Workforce development forum 2026 | The Collaborative Centre

Thursday 11 June 2026

9.00 am - 4.30 pm

Pullman on the Park, East Melbourne

The Collaborative Centre invites you to ‘The Learning Workforce: Inspiring Practice Development in Mental Health’, a one-day forum bringing together mental health educators from across Victoria.

This day will focus on how we strengthen learning and development across the sector, and the role education plays in supporting meaningful practice change.

Through keynote sessions, workshops, and panel discussions, you will explore practical approaches to learning design, hear diverse perspectives, and consider how we respond to the evolving needs of mental health services.

Join colleagues from across the sector to exchange ideas, build connections, and be inspired to shape the future of mental health education in Victoria.

Program

Time	Foyer	Plenary	Breakout Room 1	Breakout Room 2
8.15 am — Registration & Exhibitor Area Opens
9.00 – 9.15 am		Welcome to Country Wurundjeri Council
9.15 – 9.30 am		Conference Opening & Housekeeping Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing
9.30 – 9.45 am		Opening Address Sarah Wilson, Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing
9.45 – 10.30 am		Keynote: Decolonising Workforce Development Shibs Sharpe, Royal Melbourne Hospital
10.30 – 11.00 am	MORNING TEA
11.00 – 11.35 am		Leadership for workforce development professionals Presentation: Leading Without Authority: Power Mapping & Communication Strategies for Victorian Clinical Educators Kathy Maggs, Austin Health	Centring Lived Experience 11.00 – 11.23 am Presentation: Developing a Framework for Supporting Employment of Lived Experience Educators into Health Professions Education Kirsty Morgan & Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula 11.25 – 11.48 am Presentation: Understanding Family Carer Lived Experience Discipline Work Using DF Fact Sheets Tandem, Annette Mercuri	Skills for workforce development professionals Presentation: From Clinical Expertise to Educational Excellence: Embedding Instructional Design in Mental Health Workforce Education Carolyn Porter, Monash Health
11.35 – 11.40 am	Session Change Over
11.40 am – 12.15 pm		Leadership for workforce development professionals Presentation: AI & Ethics in Health & Workforce Development Shaminka Mangelsdorf, Orygen	Centring Lived Experience 11.50 am – 12.15 pm Co-producing workforce education: the New Perspectives college model Andrew Foster & John Vokuan, Bayside Alfred	Skills for workforce development professionals 11.40 – 11.57 am Presentation: Considering Evaluations First, Not Last Ivana Vargovic, Monash Health 11.57 am – 12.15 pm Presentation: From Objectives to Outcomes — Standardising Evaluation Across Formal Learning Activities Lisa Soares, Royal Melbourne Hospital
12.15 – 1.15 pm	LUNCH
1.15 – 2.15 pm		Leadership for workforce development professionals Presentation: Strengthening Our Educator Workforce — A Framework-Driven Approach to Capability and Growth Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula	Centring Lived Experience Panel Discussion: Rethinking Culture and Diversity in Education Facilitator: Niharika Hiremath, Solis Panel Members: Manal Shehab, SHARC Malitha Perera, Wellways Avalon Tissue, Foundation House Moisis Moisis, VCCMHW	Skills for workforce development professionals Presentation: From Idea to Impact — A Statewide Snapshot of Research Capacity and Priorities Among Victoria’s Mental Health Workforce Educators Alex Kearney, Royal Melbourne Hospital
2.15 – 2.45 pm	AFTERNOON TEA
2.45 – 4.00 pm		Powerful Storytelling for Workforce Development: with Three Sides of the Coin Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC)
4.00 – 4.15 pm		Closing Remarks Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing
4.15 – 5.15 pm	Networking & Refreshments

8.15 am — Registration & Exhibitor Area Opens

9.00 – 9.15 am

Plenary

Welcome to Country

Wurundjeri Council

9.15 – 9.30 am

Plenary

Conference Opening & Housekeeping

Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing

9.30 – 9.45 am

Plenary

Opening Address

Sarah Wilson, Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing

9.45 – 10.30 am

Plenary

Keynote: Decolonising Workforce Development

Shibs Sharpe, Royal Melbourne Hospital

10.30 – 11.00 am — Morning Tea

11.00 – 11.35 am

Plenary Leadership for workforce development professionals

Leading Without Authority: Power Mapping & Communication Strategies for Victorian Clinical Educators

Kathy Maggs, Austin Health

Breakout Room 1 Centring Lived Experience

11.00 – 11.23 am

Developing a Framework for Supporting Employment of Lived Experience Educators into Health Professions Education

Kirsty Morgan & Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula

11.25 – 11.48 am

Understanding Family Carer Lived Experience Discipline Work Using DF Fact Sheets

Tandem, Annette Mercuri

Breakout Room 2 Skills for workforce development professionals

From Clinical Expertise to Educational Excellence: Embedding Instructional Design in Mental Health Workforce Education

Carolyn Porter, Monash Health

11.35 – 11.40 am — Session Change Over

11.40 am – 12.15 pm

Plenary Leadership for workforce development professionals

AI & Ethics in Health & Workforce Development

Shaminka Mangelsdorf, Orygen

Breakout Room 1 Centring Lived Experience

11.50 am – 12.15 pm

Co-producing workforce education: the New Perspectives college model

Andrew Foster & John Vokuan, Bayside Alfred

Breakout Room 2 Skills for workforce development professionals

11.40 – 11.57 am

Considering Evaluations First, Not Last

Ivana Vargovic, Monash Health

11.57 am – 12.15 pm

From Objectives to Outcomes — Standardising Evaluation Across Formal Learning Activities

Lisa Soares, Royal Melbourne Hospital

12.15 – 1.15 pm — Lunch

1.15 – 2.15 pm

Plenary Leadership for workforce development professionals

Strengthening Our Educator Workforce — A Framework-Driven Approach to Capability and Growth

Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula

Breakout Room 1 Centring Lived Experience

Rethinking Culture and Diversity in Education

Facilitator: Niharika Hiremath, Solis Panel: Manal Shehab (SHARC), Malitha Perera (Wellways), Avalon Tissue (Foundation House), Moisis Moisis (VCCMHW)

Breakout Room 2 Skills for workforce development professionals

From Idea to Impact — A Statewide Snapshot of Research Capacity and Priorities Among Victoria's Mental Health Workforce Educators

Alex Kearney, Royal Melbourne Hospital

2.15 – 2.45 pm — Afternoon Tea

2.45 – 4.00 pm

Plenary

Powerful Storytelling for Workforce Development: with Three Sides of the Coin

Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC)

4.00 – 4.15 pm

Plenary

Closing Remarks

Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing

4.15 – 5.15 pm — Networking & Refreshments

_{This free event is for staff employed as educators in the Victorian state-funded mental health sector.}