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 | Breakout Room 1 | Breakout Room 2 | Plenary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.15 am — Registration & Exhibitor Area Opens | ||||
| 9.00 – 9.15 am | Welcome to Country Wurundjeri Council |
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| 9.15 – 9.30 am | Conference Opening & Housekeeping Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing |
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| 9.30 – 9.45 am | Opening Address Sarah Wilson, Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing |
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| 9.45 – 10.30 am | Keynote: Decolonising Workforce Development Shibs Sharpe, Royal Melbourne Hospital |
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| 10.30 – 11.00 am — MORNING TEA | ||||
| 11.00 – 11.35 am | 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 |
Presentation: From Clinical Expertise to Educational Excellence: Embedding Instructional Design in Mental Health Workforce Education Carolyn Porter, Monash Health |
Presentation: Leading Without Authority: Power Mapping & Communication Strategies for Victorian Clinical Educators Kathy Maggs, Austin Health |
|
| 11.35 – 11.40 am | Session Change Over | |||
| 11.40 am – 12.15 pm | 11.50 am – 12.15 pm Presentation: The Carer Journey — A Lived Experience Tool for Workforce Education Lisa Romanin, Royal Melbourne Hospital |
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 Rebecca Mackay, Royal Melbourne Hospital |
Presentation: AI & Ethics in Health & Workforce Development Shaminka Mangelsdorf, Orygen |
|
| 12.15 – 1.15 pm — LUNCH | ||||
| 1.15 – 2.15 pm | Panel Discussion: Rethinking Culture and Diversity in Education Facilitators: Karen McKnight — Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing Kerrie Clarke — Mercy Health Panel Members: Niharika Hiremath, Solis Manal Shehab, SHARC Malitha Perera, Wellways Avalon Tissue, Foundation House |
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 |
Presentation: Strengthening Our Educator Workforce — A Framework-Driven Approach to Capability and Growth Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula |
|
| 2.15 – 2.45 pm — AFTERNOON TEA | ||||
| 2.45 – 4.00 pm | Performance: Three Sides of the Coin — Gambling Harm Project Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) |
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| 4.00 – 4.15 pm | Closing Remarks Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing |
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| 4.15 – 5.15 pm — Networking & Refreshments | ||||
8.15 am — Registration & Exhibitor Area Opens
9.00 – 9.15 am
Welcome
Plenary
Welcome to Country
Wurundjeri Council
9.15 – 9.30 am
Opening
Plenary
Conference Opening & Housekeeping
Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing
9.30 – 9.45 am
Opening
Plenary
Opening Address
Sarah Wilson, Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing
9.45 – 10.30 am
Keynote
Plenary
Decolonising Workforce Development
Shibs Sharpe, Royal Melbourne Hospital
10.30 – 11.00 am — MORNING TEA
11.00 – 11.23 am
Presentation
Breakout Room 1
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
Breakout Room 1
Understanding Family Carer Lived Experience Discipline Work Using DF Fact Sheets
Tandem, Annette Mercuri
11.00 – 11.35 am
Presentation
Breakout Room 2
From Clinical Expertise to Educational Excellence: Embedding Instructional Design in Mental Health Workforce Education
Carolyn Porter, Monash Health
11.00 – 11.35 am
Presentation
Plenary
Leading Without Authority: Power Mapping & Communication Strategies for Victorian Clinical Educators
Kathy Maggs, Austin Health
11.35 – 11.40 am — Session Change Over
11.50 am – 12.15 pm
Presentation
Breakout Room 1
The Carer Journey — A Lived Experience Tool for Workforce Education
Lisa Romanin, Royal Melbourne Hospital
11.40 – 11.57 am
Presentation
Breakout Room 2
Considering Evaluations First, Not Last
Ivana Vargovic, Monash Health
11.57 am – 12.15 pm
Presentation
Breakout Room 2
From Objectives to Outcomes — Standardising Evaluation Across Formal Learning Activities
Rebecca Mackay, Royal Melbourne Hospital
11.40 am – 12.15 pm
Presentation
Plenary
AI & Ethics in Health & Workforce Development
Shaminka Mangelsdorf, Orygen
12.15 – 1.15 pm — LUNCH
1.15 – 2.15 pm
Panel Discussion
Breakout Room 1
Rethinking Culture and Diversity in Education
Facilitators: Karen McKnight (VCCMHW), Kerrie Clarke (Mercy Health)
Panel: Niharika Hiremath (Solis), Manal Shehab (SHARC), Malitha Perera (Wellways), Avalon Tissue (Foundation House)
1.15 – 2.15 pm
Presentation
Breakout Room 2
From Idea to Impact — A Statewide Snapshot of Research Capacity and Priorities Among Victoria’s Mental Health Workforce Educators
Alex Kearney, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1.15 – 2.15 pm
Presentation
Plenary
Strengthening Our Educator Workforce — A Framework-Driven Approach to Capability and Growth
Stuart Wall, Bayside Peninsula
2.15 – 2.45 pm — AFTERNOON TEA
2.45 – 4.00 pm
Performance
Plenary
Three Sides of the Coin — Gambling Harm Project
Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC)
4.00 – 4.15 pm
Closing
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.