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SEGRA Foundation

Speakers

Adam Mostogl
Alain Pillay
Andrew Ward
Angus M Robinson
Arlie Hollindale
Ayine Nigo
Ben Artup
Ben Beeton
Ben Fee
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Bernadette McCabe
Brett Hall
Caroline Falkiner
Cate Gilpin
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Claire Moore
Clayton Neil
Denise Gallanagh-Wood
Estella Rodighiero
Garth Hamilton MP
Geoff Woolcock
George Wilkinson
Greg Bowden
Griffin Longley
Helen Burrell
Jacki Steel
Joshua Rayner
Kate Shaw
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Kerry Grace
Hon Kristy McBain
Jamie Ferguson
Janine Dayman
Justine Linley
Karen Strange
Kate Venables
Lidewij Koene
Liz Thomas
Luke Sinclair
Cr Mathew Dickerson
Matt Schultz
Melinda Jones
Melina Morrison
Mia Davies
Michael Hampson
Michael Livingston
Miranda Edwards
Natalie Brownning SEGRA Speaker
Natalie Egleton
Paul Sloman
Peter Homan
Pip Kirby
Prince Long Lo
Rachel Livingston
Rachel Whiting
Robert Prestipino
Dr Saleena Ham
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Susan Lee
Tegan Plant
Toni Kely-Brown
Tristan Shelley
Vicky Meyer
Yvette Adams

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SEGRA acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.

Important Dates

26 March, 2024 Parliament House Canberra

29 – 31 October, 2024 Busselton

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Adam Mostogl

Adam Mostogl

In any given week, Adam Mostogl might be helping entrepreneurs to kick-start their business ideas, stimulating small businesses to challenge the status quo, challenging communities to understand their potential or teaching hundreds of students to embrace innovation to solve the problems of the future.

Adam is passionate about embracing creative and innovation solutions that underpin individual growth, business success and community transformation. As the CEO & Chief Entrepreneur at The van Diemen Project, he leads a team where this is the focus every single day, and he is often found meeting with individuals and organisations to add his experience and skills to develop change for the better. This passion comes from his work with young people through illuminate Education Australia, where as the Founder / Inspirer, Adam is the lead facilitator of the programs that have impacted over 19,500 students from over 260 schools across Australia, which focuses on addressing the community’s largest challenges by empowering students to be confident, creative and capable. Adam is also proudly the facilitator and mentor behind The Shift Lab | Tasmania’s First Social Impact Incubator, reflecting his passion and skill in this space to drive new social enterprises in Tasmania.

These skills have been showcased through being selected by the US State Department in 2017 to undertake a study tour around innovation ecosystems and social enterprise, and being selected to participate in the UNLEASH Global Innovation Lab, the world’s largest innovation process focused on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals as a participant (in 2018 in Singapore) and a facilitator (in 2019 in Shenzhen and 2022 in Mysore, India), as well as contributing to global impact through forums such as the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. Adam’s impact has been acknowledged through being a finalist in the Probono Australia’s Impact 25 in 2018, listed in Australia’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 in 2017 and being a finalist for Young Australian of the Year in 2015.

And while he is busy with these commitments, Adam is passionate about his home state of Tasmania where he lives with his wife Jessi and three sons (Timothy, Zachariah and Joel) and the impact he can make through his local community.

Alain Pillay

Alain Pillay

Alain has over 25 years experience in economics, corporate finance and strategy development. He has worked across a number of sectors including agriculture, water reform, transportation (road, rail, aviation and ports), as well as health, telecommunications and financial services. He currently sits on the Federal Government’s Fight Food Waste CRC Board and is chair of the Audit Committee.

He has developed and reviewed regulatory pricing frameworks for water and energy utilities and has assisted in negotiation of regulatory market approaches to contracting in the rail, port, mining and sugar sectors. He has overseen a number economic cost benefit analyses and preparation of regulatory compliance submissions across the health, natural resources and water sectors.

Alain has successful experience in high profile contentious projects such as the Phase II Federal Airport Privatisation program (bid side demand modelling), Condamine-Balonne Socio-Economic Assessment (State and Community side) and the Tully Sugar Mill acquisition by COFCO Corporation Limited. Alain has also worked with Energex, Brisbane City Council, Wesfarmers, Queensland Rail, Port of Brisbane Corporation, Newcastle Port Authority, and ELGWB on water pricing, regulatory pricing advice and/or capital structuring advice.

Andrew Ward

Andrew Ward

 

 

Angus M Robinson

Angus M Robinson

An exploration geologist by profession, Angus established Leisure Solutions® in 1993 and joined Ecotourism Australia (EA) as a member. Since 2011, he has led geotourism development for the Geological Society of Australia, establishing EA’s Geotourism Forum, and is now serving in a pro-bono capacity as the Coordinator, National Geotourism Strategy for the Australian Geoscience Council, that represents Australia’s eight main geoscience societies. He has also led geotourism sessions at annual SEGRA conferences since 2015.

Prior to 2008, Angus was engaged in leadership roles relating to various major tourism attractions (Taronga and Western Plains Zoos, Mt Hotham Alpine Resort), technology diffusion through The Warren Centre of Advanced Engineering, technology park development, and as Chief Executive of a major high-tech manufacturing industry association.

Angus is also a longstanding Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, currently a member of both the Social & Environment Society Management Committee and the Heritage Committee.

Arlie Hollindale

Arlie Hollindale

Championing innovation to create industry-acclaimed programs and experiences for students, Arlie is an advocate for accessing valid and authentic learning opportunities, particularly in regional and remote areas. She is Founder to Pathways2Industry, which acts as a conduit between industry, community and education to build cross-sectoral partnerships for student-workforce growth models, developing pioneering, industry-led programs of distinction. Holding over 25 years’ experience in education, training and industry liaison roles, her desire to bridge the identified gap between sectors, through a student-workforce funnel, drives a culture of change toward Education as learning providers and Industry as career-influencers.

Arlie is a Women in Leadership Scholarship recipient and two-time National Excellence in Teaching Award nominee.  She has presented to the Australasian Alliance of All Girls Schools regarding Industry Partnership Program Development and has been a key-note speaker toward Collaborative Industry Partnerships – Marketing the Sector in Health and Community. As Heart of Australia’s Coordinator for the NextGen Medics Program and previously incepting and managing the Health Hub Training Facility; a collaboration between Mater Education and Fairholme College, a leading Toowoomba, independent school, which brought ‘the hospital to the high school’ in regional Queensland, Arlie’s advocacy for point-of-difference, mutually beneficial learning outcomes is forefront in her purpose for Pathways2Industry.

With a tertiary background in both Business (Finance and Hospitality) and Education (Accounting and Business), holding a Certificate IV in Career Development and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, as well as being a member of the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) and in various Collaborative Planning, Industry Skills Working Parties and Action Groups, her knowledge base and experience expands across various sectors.

Arlie has lived and worked in metro, regional and rural Queensland, as well as Western Australia, having also taught internationally. She currently resides locally in Toowoomba with her husband and three girls, enjoying time on the family farm and at the beach, whilst working with her industry, community and school partners.

Ayine Nigo

Ayine Nigo

Ben Artup

Ben Artup

Ben Artup is an economist with 20 years’ experience in local economic development spanning roles in local government, commercial advisory, and research.

Ben currently leads the Strategic Projects and Economic Development team at Bundaberg Regional Council where he has been involved in establishing the NASA-inspired Challenger Learning Centre.

Ben will provide an overview of the journey of new Centre and how other regions can use history and legacy to plan bright economic development futures.

Ben Beeton

Ben Beeton

 

 

Ben Fee

Ben Fee

Ben Fee has been Chief Executive of RDAMR since October 2019, leading the organisation and supporting aspects of the region through some of the most complex and challenging times in living memory. Ben has evolved his approach to supporting regional development through knowledge and experience gained from roles in State Government, running an advisory consultancy on the food-energy-water nexus, presenting at international conferences and various national and state conferences, managing of a quarter-of-a-billion dollar grants program, commencing a PhD in resources economics on policy implementation and, most significantly, during his time learning how to ‘do it better’ with the RDAMR team of staff and Board members.

Over the past three years, Ben has led RDAMR in working more closely with community and industry and in clarifying its purpose ‘to connect our region for a resilient and sustainable future’. Ben’s background in systems ecology has focused the work of RDAMR with government partners (eight regional Councils, State and Federal) on transformational systems change that is resilient and sustainable. This focus has seen RDAMR connecting more deeply with communities and businesses and developing a stronger sense of self-direction that is evidence-based and founded on robust and transparent knowledge sharing.

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Bernardo Tobias

Coming from generations of small-scale farming in Brazil, the way we produce, consume and dispose of food has always been front and center of Bernardo’s life. As an experienced senior business leader with over 15 years in business management, he is driven by his passion for food to bring positive change to the world. After 13 years in the food service industry across three continents, Bernardo transitioned to the non-profit sector in 2017, becoming a part of OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organization. His journey at OzHarvest has reinforced his commitment to using his skills for the betterment of the community and has taught him the importance of adaptability, collaboration, and dedication in achieving meaningful outcomes.

As the business leader at OzHarvest in Queensland, Bernardo is responsible for increasing productivity and growth, leading a diverse, cross functional team of 46 professionals who work to rescue and redistribute food and manage state-wide fundraising, engagement, and education programs. As a key representative of the organization, Bernardo is dedicated to building and maintaining strong relationships with private sector companies, government, media, non-profit organizations, and the food industry.

In addition to his role at OzHarvest, Bernardo also serves as an advisor for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, working on the implementation of Queensland’s Organics Strategy. He’s proudly a mentor for students in the Oxford School of Geography and Environment’s Sustainability program, part of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers network. Recently, Bernardo has also advised the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) on the development of the Consensus Statement for a healthy, regenerative, and equitable food system in Victoria, and was appointed by the Victorian Government as an advisor for the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing on food relief coordination and efficiency.

Bernadette McCabe

Bernadette McCabe

Professor Bernadette McCabe is Director at the University of Southern Queensland’s (UniSQ) Centre for Agricultural Engineering (CAE) and is the Research Program Team Leader for Energy and Bioresource Recycling. Bernadette is Australia’s National Team Leader for the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy program Task 37: Energy from Biogas and is a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts. Bernadette has a background in agricultural biotechnology and has nearly 30 years’ experience as an academic and researcher.

Her research focuses on addressing opportunities and challenges to achieving circular economies in the agri-food sector by applying advanced biotechnology methods to increase energy capture and value adding from wastes.

She works with these industries to be more profitable by using organic waste to produce renewable energy, clean recycled water, feed and biofertiliser. The research has been applied to the livestock and cropping sectors (both on and off farm), water utilities and now expanding into the health and municipal waste sectors. Bernadette’s research has attracted over $6.5M in nationally competitive grants in the last 6 years, including an Advance Queensland Mid-Career Research Fellow working in partnership with Oakey Beef Exports.

Bernadette has established a wide network of national and international research, industry and government contacts and is a recognised authority to progress a national agenda for innovative bioenergy and waste recovery applications in the agri-food sector.

Brett Hall

Brett Hall

Brett Hall is Acting Executive Director, Workforce Strategy, in the Queensland Government Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business & Training. Brett has played a key role in the development and implementation of Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032, which is the Queensland’s Government’s first whole-of-government workforce strategy. This strategy is focussed on industry, business, communities and all levels of government working together to strengthen Queensland’s current and future workforce, including through local solutions across regions.

Brett has spent more than a decade working on workforce, skills and labour market policy and programs across both state and federal governments.

Caroline Falkiner

Caroline Falkiner

Caroline has extensive experience with digital transformation projects in the public, private & not for profit sectors. With over 5 years at KPMG Management Consulting, and another twenty with some of the world’s leading technology companies.

Digital projects for regional & metropolitan tourism experiences & marketing:
• Single & Regional (joint LGA’s) NSW, QLD & WA
• Individual discrete destinations – botanic gardens, parks, schools.
• Large Events for industry stakeholders – Sydney Easter Show & Run QLD
A deep appreciation of regional NSW, from growing up on a sheep & cattle farm near Braidwood NSW, ensures a pragmatic, innovative approach to problem solving.

Destinations Sydney Olympic Park, WA Botanic Garden & Parklands, Shires of Dundas, Glen Innes Severn, & The Sunshine Coast. Together with QLD National Parks, & Sydney Independent Schools. Events include Sydney Easter Show, Run QLD Blackall100 & GPS Sport Competitions.

As an industry though leader Caroline serves as:
• National Geo tourism Digital Strategy Group
• Smart Cities Council; and
• Presenter for LGANSW Destination, SEGRA, & PLA conferences on tourism digital transformation projects.

Caroline has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney, is a Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) & Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

Cate Gilpin

Cate Gilpin

Cate works for Welcoming Australia as the Queensland coordinator for their Welcoming Cities initiative and the national coordinator for their Welcoming Universities initiative. In these roles she works to embed welcoming and social inclusion across councils, universities, and their associated communities.

Cate’s career began in the arts and cultural sector, curating exhibitions, and events sharing community stories in innovative ways. Cate then moved into the higher education sector, working with different student cohorts to support their study pathways and experiences, and to connect them with industry and post-study opportunities.

Cate has qualifications in Creative Industries, Research and Development, Arts and Events Management and Human Services. Alongside her work with Welcoming Australia Cate is a freelance writer, and is an avid volunteer, working with community organisations that support migrants to develop English language skills and build social networks and connections.

Cate was born, raised and still resides in Brisbane, but her family of origin all hails from Roma, and she grew up spending every school holidays with family in Roma, Warwick, and Toowoomba, developing a love of regional communities, and an appreciation for the uniqueness of rural and regional Australia.

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Dr Cathy Tischler

Dr Cathy Tischler holds a doctorate from Federation University in rural social justice and regional development. Her work researched the ideologies, values and behaviours reinforcing power dominated by prestige leadership in the Wimmera Southern-Mallee, with implications for understanding change and resistance in regional communities. She regularly conducts research in a rural setting, working in the fields of rural and regional development, social justice and practice change.

She also has a strong background working in rural advocacy and engagement having worked in senior roles with Victorian Farmers Federation and Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and Department of Primary Industries. Cathy is also currently Acting Chair of the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership and is a member of the Communities of Respect and Equality (CoRE) Alliance Leadership Group, the committee that advises on the CoRE regional primary prevention partnership led by Women’s Health Grampians. Dr Tischler maintains strong networks into regional communities and organisations in Western Victoria, where she lives and works.

Claire Moore

Claire Moore

Clayton Neil

Clayton Neil

Clayton is a social entrepreneur with extensive experience in rural economic and community development.

Clayton is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE), a rural based social enterprise that champions and embeds entrepreneurship to rejuvenate rural communities through building economic, social, and cultural wellbeing.

Clayton led the design and implementation of the Thrive Framework for ACRE. The Thrive Framework is a human insight driven approach that measures the health and vitality of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in a place-based way, to ensure that programs and initiatives are well-designed, appropriately positioned and ultimately effective in enlivening rural and regional communities.

Denise Gallanagh Wood

Denise Gallanagh-Wood

Estella Rodighiero

Estella Rodighiero MProf

Estella Rodighiero MProf – BIO – Director of Regional Development, RDA Gold Coast. Chair – Gold Coast Regional Jobs Committee

Estella brings more than 20 years’ experience as an economic development facilitator and business professional to her role as Director of Regional Development. A strategic thinker and expert negotiator, she has high-level expertise in building collaborative relationships between government, community and business stakeholders, developing and executing international trade missions, strategic planning and policy development, project management, analysis and regional marketing.

She has designed, implemented, and achieved multi-million-dollar project and growth outcomes for the SE Qld region, and Senior Economic Development Officer for the City of Gold Coast under the Trade 2018 program for the Commonwealth Games. Estella developed inbound and outbound trade missions, hosted international business leaders and government delegations, and showcased Queensland industries and investment opportunities with events and forums.

As Director of Regional Development Australia Gold Coast, she is supporting transformative initiatives such as: Additive Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, the Gold Coast’s Health and Knowledge Precinct, the Biomedical Supply Chain, the study of the Gold Coast’s emerging knowledge-based workforce, and the development of an Australian First – Be Ready App for school students through the Regional Jobs Committee.

Estella is an Executive Member of the City Heart Taskforce, a board member of LifeFlight Australia Ltd and the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan Program Committee.
Estella has been recognised with awards such as the ‘ANZRSAI Practitioner Award for Excellence in Regional Development, and the National Award for Excellence – AusIndustry Innovation Award (Economic Development Australia).

Garth Hamilton MP

Garth Hamilton MP

Geoff Woolcock

Dr Geoff Woolcock

Geoff Woolcock is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland’s Institute for Resilient Regions, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Griffith University.

Geoff is an experienced social researcher with considerable expertise in social and community service planning and evaluation, including social impact assessment and project evaluation, social capital and community capacity building. He has 34 years community-based research experience nationally and internationally, and has co-published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and community reports.

As a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD), he is a board director of the Brisbane Housing Company (since 2009), the Australian National Development Index (ANDI) (since 2012, Chair since 2019), Basic Rights Queensland (since 2022), Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP) and co-established Logan Child-Friendly Community Ltd in 2012 overseeing the high-profile collective impact initiative, Logan Together.

George Wilkinson

Dr George Wilkinson

Dr George Wilkinson is a graduating PhD and researcher in regional development at the University of Western Australia. His PhD, titled ‘A Scarcity of Large Non-Capital Cities: A national analysis of the drivers of settlement in Australia,’ examined how institutions sculpt economic geography in Australia. His research is supervised by Professor Fiona Haslam McKenzie at UWA’s Centre for Regional Development, and Dr Julian Bolleter at the Australian Urban Design Research Centre. George works as a management consultant with expertise in strategy, organisational design, and change management.

– Final PhD Presentation: https://youtu.be/Ez0JMNAwm8M
– Recent Article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-science-history/article/abs/political-centralization-federalism-and-urbanization-evidence-from-australia/53286CDFC3627A9C553078AFF08F463B

Greg Bowden

Greg Bowden

Greg Bowden is a seasoned executive with a distinguished career in economic development, particularly in the mining, renewable energy, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, major events and public sector environments. Recently appointed to the role of Chief Executive at TSBE, Greg has hit the ground running and is ready to implement initiatives that deliver long-term economic benefits and growth opportunities for the region.

With extensive knowledge and experience in economic development, Greg has also played a key role in major events such as Brisbane City’s early stages of the 2032 Olympic Games bid and Australia’s largest car festival, Rockynats. He is passionate about regional development and firmly believes that the economic growth produced by regional Australian communities are critical to our nation’s past, present and future success.

Griffin Longley

Griffin Longley

Griffin is the Head of Strategy and Campaigns for the Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five Campaign which has helped secure $55 billion in new Federal and State funding for Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia. Prior to his role at Thrive by Five Griffin was the founder and CEO of Nature Play WA, and Nature Play Australia, an award-winning journalist and a Churchill Fellow.

Helen Burrell

Helen Burrell

Jacki Steel

Jacki Steel

Joshua Rayner

Joshua Rayner

Kate Shaw

Kate Shaw

Kate is currently working in circular economy planning and previously and has a background in waste management and recycling. She is passionate about progressing the possibilities of a circular economy and our future designing out waste. She has experience in community engagement, sustainability, natural resource management, delivering government programs, grant writing, events and project management. Kate has a Master of Science in Environment and Development from the University of Edinburgh.

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Kayla Hill

I graduated Kelvin Grove State College, 2022, sport has always been a passion for mine which saw my participate in the Volleyball Excellence Program while at School.

Further to this I was offered a scholarship at the Queensland Academy of Sport for Volleyball, this took my skills to the next level through dedication and hard work.

I also competed in a number of national completions all over Australia playing in the Queensland Volleyball Team. My great sportsmanship, ability to motivate and encourage the participation of other team members resulted in the offer to join the Australian Womens Devlopment Squad.

Future Lady Tradies is important to me as she I the challenges that young girls can face not only in the male dominated environments, but also with peer pressure.

I am excited to be an advocate to young girls and arm them with the confidence to take on new challenges.

Kerry Grace

Kerry Grace, CEO Evolve Group Network

Kerry Grace is the CEO of Evolve Group Network (Evolve). Founded in 2003, Evolve is a regionally based service designed to build capacity in regional communities.

While her career started out in the corporate world (media and procurement), Kerry’s regional upbringing called her home to the Mid North Coast of NSW to raise her family.

Following a decade in adult education working as an educator and executive, Kerry sharpened her community development skills through a range of projects in social enterprise development, community service management, community engagement and strategic planning.  In 2016 she accepted a role as CEO of Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast where she used her economic development skill set to implement a range of initiatives throughout the Mid North Coast and Norfolk Island.

Kerry’s strengths lie in her ability to create a safe place for stakeholder communication enabling robust conversations that lead to implementable plans.

In recent years (post 2019 bushfires) Kerry has grown a keen interest in community resilience and why some communities bounce back faster than others. This content is explored in Kerry’s book, Spiralling Up which will be published in 2024.  Kerry will speak on this topic at SEGRA 2023.

Hon Kristy McBain

Hon Kristy McBain MP

Jamie Ferguson

Jamie Ferguson

Jamie is responsible for the sales and distribution of Mort & Co branded product range which includes branded beef, Mort & Co Fertilisers and Stockfeeds. Jamie also manages Mort & Co Transport and Service Centre.

Jamie was raised in Central Qld on a mixed farming operation before working on large scale cattle breeding and feedlotting operations in the United States and the Middle East in various purchasing, sales, marketing and management roles.

Janine Dayman

Janine Dayman

Wheatbelt & Beyond Youth Mentoring Cofounder and Co Project Director
2011 – Current Bruce Rock DHS coordinator mentor program
Deputy Principal Bruce Rock DHS
Secondary teacher at Bruce Rock DHS 20 years. Administrator since 2008.
Bruce Rock Community Resource Centre committee member

Justine Linley

Justine Linley

Justine Linley began as Director Sustainable Development with Corangamite Shire Council in November 2020 having held senior roles in higher education, local government and regional development since beginning her career in economic development at the City of Melbourne in the 1980s.

Justine moved to Western Victoria in 2003 after living and working in Melbourne’s Western Region. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and has undertaken post-graduate study in Museum and Art Gallery Management and Communications Law at the University of Melbourne.

In 2022 she completed the United Nations Staff Systems College course on the Circular Economy. Prior to commencing with Corangamite Shire Council, Justine was the CEO of the City of Ballarat, President of LGPro Victoria and a Board member of Regional Capitals Australia. She is past Treasurer of Economic Development Assocation of Victoria.

Her current role as Director Sustainable Development involves the development of ‘Grow and Prosper’ the shire’s integrated economic development, creative industries and sustainability strategy. Her role also involves the operation of a significant Regional Land Fill and the implementation of shared services projects to support the development of a localised Circular Economy in the south west of Victoria.

Karen Strange

Karen Strange

Wheatbelt @ Beyond Mentoring (WBYM) Cofounder and Co Project Director
2011 – current Bruce Rock District High (DHS) School coordinator mentor program
Community Based Liaison Officer Bruce Rock DHS
Regional Development Australia Wheatbelt Deputy Chair
Grain Producer, family farming enterprise Bruce Rock WA.
Former Board Member of WA Women’s Advisory Council

Kate Venables

Kate Venables

Kate Venables, Executive Director of CatholicCare Social Services SW QLD, has spent the last 20 years working in the social services sector across Central QLD and the Darling Downs and South West Queensland. Working with teams who provide services to families and individuals needing support, refugees and migrants, our first nation peoples and separated parents, Kate is aware of the many vulnerabilities and complexities of our varied communities across SW Qld as well as the enormous resilience they are able to develop. 

She really enjoys people and has a wonderfully diverse staffing body who are working towards the same vision – making work a fabulous place to be!  More recently stepping into the role of President of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, Kate feels an enormous sense of privilege in advocating, influencing and connecting for and with the business community in the Darling Downs. Committed to rural and regional communities, Kate is on the RDA Darling Downs and South West as Secretary and the Multicultural Advisory Committee for the Toowoomba Regional Alliance.

Married to Cam, and mother of three adult children (28, 24 and 22 – two girls and a lad), Kate is also committed to family and her local church community at St Barts, and squeezes in a bit of exercise, some baking and reading in her down time.

Lidewij Koene

Lidewij Koene-Sloss

Lidewij Koene-Sloss is a passionate Economic Development professional. She moved from the Netherlands to Dalby, Queensland in 2017 after which she was promptly embraced by the community.

As Economic Development Manager at Western Downs Regional Council, she leads and implements the 5-year Economic Development vision, enabling and leveraging economic opportunities and enhancing regional liveability.

Lidewij has a Bachelor in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (University of Amsterdam, NL) a Master in International Organisation / Political Science (Leiden University, NL) and is currently enrolled in the Australian Certified Economic Developer accreditation.

Liz Thomas

Liz Thomas

Liz is the Managing Director of Common Equity Housing Limited, Australia’s largest cooperative housing provider.

Her background spans a broad range of private, public and community roles and extensive executive and non-executive Board Director experience. In 2012, Liz shifted her professional focus to delivering innovative, affordable housing solutions to end homelessness and housing insecurity.  She embraces her role at CEHL as an important opportunity to deliver affordable housing that is more than just housing – that also offers security of tenure and creates a community that encourages and supports the active participation of co-op members.

Liz will feature on the Co-operatives and Mutuals panel and then deliver a presentation under the title of ‘Rental Housing Cooperatives – the missing middle’ at the National Regional and Economic Development Summit.

Luke Sinclair

Luke Sinclair

Luke Sinclair is the Central Queensland University Associate Vice-President for the Gladstone and Wide Bay Burnett Regions. In this role he has responsibility for the business development and growth of CQUniversity in these regions, fostering opportunities for regional engagement and research, and overseeing the pastoral care of students and staff.

Cr Mathew Dickerson

Cr Mathew Dixon

Matt Schultz

Matt Schultz

Matthew Schultz is a Partner and Company Director at Gravelroad Group and an Executive leader with expertise in all facets of next-generation connectivity including 5G, digital infrastructure, Smart City & Internet of Things, and data-driven digital strategy and delivery within high-profile operations. Matthew is skilled in collaborating within organizations and industry to achieve business, financial and service delivery objectives.

Matthew is also Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s G20 Global Smart Cities Digital Infrastructure Taskforce, Co-founder and a past National President of the Australian Smart Communities Association and a member of the ACS National IoT Committee. He is also an inaugural Board Director of Open Data Australia, a member of Standards Australia IT­042 Internet of Things Standards Development Committee and Standards Australia Smart Cities Advisory Group.

Melinda Jones

Melinda Jones

Melinda Jones is the first General Manager for Red Earth Community Foundation, having participated in their annual leadership program in 2018 and joining the board as a director shortly after. Melinda stepped down from the board to lead the organisation and enable it’s vision for an even Better Burnett. Red Earth vision is to enable and strengthen communities within the Burnett Region and Melinda believes that this foundation is key to establishing strong partnerships across the Burnett that will create change for the betterment of both of our regions for future generations. Melinda is motivated by her three children and six grandchildren, to strive alongside the Burnett Inland to co-create a future that is thriving and that is designed by the region, not for the region, that is driven by the regions greatest asset, it’s people.

Melinda was born in QLD but grew up in rural Victoria. About 18 years ago she chose to settle in the Inland Burnett region with her family. With nearly 30 years experience within the Tourism, Economic & Community Development sectors combined Melinda is skilled in Nonprofit Organisations, Business and Strategic Planning, Local Government, Youth and Community Development, grant applications, event management and Hospitality Industry practices.

Melinda has a strong passion and commitment to community and the potential of all individuals. Melinda holds executive positions within the Burnett Region on a local Tourism and Chamber of Commerce group, Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation, Regional Arts Development Fund and is a Local Government Councillor for the North Burnett Regional Council. Melinda has recently joined the Community Foundations Australia, Membership Engagement and Services Committee and is a great contributor to the network as a representative of her foundation.

Melina Morrison

Melina Morrison

Melina Morrison has been a driving force for change in Australia’s co-operative and mutual sector for 25 years.

She is the founder CEO of the country’s first cross-sector body for member-owned enterprises, the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM).

Under Melina’s leadership, the BCCM has achieved fundamental reforms to level the playing field for member-owned firms.

She commissioned the first study in Australia’s co-operative and mutual sector, the annual National Mutual Economy Report, driving meaningful change and creating the first evidence base to advocate for better support.

Significantly, Melina was at the forefront in advocating and developing amendments to the Corporations Act, opening new opportunities for co-operative and mutual businesses to grow whilst safeguarding mutuality for future generations.

Melina continues to advocate for ethical business models that put the consumer first in sectors ranging from finance to aged care.

Mia Davies

Hon Mia Davies MLA

Mia Davies was born in 1978 to Dexter and Leonie Davies and raised in the Wheatbelt, on a farm near Wyalkatchem. Prior to entering Parliament, Ms Davies worked as a policy adviser for the Leader of the Parliamentary National Party, executive officer at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and as a communications consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Marketing and Media from Murdoch University.

Ms Davies was first elected to represent the Agricultural Region at the 2008 State election. At the 2013 State election, Ms Davies successfully contested the seat of Central Wheatbelt for The Nationals WA.

Ms Davies made history in 2013 becoming the first female to be appointed Deputy Leader of The Nationals WA. Shortly afterwards she was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister for Water; Forestry, and in 2014 added Sport and Recreation to her Ministerial responsibilities.

As Minister, Ms Davies oversaw projects including the Optus Stadium, the expansion of WA’s irrigated agriculture sector through the Water for Food initiative, and championed increased participation of women in sport.

In 2017, Ms Davies was elected as Parliamentary Leader of The Nationals WA, becoming the first female leader of the National Party in Australia.

Following the 2021 State election, Ms Davies became the Opposition Leader for Western Australia, marking the first time a member of The Nationals WA has held the title since 1947. Ms Davies is the third female to hold the title of WA Opposition Leader, each from a different party – former Labor Premier Carmen Lawrence and Liberal leader Liza Harvey.

An alliance opposition has been formed between The Nationals WA and the WA Liberal Party, the first formal opposition arrangement to be agreed between the two parties since 2005.

In 2023, Ms Davies stood down from the position of Leader and by extension Leader of the Opposition. Her Deputy at the time Shane Love MLA was endorsed unanimously by the Party Room on 30 January 2023 as the new Leader.

Ms Davies is passionate about improving services and infrastructure in regional WA, in particular education, health and aged care. She truly believes regional WA deserves better as the engine room of the State and any improvements to the regions will benefit the entirety of WA.

Michael Hampson

Michael Hampson

Michael is passionate about the dairy industry and backing our Australian dairy farmers, with a track record of over 20 years driving value in the industry. Michael is also a champion on change, on many fronts, including across organisations and adoption of new thinking and technologies, bringing people along that journey to create value.

Michael has gained experience with the fast moving consumer goods industry across a number of different supply chains and countries. With a key eye for commercial value, creation and capture, Michael has been a major driver of change and value appreciation in his current role of Chief Executive Officer at the iconic Norco Co-Operative, a 100% farmer owned co-operative.

With core values of trust, honesty and empathy, along with a strong sense of entrepreneurialism, Michael has gathered support of key management teams and boards to deliver results that were previously not part of the various organisation’s history, creating value for all key stakeholders.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business, is a Graduate member of the Australia Institute of Company Directors, Graduate member of Chartered Accountants ANZ and Graduate of the Stanford University Senior Executive Program.

Michael Livingston

Michael Livingston

Dr Michael Livingston and Rachel Livingston have spent the past 10 years working in rural medicine.

After years of campaigning at State government and Federal government level, countless phone calls, emails and physical visits to parliament, they have decided to take matters into their own hands and create a rural medical  hub to potentially solve the rural healthcare crisis.

Fuelled by passion for the regions and commitment to improving rural healthcare the Livingstons are hoping to deploy a model that could revolutionise rural patient’s and healthcare providers’ lives.

Miranda Edwards

Miranda Edwards

Miranda will be representing SNAICC-National Voice for our Children at the Summit. Miranda is a Noongar woman from Collie, Western Australia, who has lived in the Victorian town of Shepparton for 13 years. She has been the CEO of Lullas Children and Family Centre for 120 Indigenous children for the past 11 years and the Loal Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (LAECG) Chair for the Goulbourn Valley Area for 5 years. She has worked with the Department of Education and local teachers to develop a First Nations Curriculum (Kialla Dhungala), which was presented at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference in Toronto in 2017.

Quality and accessible universal early education and care is critical for not only supporting families to work in the regions, but is also a key employer in communities.

Miranda will share strategies for supporting a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Education and Care worksforce at SEGRA’s National Regional and Economic Development Summit in Toowoomba, July 26-27.

Natalie Brownning SEGRA Speaker

Natalie Browning
Deputy Chair, Cooperative Bulk Handling

Natalie Browning was elected as a Director of the CBH Board in February 2018 and appointed as Deputy Chair in April 2020. She is currently Chair of the Network and Engineering Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee. She is also a member of the Growers’ Advisory Council (GAC) Selection Committee.

Natalie runs a continuous cropping operation on her property in Kondinin. She is currently a Director of Hockey WA, Chair of the Narembeen District High School Board and a member of the Asia Pacific Regional Board of the International Cooperative Alliance. Natalie has completed the Executive Leadership Program Co-operatives and Mutuals facilitated by University of Western Australia Business School and the Australian Institute of Management and is also a former member of the CBH Growers’ Advisory Council.

Natalie is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Business Law) at Curtin University.

Natalie Egleton SEGRA Keynote Speaker

Natalie Egleton
CEO, Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal connects the good will of many, with the good purposes of not-for-profit organisations across remote, rural and regional Australia. With the support of Governments, philanthropy and business, FRRR injects funding into community-led projects, activating social, economic and environmental outcomes towards a vision for a vibrant, sustainable and resilient remote, rural and regional Australia.

Natalie Egleton is the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR). With a 25-year career in the non-profit and philanthropic sector in consulting, fundraising and partnerships, and organisation development roles, she is passionate about facilitating effective and enduring responses to issues facing rural communities.

Since becoming CEO of FRRR in 2015 she has led the organisation through a period of significant growth and impact, facilitating over $80m in funding to remote, rural, and regional communities through hundreds of partnerships and collaborations. Before joining FRRR, Natalie consulted with Matrix on Board, working with numerous not-for-profit organisations in program evaluation, undertaking research analysis and developing business plans. She also worked with clients to develop financial policies and procedures, strategic plans, organisation reviews, service mapping, feasibility studies and governance models.

Natalie has also held in-house roles at Evolve (Typo Station) and at ANZ Banking Group, implementing projects that made a tangible difference to the lives of people living in rural, regional and remote Australia. She has also held voluntary roles on Boards and Committees of a rural RTO and her local Pre-school.

Natalie holds a B. Social Science (Public Policy/Research/Public Relations), Grad Dip Applied Science (Organisation Dynamics), and is a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

She lives in the small rural town of Maldon in central Victoria.

Paul Sloman

Paul Sloman

Policy Officer/Grower Engagement for Cotton Australia in Brisbane, QLD. Formerly regional manager for northern NSW Cotton Australia, Paul has moved into a new role covering both policy and grower engagement, working on issues such as electricity efficiency, telecommunications and promoting Cotton Australia’s education program to schools in south-east Queensland.

Peter Homan

Peter Homan

Originally from Sydney, Peter has been a Queenslander for 30 plus years and has a passion for tourism and understands the challenges faced by growing companies from bootstrapped start-ups to multi-national multi-brand corporations within the tourism and hospitality industries.

No matter the size or years in business, the challenges, especially operations and people management, are the same just scaled differently. Good insights make informed decisions and he’s passionate about collating and gathering the right visitor insights.

Peter will share the latest in visitor insights and how they can inform and educate.

Pip Kirby

Pip Kirby

Pip currently leads the South West Development Commission’s cross-agency work to support the transition of the Collie economy away from a reliance on coal fired power generation. Pip brings more than 20 years’ experience in regional development, stakeholder engagement, business development, intergovernmental coordination, project management and policy development to the role and has previously worked with both the Wheatbelt and Peel Development Commissions.

Prince Long Lo

Prince Long Lo

Since relocating to Toowoomba from Brisbane four years ago, Mr. Prince Long Lo has developed a strong face-to-face and online presence in the wider Darling Downs and South West Region community.

Prince is a qualified social worker. A connector, an innovator, and a business, industry & community engagement project coordinator with diverse experiences working in business, education, community, and social services, government, and industry peak advocacy bodies.

As a migrant himself, Prince has the passion and experience for supporting the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in further education, training, and employment pathways. Prince works closely with a wide range of businesses, registered training organisations, and apprenticeship and traineeship providers in identifying opportunities and undertaking activities that advocate and promote the benefit of training, skills development, and pathway options through his roles as a Youth Hub Worker and Field Officer with Multicultural Australia and the Department of Employment, Small Business, and Training.

In his role as the Program Manager with Regional Development Australia Darling Downs and South West, Prince worked to explore innovative solutions with partner organisations to address industry-specific issues with the aim of creating long-term sustainable workforce outcomes across the Darling Downs and South West Region.

Rachel Livingston

Rachel Livingston

Dr Michael Livingston and Rachel Livingston have spent the past 10 years working in rural medicine.

After years of campaigning at State government and Federal government level, countless phone calls, emails and physical visits to parliament, they have decided to take matters into their own hands and create a rural medical  hub to potentially solve the rural healthcare crisis.

Fuelled by passion for the regions and commitment to improving rural healthcare the Livingstons are hoping to deploy a model that could revolutionise rural patient’s and healthcare providers’ lives.

Rachel Whiting

Rachel Whiting

Rachel’s passion and enthusiasm for development in regional and rural communities is evidenced in her success stories through her career. Rachel’s skills have led to greater organisational capacity and financial security for the businesses and communities she has worked with. Her achievements are widely recognised by colleagues and peers.

Rachel has an excellent working knowledge of strategic planning, operational planning and corporate governance together with a proven capacity to work with external stakeholders including large corporates, boards, all levels of government both elected members and appointed staff, and community management committees. She has success in obtaining funding and creating stakeholder partnerships, MOUs and sponsorship for projects and programs. Rachel has succeeded in strengthening community groups and programs through diversification of funding and strategic partnerships. One of these instances was the development of the biannual Pilbara Women’s network. Recently, Rachel led the Inland Growth Summit – Housing 2021 forum for RDA Riverina with Partner RDA Orana.

Rachel is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the winner of the 2011 Karratha and Districts CCI Employee of the Year and a Fellow of Leadership WA and in 2013 led her team at the Business Centre Pilbara to win Best Regional BEC Australia. She is an engaging leader, strong communicator, program and business manager, community engagement specialist, innovator, educator and facilitator.

Rachel is a sought after speaker, especially on the themes of regionalisation, workforce development, attraction and retention of a workforce and welcoming communities. She has lived and worked in regional communities in Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales and is currently based in the Riverina region where she is CEO and Director of Regional Development for RDA Riverina.

Rachel has worked extensively with not-for-profits both as a board member and as management. In her spare time, Rachel has also been breeding horses for the Olympic disciplines for over 25 years and has a background in Arts Practice and Facilitation.

Robert Prestipino

Robert Prestipino

Robert Prestipino is a Passionate Design Thinker & Project Innovator for Regional Leaders seeking to create places that will thrive in the future.

He is a qualified Urban Designer, Registered Landscape Architect, Corporate member of the Planning Institute of Australia and an Australian Certified Economic Developer. His work has received 19 national and international awards for his best practice approach to creating better places for people and business. His revitalisation project Our Town Our Future secured $15 million in project funding for a regional community of 12,000 people.

For the last 25 years Robert has regularly contributed articles, presentations, and workshops on the challenges of delivering catalyst projects. Robert’s advice on design and sustainable development is highly regarded, resulting in his invitation as the keynote presenter at TEDxGympie on the theme of regional innovation.

Dr Saleena Ham

Dr Saleena Ham

Saleena Ham works as a leader, mediator and co-design facilitator, helping people understand, manage and be ready for change, building the spaces needed to work together on difficult and complex issues. She works with messy real-world problems and people, resolving situations where often there is an untidy history. Saleena facilitates, coaches, teaches and learns with those invested in the situation, to build trust, work through problems, learn skills, reframe and generate new stories of what is possible.

She was brought up on a property in far western NSW and has had a career working with rural industry and regional communities. With a degree in Agricultural Science she worked as an advocate for primary producer interests in natural resource and environment policy development and implementation with rural representative organisations including the Queensland Farmers Federation . In 1997, she was employed as a Director in the Queensland Department of Natural Resource Management. She ran her own consultancy from 2001 working as strategist and facilitator on contested issues with community, corporate, not for profit and public sector organisations across Queensland and Northern NSW. Saleena took an opportunity to work as Shire Services Manager living and working in the Utopia Indigenous Homelands Community, Northern Territory (2013-2015). She has since studied and researched with the University of Southern Queensland, and continued as a contracted specialist serving private business and non-government interests in regional communities.

She has a Doctorate in Rural Sociology, a Masters in International Studies, (Peace and Conflict Resolution), a Diploma in Professional Coaching and has been a nationally accredited mediator. She is a highly experienced facilitator, especially involving contested community issues.

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Sheree Vertigan
CEO, Cradle Coast Authority

Sheree Is a passionate advocate for education, mental health and regional communities and regional development. Much of her career has been in educational leadership in system roles, national and international roles – this experience has informed much of her thinking about the challenges and opportunities of living in regional communities. Sheree knows the value of working collectively and collaboratively and is focused on building strong regional partnerships as a key ingredient to ensuring sustainable economic growth while caring for community and its assets – people, places and things!

 

Susan Lee

Susan Lee

Susan Lee is author of Booked Out! How to Start and Grow a Successful Regional Tourism Business. Booked Out shares tips and insights for new operators from 23 years of experience as a regional tourism operator, destination marketer, self-drive product developer and business growth consultant to hundreds of small to medium businesses in the sector.

Sue has worked nationally in iconic destinations (and some not so iconic) has advised on national tourism mentoring and specialist Indigenous coaching programs, was a rural financial counsellor during drought times and lived and worked in outback SA and NT for many years during booms and declines.

Now based between Adelaide and the Flinders Ranges, Susan runs her business practise CVC Clear Vision Consulting and works one on one with Boards, entrepreneurs, local government, communities, Indigenous organisations and investors to fully realise their tourism potential by mastering the fundamentals of tourism, business, regions and of course, getting booked out.

CVC is bespoke advisory firm with brand values of embracing change, reaching into risk, professionalism, doing the right thing and celebrating the wins. Susan is known for successfully working with multiple stakeholders in community, industry and government projects, with engaging workshops to drive big picture thinking and inclusive dialogue.
CVC’s services are business planning, prefeasibility analysis, strategy, workshops, coaching, B2B communications, marketing strategy and analysis.

LEADERSHIP

  • Treasurer, West Melbourne Tourism Inc. Board (current)
  • Board Director, Australian Regional Tourism Network (2015)


Susan is a leading business advisor in growth strategies using market and product development approaches. With over a decade of tourism industry experience she specialises in tourism, leisure, economic and regional development, entertainment/attractions, and feasibility for capital investment in authentic Australian experiences.

A big traveller, Sue has long had an interest in the cultures of the world, especially Australian Indigenous culture. Being passionate about the power of business to reduce poverty Sue is proud to work everyday supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs to Close the Gap via business ownership, and telling thier own stories in the tourism industry.

Her previous roles include Regional Tourism Manager for the Flinders Ranges & Outback SA Tourism Board, Tourism Destination Development in Central Australia NT, Senior Consultant at Verve Group and State Manger for IPS in SA and Vic/Tas. Early experiences were as a tour guide at Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park and working for UK touring companies on flotilla in the Greek Islands and French ski fields, plus roles in ABC Regional News radio and bilateral trade marketing.

Susan is a serving non-Executive Director (Treasurer) on Western Melbourne Tourism Inc. Previously she held Board roles on the Australian Regional Tourism Network and Amnesty International (SA/NT).”

Tegan Plant

Tegan Plant

Tegan lives in Toowoomba, Qld, and grew up on properties at Chinchilla, Qld. Her early years of school were through Distance Education, so regional communication has been important to her from the start! She is passionate about equity for rural, regional and remote areas, and her upbringing and working background in rural journalism and community relations on regional construction projects give her first-hand knowledge of the difficulties of poor telecommunications, whether that be landlines, mobiles or the internet.

Tegan has been in her role as the content development officer at the regional tech hub for around 18 month, producing a range of new resources and content to improve the way we communicate on some pretty complicated topics. Tegan’s super power is taking subject matter than can be quite technical and difficult to understand, and creating information that can be comprehended easily for everyone! As someone who does not have a tech background, Tegan enjoys the challenge of turning the wealth of knowledge the hub and its stakeholders have and putting it into words that everyone can understand.

Toni Kely-Brown

Toni Kely-Brown

Toni Kely-Brown is a Principal Workforce Policy Officer for Queensland Health, She has over 20 years’ experience in the State Government sector including health, education and public administration in both corporate and front-line environments.

She has research, policy and project management skills, complemented by a broad human resources background. With increasing pressures on health services, Toni currently works in the Workforce Strategy Branch leading system-wide workforce reform. She engages and partners with key industry stakeholders as Queensland Health is adapting and using innovative ways to supplement existing supply pipelines and building new pipelines of talent.

Tristan Shelley

Tristan Shelley

Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He is Co-Director of the NO WASTE Pilot Precinct & SIMPLE Hub focusing on enabling of circular economy practices and designing of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials. He is also a leader within his research centre, assisting in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs inc. bid development and program management.

Dr Shelley has been a member of the Centre for Future Materials at UniSQ since October 2019, joining from the Composite Centre at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (The University of Sheffield).

Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading and partaking in industrial collaborative grant funded programs for the delivery of industrially relevant and commercially viable technological solutions.

Vicky Meyer

Vicky Meyer

Vicky Meyer is a highly experienced and accomplished workforce policy and planning professional with over 15 years of service in the not-for-profit and state government sectors.

Her considerable knowledge of the health industry and the Vocational Education and Training sector, coupled with her expertise in policy development, project coordination and management, has enabled her to successfully deliver a wide range of regional, sector-wide, and organisational workforce projects. With a strong track record of building long-lasting relationships and engaging key industry stakeholders across government, not-for-profit and community-based organisations, Vicky has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of workforce planning for the health industry.

She has worked at CheckUP since May 2020, engaging extensively with stakeholders to identify training and skills priorities and inform investment settings for the health industry, and is now eager to share her learnings and support people to achieve their workforce planning goals.

Yvette Adams

Yvette Adams

The Department of Home Affairs introduced Business, Industry and Regional Outreach (BIROs) officers to boost skilled migration liaison with business, industry (including unions, professional and industry associations, guilds), government agencies at all levels and regional Australia stakeholders.

Based in QLD, NSW, VIC, SA and WA (while providing coverage for every State/Territory) BIROs engage directly with stakeholders across the country to help fill workforce needs where positions cannot be filled by Australian workers. The BIRO Network assists stakeholders with understanding skilled visa programs and appropriate visa options to fill employment gaps.
When engaging with stakeholders, BIRO officers will seek and receive feedback regarding skill shortages impacting their operations and offer visa solutions to assist stakeholders to address these shortages.

The Assistant Director of the QLD BIRO team is Yvette Adams. Yvette and her team are based in Brisbane.