The 2nd Annual OZ Workers’ Compensation Conference 2026 brings together senior leaders from employers, insurers, regulators, legal experts, healthcare providers and workplace safety professionals to explore the future of workers’ compensation in Australia. Workers’ compensation in Australia is currently undergoing significant structural, financial, and legislative turbulence, primarily driven by a massive rise in psychological injury claims and the resulting strain on the financial sustainability of state schemes, particularly in New South Wales (NSW). Key issues in 2025-2026 involve rising claim costs, difficult return-to-work rates for mental health cases, and major reforms that seek to tighten eligibility.
As organisations face rising psychological injury claims, increasing regulatory scrutiny, workforce transformation, evolving legal frameworks and rapid advances in technology and AI, the workers’ compensation landscape is
undergoing significant change. This conference provides a unique platform to examine emerging trends, share practical strategies and collaborate on solutions that improve recovery outcomes, workplace wellbeing and claims performance.
Over two days, delegates will gain valuable insights into regulatory reforms, psychosocial risk management, claims excellence, return-to-work innovation, governance, fraud prevention, technology adoption and the future of workplace health and safety
EXHIBITORRegistration and Networking
Opening remarks from the Chair
CATERINA MAKARI
Workplace Health, Safety & Wellbeing Leader, Accor
• Addressing the rise in psychosocial claims
• Factoring in the time required to work through claims process
• Meeting the demands of increasing legal involvement
• Using innovation and technology to tackle an evolving and challenging environment
• Views on AI’s addition as a psychosocial risk factor
• Policy directions beyond 2026 cross jurisdictions
MODERATOR:
RACHAEL FORD
Advocacy Lead, It Pays To Care
PANEL MEMBERS:
DR TESSA BAILEY
CEO, OPUS Centre
CELIA ANTONOVSKY
Director, Risk and Safety, GHD
DANIELLE TANSU
Senior Injury Management Advisor NSW/ACT, Westrac Cat
Psychosocial factors are now the dominant force shaping return-to-work outcomes in Australia, yet across the system most practitioners are still responding reactively rather than by design. This session brings the It Pays to Care evidence base to life for every professional with a stake in recovery outcomes, offering fresh perspectives and practical insights whether you work in compensation, rehabilitation, allied health, legal practice, HR, safety, or policy. Rachael will unpack how compensation system design, workplace culture, clinical care, and personal factors intersect, and where each profession in the room holds genuine leverage to improve outcomes. Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of what a fairer, more efficient, and a more human injury system looks like, and practical steps to move their own corner of it in that direction.
10.30 Morning tea and networking
This presentation will describe a major national study in which the Monash research team has worked collaboratively with people with lived experience of workers compensation claims to:
• Identify and describe policies and practices that adversely impact workers
• Develop solutions that address those challenges
• Test those solutions in computational models of workers compensation systems
PROF ALEX COLLIE
Director Healthy Working Lives Research Group, Division of Health Systems, Services and Policy, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Monash University
Needless disability is the main driver of preventable cost and duration in illness and injury. Rehabilitation frameworks that rely on the medical model for permission setting, such as workers' compensation, are at particular risk. In this session, Dr Prasad will demonstrate how the Qantas Group uses a biopsychosocial approach to complex illness and injury management that positions the worker and their manager as collaborators in return to work. He will explain that by using narrative therapy approaches to retell the story of complex illness or injury through the worker and manager, return to work outcomes are optimized and how this humanistic approach is built on nine rehabilitation factors and five moral safety factors.
DR PETER PRASAD
Head of Workplace Health & Safety, Qantas Group
Managing psychological injury claims requires a careful balance of empathy, evidence-based practice and recovery-focused
decision-making. This session explores what genuinely supports recovery, examining the role of targeted interventions, workplace
engagement, recovery programs and effective claims management. Attendees will gain practical insights into navigating sensitive claims,
overcoming barriers to recovery and supporting sustainable return to work outcomes.
MICHAEL CORRIGAN
Programs & Return to Work Manager, Personal Injury & Commercial, Allianz Australia Workers Compensation (NSW)
BONNIE RYAN
Acting Programs and Initiatives Specialist, Allianz Australia Workers Compensation (NSW)
13.00 Lunch and networking
• Reviewing risk management strategies to meet rising challenges
• Meeting risk compliance obligations and standards requirements
• Regular Monitoring and reporting on workplace safety risk
JOANNE BARTLEY
Head of prevention and education, Icare
• Developments in strategic shifts from reactive, transactional processes to proactive, person-centred models
• Focus on early intervention and documentation best practice
• Clearly identifying employer v insurer responsibilities
• Towards seamless end to end claims lifecycle management
MODERATOR:
CRYSTAL HORNSEY
National Workers Compensation Claims Specialist
PANEL MEMBERS:
DANIELLE TANSU
Senior Injury Management Advisor NSW/ACT, Westrac Cat
OLGA NOWICKA
Manager Claims Workers Compensation, NSW Police Force
VESNA VUJADINOVIC
Director of KPMG’s National Claims and Workplace Health practice Lead, KPMG
15:20 AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING
In the context of significant legislative reform, the interplay between employment law concepts and workers compensation rights is front of mind. It is more important than ever for employers to implement rigorous processes for addressing performance and conduct concerns within the workplace, and to collaborate with claims managers to ensure that claims are investigated and determined within tight timeframes.
Natasha and Miriam will speak to best practice management of conduct and performance concerns in the workplace, and how to
approach workers compensation claims, should they arise from that process.
MIRIAM BROWNE
Partner, Turks Legal
NATASHA SIM
Partner, Turks Legal
DR FRANCESCO PAOLUCCI
Scholar and Advisor. Professor of Health Economics and Policy,
University of Newcastle & University of Bologna
10.55 MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING
Closing remarks from the Chair
17.40 End of Day One
17.45 Networking drinks
Registration and Networking
Opening remarks from the Chair
MAKA KAMA
Chief Purpose Officer, Alliance Community Group
Everyone is talking about psychosocial risk. .Few organisations are actually reducing psychological injuries. With new regulations, growing compliance demands and an endless stream of advice, many employers are investing heavily in psychosocial risk management—but seeing little real world impact on injury rates.
This session moves beyond theory, compliance and awareness programs to answer one critical question: What genuinely prevents psychological harm at work?
Drawing on real-world case studies from leading organisations, David will share practical examples of how a systems- basd approach to work design, leadership capability, risk management and improving employee’s experience of work have delivered:
• Significant reductions in psychological injury claims
• Improved employee wellbeing and engagement
• Better organisational performance outcomes
• Stronger return on investment from prevention initiatives
DAVID BURROUGHS
Founder, Australian Psychological Services (APS)
Recent psychosocial safety reforms are sharpening expectations that organisations can demonstrate not simply that activity has occurred, but that risks are understood, priorities are reasoned and action is proportionate. Drawing on Yarra Trams as a passenger transport case study, this presentation examines how a systems-led approach can make visible the value of work already underway, establish an evidence-based view of the organisation’s current position, identify material gaps and opportunities for early progress, and translate those findings into a reasonably practicable and defensible roadmap aligned with broader operational and strategic priorities.
DR ANGIE MONTGOMERY
MD and Founder, SafeMinds
10.30 MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING
• Worker outcomes are declining despite national effort, highlighting limitations of traditional injury management approaches and the need for a fundamentally different model of early intervention (Safe Work Australia, NRTW Strategy Year 6 Key Achievements and Scorecard Report, 2026).
• Early intervention must move beyond “early reporting” to a proactive, tailored, and outcome-driven model that actively prevents injury escalation.
• Proactive work conditioning: screening of physical and psychosocial risk factors, then tailored to individual needs (upper limb, lower limb, or lumbar spine) to optimise outcomes and deliver measurable ROI
• Metcash will share practical insights from implementing an evidence-based, risk-stratified early intervention model, aligning pathway care to support both physical and mental health outcomes.
MEG TECSON
Group Manager - Health and Injury Management, Metcash
DR DAVID BRENTNALL
Managing Director, Axis
• AI use cases
• Human v machine decision making
• Predictive analytics for injury prevention
• How technology is changing the role of the claims manager
TRISTAN COX
Head of AI, APAC Workato
Today’s central pillars in modern workers' compensation frameworks include, shifting the focus from mere insurance claims to proactive and collaborative health management and workplace safety. This session will bring together industry stakeholders to discuss how
collaboration and shared responsibility is making significant inroads into improving outcomes for claimants.
MIRIAM BROWNE
Partner, Turks Legal
REBECCA SEKULOVSKI
Chairperson, NSW Self Insurers Association
Lecturer, UTS ,Sydney Business School
13.00 LUNCH AND NETWORKING
• Leadership commitment
• Aligning WHS obligations with solid risk management frameworks
• Understanding psychosocial hazards- workload, bullying/harassment, poor change management
MODERATOR:
DHEISHA PILLAY
Workers Compensation Specialist, Anglicare
PANEL MEMBERS:
DR WENDY MULLER
Centre for Work, Organisation & Wellbeing (WOW), Registered Psychologist, Griffith University
ELINDA HARTIN
Partner & Principal Psychologist, APS
ANDREW DOUGLAS
MD, FML Lawyers
• Integrating safety into the strategic, operational, and cultural fabric of an organization,
• Moving beyond simple compliance to proactive risk management
• Setting the tone at the top
• Employing thorough safety education
• AI regulation and governance
DR TESSA BAILEY
CEO, OPUS Centre
• Benefits in establishing a multi-disciplinary approach early
• Encouraging open communication between doctors, psychologists, employers, and claims managers
• Addressing both physical and psychological injuries simultaneously
• Interdisciplinary approach that integrates care through shared goals, structured communication
• Clear role definitions
• Best practices including a collocated team with regular team meetings
• Utilising electronic medical records to ensure continuous information exchange
MODERATOR:
KELLY RYAN-BROWN
Founder, RRP Partners
PANEL MEMBERS:
KATE SAVAGE
Manager, People Support and Rehabilitation, Department of Industry, Science and Resources
TIM MCKEOWN
Workers Compensation Specialist, Rehab Management
SAM EDDEEN
Business Manager, Workcover hub;
Closing remarks from the Chair
End of conference
