Events
We host web conferences, workshops, and forums, both in person and online, that are dedicated to issues of importance to our members. Listed below are the upcoming events for our Network Groups.
Listed below are the upcoming events:
Zoom Meeting
9 Jul 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
9 July 2026
- 9 July 2026
CATSINaM's Position Statement to End Referral of Women to Child Protection Services for Missing Antenatal Appointments
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Maternity Care
Recently, The Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) has released a position statement calling for an end to referring women to child protection services for missing antenatal care appointments, explaining the significant harm the practice has on women and their babies, families and communities. The statement calls for maternity services to address concerns regarding antenatal care attendance by instead working with consumers and community groups to identify and address barriers to accessing culturally safe, trauma-aware, healing informed antenatal care.
Zoom Meeting
21 Jul 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
21 July 2026
- 21 July 2026
Aligning the implementation of gestational diabetes guidelines with women’s lived experience
Safety and Quality in Maternity Care
This presentation explores how gestational diabetes (GDM) guidelines align with women’s lived experiences of maternity care, with a focus on psychosocial impacts and the role of internalised and experienced stigma. It highlights implications for improving person-centred and empathic maternity care.
Zoom Meeting
22 Jul 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
22 July 2026
- 22 July 2026
Stronger connections for better outcomes
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Maternity Care
This presentation will include the background, rationale and findings of the ‘Baggarrook Yurrongi’ culturally tailored continuity of care model for First Nations families at three tertiary maternity services in Melbourne, with a focus on midwives' experiences of providing care in the model.
Zoom Meeting
29 Jul 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
29 July 2026
- 29 July 2026
Education review and online medication training for nurses and midwives
Improving Value in Healthcare
A review of medication safety education for nurses and midwives identified significant gaps within existing training approaches. To address these challenges, outdated modules were retired and replaced with a structured, contemporary programme. Implementation of this revised programme has strengthened organisational oversight, improved accessibility, and enhanced accountability. Within three months of rollout, training completion rates increased from 20% to 68%, demonstrating a substantial improvement in staff engagement and compliance with medication safety education requirements.
Zoom Meeting
30 Jul 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
30 July 2026
- 30 July 2026
From Hospital to Home: Implementing a Virtual Maternity Ward at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney
Improving Value in Healthcare
In Australia, virtual maternity care is now identified as a strategic government priority to meet the needs of a socially, culturally, and geographically diverse population. The Virtual Maternity Ward (VMW) at the Royal Hospital for Women (RHW) is the first service of its kind in Sydney. Women who may previously have required inpatient admission due to pregnancy complications are instead offered a hybrid model of care, that combines telehealth consultations with midwives and obstetricians and midwifery home visits.
Zoom Meeting
5 Aug 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
5 August 2026
- 5 August 2026
Restacking the Odds
Leading Thinkers Series
Access to high quality and comprehensive early childhood services are crucial in ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, can reach their potential. Yet, in Australia, 1 in 5 children are starting school developmentally behind their peers, unable to make the most of learning and life opportunities. These differences are unfair, unacceptable, and importantly, preventable. Restacking the Odds (RSTO) is a national early years systems reform initiative hosted by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Centre for Community Child Health), Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and Bain. It aims to tackle this challenge of children missing out on the early services they need to thrive by working with local partnerships to improve access to, and participation in, vital early childhood services.
Zoom Meeting
6 Aug 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
6 August 2026
- 6 August 2026
An Actionable Framework for AI Governance in Australian Healthcare Organisations
Leading Thinkers Series
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being adopted across healthcare, but many health services still lack practical processes for assessing, approving, monitoring, and managing AI safely across its lifecycle. This presentation will introduce an evidence-based AI governance framework developed by the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, in partnership with Alfred Health, Northern Sydney Local Health District and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre.
Zoom Meeting
11 Aug 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
11 August 2026
- 11 August 2026
Language and Acknowledgement – shaping emotional care in early pregnancy loss
Safety and Quality in Maternity Care
One in 4 pregnancies ends in early loss (loss before 20 weeks of gestation), resulting in around 147,000 pregnancy losses in Australia each year. Unfortunately, many bereaved parents still report feeling unseen. Terms like “missed abortion” or “products of conception” may be medically correct—but they can feel deeply distressing, failing to acknowledge the loss of the developing baby. No healthcare provider intends harm, but the intense emotional emergency experienced by bereaved parents contrasts with the often routine medical management, creating an important mismatch. To overcome this mismatch, we developed the M-HELP (Mental Health and Early Loss of Pregnancy) support intervention; a co-designed program built together with patients, partners, and staff—from receptionists to midwives, nurses, anaesthetists, and obstetricians.
Zoom Meeting
18 Aug 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
18 August 2026
- 18 August 2026
Midwives as Sustainability Champions: Lessons from the Green Maternity Project
Sustainable Healthcare
This presentation will examine the evaluation of the Green Maternity project, a midwife led initiative to promote correct waste segregation on the postnatal ward of a large tertiary maternity hospital in Victoria. How the intervention was implemented and evaluated, and outcomes in relation to accuracy of waste segregation and waste management costs will be discussed. The presentation will end with an overview of the current status of the initiative, barriers and enablers for sustained implementation, and directions for future practice.
Zoom Meeting
19 Aug 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
19 August 2026
- 19 August 2026
Agenda planning for WHA Directors of Nursing and Midwifery November face-to-face meeting
Directors of Nursing and Midwifery
Please join us as we shape and plan our agenda for this year’s WHA Directors of Nursing and Midwifery meeting to be held at the Stamford Grand Adelaide, Glenelg, SA, on Wednesday 25 November. Developing the agenda in consultation with those attending the face-to-face meeting, ensures we maximise the day and are best set up for meaningful, impactful, and engaged conversations.
Zoom Meeting
1 Sep 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
1 September 2026
- 1 September 2026
Making Pelvic Health Care Accessible: Mackay Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Service (MEPPS)
Improving Value in Healthcare
It is important that women with endometriosis and pelvic pain can receive accessible, comprehensive and holistic care close to home, regardless of geographic location. Mackay Endometriosis and Pelvis Pain Service (MEPPS), established at the end of 2024, is a multidisciplinary team of specialists providing care for women in Mackay, regional Queensland. Dr Wojciech Szubert will discuss the substantial improvement initiatives that MEPPS has implemented to improve accessibility and quality of endometriosis and pelvic pain care. The team has demonstrated outstanding outcomes, with extensive compliments and expressions of gratitude from consumers, demonstrating a need for similar multidisciplinary services to deliver care across the regions.
Zoom Meeting
9 Sep 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
9 September 2026
- 9 September 2026
Midwife continuity of care model in regional Australia: connections and social care for better pregnancy and birth outcomes
Clinical Educators
This presentation will showcase the findings of a recent research program evaluating the clinical data and anecdotal stories from clients about the benefits of Gateway Health’s midwife continuity of care model.
Zoom Meeting
16 Sep 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
16 September 2026
- 16 September 2026
Privileging voices and experiences of Aboriginal parents in their journey through a NICU
NICU and Special Care Nurseries
Winanga-Li (I Hear You) centres the voices and lived experiences of Aboriginal parents whose gaaynggal (babies) are admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Aboriginal families are overrepresented in NICU settings, where admission can disrupt the transition to parenthood and disconnect families from Country, kinship, and culturally safe care practices. Using different forms of yarning, the study explores parents’ experiences to inform clinical improvements in culturally safe neonatal care.
Zoom Meeting
17 Sep 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
17 September 2026
- 17 September 2026
The Evolution of the Butterfly Room: A Clinical Narrative of Bereavement Care
Perinatal Mental Health
Designed to provide privacy, emotional safety, and structured, trauma informed bereavement care, the Butterfly Room at Westmead Hospital enables coordinated input from bereavement midwives, social workers, and medical staff. The presentation will outline how the Bereavement Service and Butterfly Room were established, the bereavement pathway from referral through memory making, decision support, and follow up care, as well as key learnings from its implementation. A client story will be used to illustrate how the bereavement pathway is experienced in practice.
Zoom Meeting
29 Oct 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEST
29 October 2026
- 29 October 2026
Designing a Midwifery Birth Centre for midwives; changing norms to support scope and continuity
Safety and Quality in Maternity Care
This presentation will explore how the intentional design of a Midwifery Birth Centre can actively enable midwives to work to their full scope while strengthening continuity of care models. Drawing on the practical experience in leading the Midwifery Birth Centre commissioning, this will be a narrative style presentation hoping to provide insights to the deliberate structural and cultural shifts that were required during commissioning.
Zoom Meeting
5 Nov 2026, 9:00am - 10:00am AEDT
5 November 2026
- 5 November 2026
The NICU International Caregiver Behaviour Checklist
NICU and Special Care Nurseries
Developmentally supportive care (DSC) is a well-established best practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), aimed at minimising stress and optimising neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm and medically fragile infants. However, despite strong evidence and guidelines, consistent implementation of DSC at the bedside remains variable across providers and settings. This session introduces the NICU Caregiver Behaviour Checklist (NICU-CBC), an evidence-based, content-validated tool designed to operationalise developmental care through observable caregiver behaviours during routine interactions.
Face-to-Face
23 Nov 2026, 9:30am - 3:00pm AEDT
23 November 2026
- 24 November 2026
Call for Abstracts! WHA Safety & Quality in Maternity Care Insight Forum, 23-24 November 2026 at the Stamford Grand Adelaide SA
Safety and Quality in Maternity Care
Your contributions are invaluable in designing a forum that supports collaboration, learning, & innovation, improving maternity service provision and maximising outcomes for women & their families. Presenting at the Forum is a perfect opportunity to share your expertise, inspire change, and network with a passionate community of like-minded professionals.
Face-to-Face
25 Nov 2026, 8:30am - 3:00pm AEDT
25 November 2026
- 25 November 2026
WHA Directors of Nursing and Midwifery Face to Face Meeting, 25 November 2026 at Stamford Grand Adelaide, Glenelg SA
Directors of Nursing and Midwifery
An invaluable opportunity for Directors of Nursing & Midwifery to connect, collaborate, and share issues and challenges within your services.
Face-to-Face
25 Nov 2026, 8:30am - 3:00pm AEDT
25 November 2026
- 25 November 2026
WHA Directors of Obstetric and Gynaecology Face to Face Meeting, 25 November 2026 at Stamford Grand Adelaide, Glenelg SA
Directors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
An invaluable opportunity for Directors of Obstetric and Gynaecology to connect, collaborate, and share issues and challenges within your services.
