AHEIA Conference 2026 | Program Day Two
9:20am - 9:30am
Luke Sheehy
CEO, Universities Australia
Keynote | Update from Universities Australia
More to come
Grand Ballroom
9:30am - 10:10am
Moderator | Vivienne Hardy
Partner, KPMG
Panel | Governance
More to come
Panel includes:
- Professor Alex Zelinsky, AO, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Newcastle
- Luke Sheehy, CEO, Universities Australia
- Craig Laughton, Executive Director, AHEIA
Grand Ballroom
10:10am - 10:30am
Morning Tea and Networking
Please join us in the foyer to network with your colleagues and enjoy morning tea.
Grand Ballroom Foyer
10:30am - 11:10am
Brendan Pearce & Nicholas Hyde
Southern Cross University
Rewriting the EB Rulebook - AHEIA Award Winner
read more
Grand Ballroom 1-3
10:30am - 11:10am
Melinda Simpson, Curtin
Olga Klimczack, HSF Kramer
Navigating Psychosocial Risk Assessments: A Practical Approach
read more
Grand Ballroom 4
10:30am - 11:10am
Sallyann Shearer
Flinders University
Taboos, Tensions and Talent: Menopause as the Next IR Priority
read more
Grand Ballroom 5
11:15am - 11:55am
Josh Forrest
KPMG
From Heroics to Architecture: Designing How Universities Carry People Risk and Complexity
read more
Grand Ballroom 1-3
11:15am - 11:55am
Fletcher Trowse
KPMG
From Constant Change to Confident Change
read more
Grand Ballroom 4
11:15am - 11:55am
Tara Waller and Mat Lewis
RMIT
From Barriers to Belonging: Rethinking Workplace Adjustments in Higher Education
read more
Grand Ballroom 5
12:00pm - 12:40pm
Martyn Campbell
Adelaide University
Psychosocial safety from a regulatory perspective
read more
Grand Ballroom 4
12:00pm - 12:40pm
Shaun Brown & Sophie Andrews
Southern Cross University
Turning Theory into Practice: Implementing a Critical Risk Framework in Higher Education
read more
Grand Ballroom 5
12:40pm - 1:40pm
Lunch and Networking
Please join us to network with your colleagues and enjoy lunch.
Grand Ballroom Foyer
1:40pm - 2:20pm
Deakin University
Leadership Team
Panel | Beyond the Box: A Job Framework Story
How a tool to support change at scale has evolved to enable strategic workforce design.
Session highlights:
- See how a job framework brings your people processes together and shapes how work is designed.
- Understand how it sits within the broader People Strategy, connecting related frameworks into a coherent whole.
- Explore how this creates clarity, fairness and alignment to capability in practice.
- Hear what it takes to bring it to life at scale, and what we’ve learned along the way.
Grand Ballroom
2:20pm - 3:00pm
John Dewar, AO
Partner, KordaMentha
Keynote | Closing Address
More to come
Grand Ballroom
3:00pm - 5:30pm
Closing Drinks
Closing drinks and canapés will be served on the Grand Ballroom Balcony. Grand Ballroom 4 will also be available for those who prefer an indoor location, with access via the balcony or foyer. In the event of poor weather, closing drinks and canapés will move indoors to Grand Ballroom 4.
read more
Grand Ballroom Balcony
Disclaimer: This conference program is confirmed at the date of marketing. However, AHEIA reserves the right to make changes to this program at any time as circumstances dictate. Speakers and topics were confirmed at the time of publishing; however, circumstances beyond the control of organisers may necessitate substitution, alternation, or cancellations of the speakers and/or topic. Every effort will be made to ensure any unavoidable changes provide a program of equivalent standard and value.