual Emergency Department and Box Hill Hospital Clinical Ethicist, Plunkett Centre for Ethics

1.35 – 2pm – Concurrent sessions 2

2A & 3A – Nursing – Ballroom – Panel: Nursing horizons – career paths and possibilities
Elena Sunderland, Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Nurse Consultant, The Royal Children’s Hospital
Denise Fracchia, Transplant Clinical Nurse Consultant, Western Health (recently retired), Sunshine Hospital
Dr Dianne Crellin, Nurse Practitioner, Royal Children’s Hospital, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing, University of Melbourne
Jarryd Walkley, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Nurse Coordinator, Austin Health

2B – Midwifery – Fairmont 1 – Postpartum haemorrhage evaluation
Isabella Kelly, Acting Manager Maternity and newborn improvement team, Safer Care Victoria

2C & 3C – Nursing – Trilogy room – Forced, tricked, trapped: the role of healthcare in fighting modern slavery
Eve Wintergreen, RN and Emergency Department Care Coordinator, Modern Slavery Project Manager, St Vincent’s Health Australia
Tarang Jain, Modern Slavery Liaison Officer and Group Procurement Specialist, ESG, St Vincent’s Health Australia

2D – Digital health – Fairmont 2 – Digital health: an update on ANMF strategy
Alice Kett, Strategic Lead, Education, Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation

2.05 – 2.30pm – Concurrent sessions 3

3B – Mental health – Fairmont 1 – Postnatal women’s engagement and experience of their participation in the Barwon Health ‘Mental Health Hospital in the Home’ program
Jessica Pollard, Registered Nurse, Barwon Health
Judith Foord, Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Barwon Health Mental Health Hospital in the Home

3D – OHS – Fairmont 2 – HSR panel
Claire King, Senior WHS Policy Officer, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
Marita Wilson, Registered Nurse, ED, Central Gippsland Health Service
Jessica Adams, Clinical Nurse Specialist, ED, Central Gippsland Health
Mary MacGregor, Registered Nurse, Hospital in the Home, Albury Wodonga Health

2.30pm – Afternoon tea

2.55pm – Coroner’s process
Ingrid Giles, Victorian Coroner, Coroners Court of Victoria
Elizabeth Mackie, Clinical Forensic Medicine Nurse Manager, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

3.40pm – Navigating the river – exploring the Franklin River rescue
Dr Jorian Kippax, Emergency and Hyperbaric Medicine Specialist, Royal Hobart Hospital

4.20pm – Conference close – day 1

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY 6 MAY

8am – Registration

9am – Conference open – day 2

9.05am – Designated Registered Nurse Prescribing: from policy reform to practice
Marie Gerdtz, Dean, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University

9.45am – This is what it takes to change the world: looking back at abortion access in Victoria
Dr Jo Wainer AM NEM PhD, former Adjunct Associate Professor, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University and retired academic

10.30am – Silver sponsor address – Aware Super

10.35am – Morning tea

11.05 – 11.30am – Concurrent sessions 4

4A – Nursing – Fairmont combined – RUSON and transition to practice: what helps, what hinders, and why early exposure isn't a simple advantage
Sarah (Seung A) Park, PhD candidate, University of South Australia, Nursing Lecturer, Swinburne University

4B – Midwifery – Library – What is ‘physiological birth’? The findings of the PRIMROSE Project
Dr Brooke Henshall, Acting Midwifery Research Manager, Mercy Hospital for Women

4C – Mental health – Trilogy room – Neurodivergence and early motherhood: individualising infant care support in the MBU
Laura Hill, Associate Nurse Unit Manager, Mother Baby Unit (MBU), Mercy Mental Health

4D – Digital health – Ballroom – Continuous learning: why your voice is important to improving digital health
Thomas Kitt-Thompson, Senior Inpatient Clinical Informatics Officer, Inpatient Services, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

11.35 – 12pm – Concurrent sessions 5

5A – Nursing – Fairmont combined – Women’s Health Mobile Clinic – bringing vital healthcare services to women in regional Victoria
Louise Holland, Registered Nurse Midwife, Bendigo Community Health Services, Central
Elise Kornmann, Nurse Counsellor, BreastScreen Victoria

5B – Midwifery – Library – Sensitive, not silent: building brave and confidential spaces for sexual health in maternity care
Professor Marjan Khajehei, Senior Research Manager, Mental Health Service, Sydney Local Health District, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney

5C – Mental Health – Ballroom – Reflecting through menopause: the MIRROR cycle for supporting mental health, wellbeing and workforce sustainability in nursing
Professor Rhonda Wilson RN CMHN FACMHN PhD, Professor of Mental Health Nursing – RMIT University, President of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses

5D – Digital health – Trilogy room– The new face of compassion: end-of-life care in a digital world
Dr Priyanka Vandersman, Registered Nurse and Senior Research Fellow, Flinders University

12.05pm – Keeping nurses nursing – the importance of mentoring and supervision
Adjunct Associate Professor Jo Mapes, Deputy Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery, Western Health

12.45pm – Lunch

1.25pm – Beyond the bedside: nurses and midwives at the heart of humanitarian relief
Christine Murphy, Midwife, Frances Perry House
Alexandra Ryan, Quality and Risk Manager and midwife, Frances Perry House
Jasmine Dilley, Registered Nurse and Midwife, South West Healthcare
Ruth Jebb, Emergency Nurse, Queensland Health
Kim Anna Kroneseter, Paediatric Nurse, Mercy Ship

2.10pm – Recreating safe and sacred maternity care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents
Professor Catherine Chamberlain, Head, Indigenous Health Equity Unit, University of Melbourne, Chief Midwifery Officer, The Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives
Sophie Cameron, Director, Maternity Services, Royal Women's Hospital

2.55pm – Challenging the stigma around dementia diagnoses
Jim Rogers, co-host of Dementia Australia’s podcast Hold the Moment

3.40pm – Conference close – day 2