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Agenda

You are viewing the agenda for the AI & Technology in Aged Care Forum.

Day One | Wednesday, 20 May 2026

8:00

Registration and Refreshments

8:50

Welcome to Country 

Unlce Allen Madden, Respected Gadigal Elder, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council

9:00

Introduction and Review

Fonda Voukelatos, Founder, XV Consulting

INTEGRATING SYSTEMS, LEADERSHIP, AND CARE

9:10

Case Study: Where AI meets care - frontline lessons from a real-world implementation

  • A real-world client-partner case study with ECH, showing how GenAI-enabled care planning reduced a 20-minute manual process to seconds while improving accuracy from 35% to 92.5% -freeing thousands of hours for direct client care and strengthening quality outcomes.

  • A practical walkthrough of the journey from problem to implementation, including design principles, governance approach, lessons learned, and how aged care providers can safely scale AI with a human-in-the-loop model.

Simeon Lobo, Director Consulting Expert, AI & Data, CGI

Sharon Paulson, Chief Information Officer, ECH

9:40

Panel: Selecting and implementing your care management platform 

  • A technical and strategic guide to evaluating and procuring the central software platform that will integrate all other clinical, operational, and IoT systems.


Moderator: Scott Lawton, Chief Information Officer, Apollo Care

Wayne Stoddard, GM Engagement and Compliance, Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC)

Alex Aidar, General Manager – IT Delivery, Baptistcare

10:35

Wi-Fi resilience, internet, and wireless technology leadership

  • Establishing the foundation for all digital services, focusing on high-bandwidth, resilient WLAN to support everything from clinical devices to resident streaming.

  • Learn how integrated systems must be considered in the case of a long-term outage


Mohammad Sela, Technology & Cloud Manager, Catholic Healthcare

11:15

Morning break

SAFEGUARDS & GOVERNANCE IN THE AGE OF AI

11:45

Panel: AI and big data for workforce productivity: Guard Rails and Governance 

Common-sense questions of AI use and guardrails against misuse, including data privacy, applications in aged care, and how to keep pace with the changing AI landscape.


Moderator:  Terry McKenna, PMO Lead, Mecwacare

Joe Perricone, IT Manager & Digital Strategy Lead – Aged Care, The Salvation Army

Dr Armin Alimardani, Senior Lecturer in Law & Emerging Technologies School of Law, Western Sydney University

Tate Johnson, Chief Transformation Officer, The Lookout Way

Matthew Meldrum, Senior Sales Engineer, Riskonnect

12:30

Less paperwork, more care: A provider's experience deploying AI in aged care

  • Documentation burden is one of the most significant drains on aged care workforce capacity. As administrative load grows, what are providers actually doing about it, and where is AI delivering genuine relief?

  • A candid account from St Louis Care, an Adelaide provider operating across home care, allied health, and residential care - what AI deployment looked like in practice, and what they'd do differently

  • What should providers consider before they start - governance requirements, change management realities, and how to evaluate whether a tool is genuinely ready for a regulated care environment


Jefferson Spratt, Aged Care Lead, Heidi Health

Kai Schmidt, Business Operations Manager, St Louis Care

12:50

Networking Lunch 

1:45

Case Study: Organisational security & cyber-defences 

  • Implementing effective cybersecurity training for all staff. As weak as your weakest link

  • Understand the cybersecurity frameworks to safeguard sensitive resident data, mitigate the risk of costly breaches, and stay compliant with government regulation.


Leana El-Hourani, Head of Information Security & GRC, Mission Australia

2:15

Breakout Sessions (First set: 2:15 - 2:45 & Second set: 2:45 – 3:15)


These are 30-minute interactive breakout sessions. Each is 30 minutes long and delegates can pick two to attend. 


Roundtable A – presented by Emergent Consulting

What’s Actually Holding You Back? The Real Strategies and Constraints in Aged Care Digital Transformation
Exploring the key constraints holding organisations back and the practical strategies leaders can use to drive meaningful, sustained transformation.

Anthony Butler, Managing Director and Founder, Emergent Consulting


Roundtable B – presented by Ignite Telecom/Ring Central

Modern Communications for a New Standard of Care

Modern Communications for a New Standard of Care" examines the transition from reform compliance to utilising technology as a strategic lever for risk management and quality growth. By consolidating disconnected systems, providers can eliminate manual burdens like physical handovers and gain the necessary visibility to validate care quality. The presentation details how AI-driven solutions can automate clinical documentation to give nurses back roughly 25 minutes per day, protect staff from interruptions via 24/7 call management, and quantify the resident experience by tracking sentiment trends. This approach moves communication beyond a simple IT upgrade, positioning it as a fundamental driver for operational efficiency and improved care outcomes.

Ryan Thompson, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Ignite Telecom

Riyaz Mohammed, Manager, Solutions Engineering, RingCentral


Roundtable C – presented by Heide Health

Getting AI to Stick: Real Talk on Implementation, Adoption and Governance

Most aged care providers aren't short of AI curiosity. What they're short of is an honest account of what happens after the decision is made.  
This session is a candid Q&A between Jefferson Spratt from Heidi Health and Paul Maris Naish, CEO at St Louis Care - an Adelaide provider that has deployed Heidi across home care, allied health, and disability care. Hear the real story: what drove the decision, what the first six months looked like, where the friction was, and what they'd tell a provider starting today. Then the room takes over. Structured table discussions on the questions providers are actually sitting with - governance, staff adoption, and how to know if it's working. The session closes with shared takeaways from across the tables. You'll leave with something to act on next week.
Jefferson Spratt, Aged Care Lead, Heidi Health

Kai Schmidt, Business Operations Manager, St Louis Care

3:15

Afternoon Tea 

TECH INVESTMENT & THE BUSINESS CASE FOR INNOVATION

3:40

A Digital Transformation Business Case Study

A visionary outlook on how the next wave of integrated technologies will create a more predictive, responsive, and efficient aged care ecosystem.


Nathan Betteridge, Co-Founder / Director, Five Good Friends

4:00

Medication safety and digital medication management at scale 

This session explores how digital tools such as eNRMC and My Health Record can strengthen medication safety by ensuring a single, accurate medicines record across every transition of care. It highlights practical system‑level changes that reduce errors, avoid unnecessary hospital transfers and support safer, more coordinated care for older Australians.


Simon Grof, Chief Medical Officer, Jewish Care

4:30

Building the business case: ROI on technology and infrastructure development 

Quantify and articulate the return on investment of technology projects, linking them to efficiency gains, risk reduction, and improved resident outcomes.


Steven Taylor, Chief Financial Officer, Nazareth Care

5:00

Chairperson’s Closing Remarks 

5:10

Networking Reception 

Day Two | Thursday, 21 May 2026

8:30

Arrival and Refreshments 

9:10

Welcome and Introduction

Cameron McPherson, Chief Executive Officer, Medical & Aged Care Group

DRIVING ADOPTION AND ENHANCING RESIDENT EXPERIENCE

9:20

Keynote: Technology for enhancing wellbeing and combating social isolation

Highlighting the proven technologies in combatting social isolation and improving the daily lives of residents and home care clients.


Cameron McPherson, Chief Executive Officer, Medical & Aged Care Group

Brian McCarthy, Chief Commercial Officer, Andromeda


10:00

Innovation Keynote: Microsoft  

Microsoft AI Upskilling Case Study

  • This session will explore the data and operational impact of successful AI upskilling, putting people first, and making sure AI serves everyone with an example from aged care


The Future of AI Technology

  • With some aiming to be the first to reach artificial general intelligence or even superintelligence. What do we really hope to create at the supposed finish line?


Angeline Michelutti, Strategic Account Executive, Microsoft Elevate

10:50

Morning Break

11:20

Designing effective training and embedding technology adoption into organisational culture

A practical session sharing proven methods for designing effective training, overcoming resistance to change, and embedding technology adoption into organisational culture


Amanda Sweeney, Manager Enterprise Digital and Data Enablement, Mission Australia

11:50

Organisational security & cyber-defences

  • How can aged care leaders ensure organisational security is treated as a core governance responsibility, not just an IT issue, in an increasingly complex risk environment?

  • Gain practical insight into building a proportionate and defensible security strategy for aged care, understanding today’s key cyber and organisational risks, and translating strategy into effective execution, governance, and everyday practice


Scott Lawton, Chief Information Officer, Apollo Care

12:20

AI & data for personalisation & resident choice

  • How can data systems support resident autonomy and choice (diet, activities, therapy, social engagement), while respecting privacy and preferences?

  • Learn how data can help offer person-centered care, identifying trends and preferences to improve quality of life


Wayne Stoddard, GM Engagement and Compliance, Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC)

12:50

Networking Lunch 

AGEING IN PLACE AND INTEGRATED HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE

1:50

Staying Safe Online: A Practical Guide for Aged Care Providers 

  • In 2025, people 65 years and over reported $90 million in losses to scams, more than any other age group.

  • In this session, you’ll hear about some of the scams most significantly impacting older Australians, how the Government is responding, and what you can do to help them, and you, stay safe.

Ruth Pirrie, Assistant Director, Corruption Prevention, National Anti-Scam Centre, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

2:20

Enhancing daily work practices through AI: Practical insights and challenges 

Showcasing common-sense AI technologies that have a direct, positive impact on staff productivity


Paul Basso, Head of Data Analytics and AI, Uniting Age Well

2:50

First Nations ageing in place: The digital gaps in regional & remote communities 

  • Identifying the key digital gaps that currently limit choice amongst care providers

  • Outlining a co-designed framework for flexible, digitally-enabled care delivery in regional and remote settings


Scott Winch, Senior Research Fellow, Indigenous Digital Inclusion, RMIT

3:30

Panel: Integrating assistive technology for mobility, safety and independence 

Discussing the implementation and integration of technology. Infrastructure and design considerations for new technology.


Moderator: Amanda Sweeney, Manager Enterprise Digital and Data Enablement, Mission Australia

Evonne Miller, Professor of Design Psychology, Queensland University of Technology

Bill Medill, General Manager, Technology, Churches of Christ in Queensland

4:10

Chairperson’s Closing Remarks 

Cameron McPherson, Chief Executive Officer, Medical & Aged Care Group

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