Comcare - Australian Goverment

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Comcare - Australian Goverment

Putting you first at the centre of what we do. Keeping you healthy and safe at work. Supporting you when you are harmed at work. Ensuring your scheme works and is sustainable.

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Conference Program

Day 1 - Wednesday 22 September 2010

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10.00am - 11.00am	Registration
11.00am - 11.05am	Welcome to Country
11.05am - 11.15am	Conference opening Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company
11.15am - 11.25am	Facilitator welcome
11.25am - 12.00am	Opening address Paul O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Comcare
12.00pm - 12.45pm	Keynote speaker James Wunsch, Research Director, Colmar Brunton Voice of the injured worker Any type of injury can often present a high level of change and challenge. Comcare recently commissioned research to better understand the needs and complexities of harmed workers. From the initial injury, through to the recovery and return to work process, this session will highlight the key research findings and implications for Comcare and its premium paying agencies.
12.45pm - 1.30pm	Lunch
	Concurrent keynotes - steps back
1.30pm - 2.15pm	Dr Denise Keenan, Psychologist, Cognition Consulting A stitch in time Identifying and managing workplace issues associated with the return to work of an injured employee can be difficult. This session will canvass a range of issues that may be associated with implementing a return to work process for these workers where the return is not straightforward.	Steve Truman, General Manager, Rehabilitation and Compensation, TNT Express Communicating with your workers To enhance its injury prevention and management services, TNT Express developed a series of initiatives to increase awareness, provide better guidance and overall improve the health and safety of all their employees. This session will explore those initiatives through case studies and data analysis.
	Concurrent keynotes - hearing it
2.15pm - 3.00pm	Julia Collins, Branch Manager, Model Legislation, Safe Work Australia Sue McCubbin, Director of Education, Project Harmony Group, Comcare 1 January 2012 With the new Work Health and Safety Act coming into effect 1 January 2012, it is a significant milestone for all Australian workers. This session will give participants an overview of the harmonised laws and how the changes will affect both you and your organisation.	Greg Pople, Director of Project Service Excellence, Recovery and Support Group, Comcare Voice of the injured worker Any type of injury can often present a unique challenge. Comcare recently commissioned research to better understand the needs and complexities of harmed workers. This session will be in response to Colmar Brunton research and how Comcare is using these results to create a more citizen centric approach to the claims process.
3.00pm - 3.30pm	Afternoon tea
	in mind
3.30pm - 4.15pm	Keynote speaker Dr Rhonda Galbally AO, Chair, Disability Advisory Council of Victoria Creating opportunity in the community Dr Galbally will share her insights into social inclusion and the real-life challenges of disability in the workplace. She will also discuss general people management including engaging and working with an injured and/or disabled worker.
	Family
4.15pm - 5.00pm	Keynote speaker Kieren Perkins Living, loving and caring Kieren’s wife of 13 years, Symantha, has suffered chronic migraines since the age of five. With each of the births of their three children, Symantha’s condition deteriorated and has required significantly higher levels of intervention and care. Kieren will share his story of living, loving and caring for a family member with chronic pain.
5.30pm - 7.30pm	Conference cocktail party Kings Hall, Old Parliament House

Day 2 - Thursday 23 September 2010

8.00am	Registration
9.00am - 9.05am	Facilitator—day one recap and welcome to day two
	, let's talk
9.05am - 9.15am	Keynote speaker Professor Patrick McGorry AO, Executive Director, ORYGEN and 2010 Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry believes that early intervention offers the greatest hope for recovery and takes every opportunity to educate the community to recognise the early signs of mental illness, without stigmatising or discriminating. As a leading international researcher, clinician and advocate for youth mental health Professor McGorry will share his philosophy in discussion with Chief Executive Officer of Comcare Paul O’Connor.
9.15am - 10.00am	Keynote speaker John McGrath AM, Deputy Chairman, beyondblue The ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ of support Through hard hitting facts and confronting realities, John will discuss the difficulties and challenges of mental health and depression. Having had two sons who suffered from mental illness, John will share his personal experiences of identifying, caring and helping people overcome mental health issues.
10.00am - 10.30am	Morning tea
10.30am - 11.30am	Keynote speaker David Crosbie, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Council of Australia Surviving or thriving Is social inclusion about the marginalised or about the mainstream? Do we follow or do we lead? David will share his insights on mental health and its impact on the Australian workforce and wider community.
	Concurrent keynotes - , lend a hand
11.30am - 12.20pm	John Brady, Training Manager, OzhelpQLD Look out for your MATES OzHelp Queensland has developed a successful community based model for suicide prevention in the Queensland construction industry called Mates in Construction. In addition to this they also run the Life Skills Tool Box, developed by the Ozhelp Foundation in ACT. These programs focus on raising awareness of suicide behaviour in the workplace and building resilience against suicide behaviour.	Charmaine Smith, Manager, SANE Australia Mindful employer SANE Australia’s Mindful Employer initiative is helping businesses create a healthy, positive and supportive workplace by providing advice, information and referrals on mental health problems to employers and employees.
12.20pm - 1.00pm	Lunch
	Concurrent keynotes - Putting your mental wellbeing
1.00pm - 1.45pm	David Morton, Director General Mental Health, Psychology and Rehabilitation, Australian Defence Force Mental health in the Australian Defence Force In response to a mental health review undertaken in 2009 the Australian Defence Force created a Mental Health, Psychology and Rehabilitation branch. David will discuss how the creation of this branch brings the concepts of health and wellbeing together as a complete package, as well as its ongoing commitment to protecting and enhancing the health and wellbeing of Australia’s servicemen and women.	Fay Jackson, Director, Vision in Mind Managing the stress in claims With an increasing number of stress related workers’ compensation claims, do you know how to reduce the likelihood of these claims and how to manage stress in the overall workplace? If stress is intense, continuous and repeated, if the person is unable to cope, or if support is lacking, then stress can sometimes lead to physical illness and psychological disorders. This session will provide participants with tips and tools to manage stress in the workplace.
1.45pm - 2.15pm	Afternoon Tea
	hand account
2.15pm - 3.30pm	Panel discussion—disAbility in the workplace The panel will examine key strategies to engaging, including and inspiring employees with disability. • Graeme Innes AO – Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission • David Crosbie – Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Council of Australia • Faith Maddalena – Disability Coordinator Capability, Diversity and Individual Performance People Branch, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs • Nadine Flood – National Secretary, Community and Public Sector Union
3.30pm - 4.30pm	Keynote speaker Craig Hamilton A personal journey with bipolar disorder On the eve of the biggest undertaking of his career as broadcaster at the Sydney Olympics, Craig suffered a mental breakdown which almost ruined his career. In this presentation Craig will recall the journey that he took from denial of his illness, misdiagnosis, becoming unwell through to eventual acceptance and treatment.
7.00pm - 11.00pm	Gala dinner - 2010 Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission Awards The Great Hall, Parliament House

Day 3 - Friday 24 September 2010

8.00am	Registration
8.50am - 9.00am	Facilitator—day two recap and welcome to final day of conference
	Leading through people and support
9.00am - 9.45am	Keynote speaker Avril Henry Inspiring people through leadership Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. Each generation has different expectations of their workplace, managers and leaders. Avril will discuss how to understand and manage different cultural backgrounds, values and expectations. She will also discuss how communication differences between genders can impact on workplace culture and leadership effectiveness.
9.45am - 10.15am	Keynote speaker Nathan Smyth, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Health and Ageing Healthy worker initiative The Department of Health and Ageing have recently introduced an initiative—Healthy Workers—aimed at improving worker health. The program aims to reduce the risk of chronic disease by reducing the prevalence of obesity, improving nutrition and increasing levels of physical activity in adults, children and young people. This presentation will discuss how the states and territories will facilitate the implementation of programs in workplaces and how the department aims to roll out the new initiative nationally.
10.15am - 10.30am	Dr Peta Odgers, Director, Research Analysis Group, Comcare Healthy @ work, happy @ home The health and wellbeing in organisations goes beyond physical activity and health promotion programs. Strategies that focus on employee health, safety and wellbeing often influence and drive culture, innovation and performance. This presentation will showcase what government agencies are doing to encourage better health in people and the community.
10.30am - 11.00am	Morning tea
11:00am - 11:45am	Clayton Harrison, Health and Safety Manager, GHD SAFE you, SAFE me, SAFE GHD The GHD Safety Culture Program, SAFE You, SAFE Me, SAFE GHD is supported by the health and safety management system and creates the ideal platform for GHD to achieve its safety objectives. Clayton will share GHD’s journey to putting safety on the workplace map.	John Toomey, Managing Director, Life Balance Australasia It’s all about you Self responsibility, wellness and personal development—how to inspire people to be more responsible for their health and safety.
11.45am - 12.30pm	Olly Bridge, Regional Director, Global Corporate Challenge Fit for work, fit for life As the world continues to get more complicated, people appear to be losing their relationship with their bodies and the importance of exercise. This session will discuss some unique ideas of encouraging organisations can use to encourage their employees to get active and healthy.	Julie Perryman, Manager, Occupational Health and Safety, IP Australia. Health and wellbeing—the choice is yours IP Australia recognised that a number of factors were affecting the health and wellbeing of its workforce and adopted a holistic approach to managing, driving and improving the health and wellbeing of its employees. This session will provide you with tips and strategies for improving the health and wellbeing of your peers.
12:30pm - 2:00pm	Great Safety Debate luncheon Fit employees are unproductive! Workplaces provide a range of opportunities to encourage and support healthy and active lifestyles and to develop a culture that encourages participation in physical activity. What about your workplace—do they support fitness or flabber? In an entertaining format, this debate will discuss the productivity implications and/or health benefits of exercise during work hours and the direct affect it may have on ‘getting the job done’. Are fit employees unproductive? You decide. Team leaders Mikey Robins and Corrine Grant
2:00pm - 2:15pm	Close of conference