Victoria's Largest and Most Comprehensive Gathering of Healthcare Leaders
13-14, October, 2026
| Collins Square Events Centre, Melbourne
Agenda Day 1
9:00 am - 9:30 am
PROJECT CASE STUDY: BUILT, MOVED AND OPEN: THE REAL STORY BEHIND VICTORIA'S $1.5 BILLION FOOTSCRAY HOSPITAL
John Ferraro -
Chief Operating Officer,
Western Health
Western Health's new Footscray Hospital is one of Victoria's largest ever health infrastructure investments. Russell Harrison takes delegates behind the scenes - from design and user groups through to a single-day move of 115 patients — sharing the unfiltered lessons learned across every stage of delivery.
• What the design and user group process actually looked like in practice, and where co-design made the biggest difference
• How a two-year operational readiness program prepared staff, systems and patients for a single-day live hospital move
• The honest lessons learned across design, build and go-live that every project team should hear before they break ground
9:30 am - 10:00 am
FIRESIDE CHAT: RUNNING THE SYSTEM WHILE BUILDING THE FUTURE: ASSET BURDEN, EFFICIENCY AND DELIVERY REALITY
Priscilla Radice -
CEO,
Victorian Health Building Authority
Adam Horsburgh - Chief Executive Officer, Bayside Health
Ryan Browne - Senior Associate, Architectus
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Interactive Discussion Groups
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Table 1: Reserved for Holyoake
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Table 2: Reserved for Studform
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH BREAK
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
PROJECT CASE STUDY: FROM BUILD TO BEDSIDE: LEVERAGING THE NEW TOOWOOMBA HOSPITAL TO TRANSFORM CARE DELIVERY
Simone McCoy -
Senior Director Strategic Projects,
Darling Downs Hospital & Health Service
Dave Pugsley - Executive Director of Commercial Management and Infrastructure, Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service
The $2 billion New Toowoomba Hospital is being used as a catalyst for system-wide transformation across Darling Downs Health - beyond construction to redesign care models, embed digital workflows and prepare a workforce of almost 4,000 staff for new ways of working. This session outlines how clinical, digital and infrastructure planning have been integrated to drive measurable improvements in care delivery and ensure operational readiness from day one.
Dave Pugsley
Executive Director of Commercial Management and InfrastructureDarling Downs Hospital and Health Service
2:00 pm - 2:40 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: BUILDING WHILE OPERATING: DELIVERING HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE IN LIVE ENVIRONMENTS
Chandima Hiyare-Hewage -
A/Executive Director Infrastructure,
East Metropolitan Health Service
Amy Ross - Director of Redevelopment, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network
Louise Alexander - Executive Director-Malvern and Brighton, Cabrini Health
Noelene Herbert - Senior Director Readiness & Operational Commissioning, Metro South Health
Most health projects don't happen on empty sites, they happen in live hospitals. This panel explores the challenges of delivering redevelopment while maintaining safe, uninterrupted care. From workforce pressures to operational risk, panellists share what it takes to keep services running while building around them.
• Why live-site redevelopment significantly increases delivery risk and complexity
• How to manage workforce, stakeholder and operational pressures during disruption
• Practical lessons to reduce delays and improve coordination in brownfield projects
Louise Alexander
Executive Director-Malvern and BrightonCabrini Health
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: HEALTH PRECINCTS IN PRACTICE: DELIVERING, GOVERNING AND GROWING AUSTRALIA'S HEALTH CAMPUSES
Tim Regan -
Executive Director,
Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct
Patrick Silvey - Director, Herston Health Precinct
Australia's health precincts are evolving from hospital campuses into complex multi-partner ecosystems - bringing together health services, universities, research institutions and private developers in ways that require fundamentally different approaches to governance, funding and long-term planning. This panel brings together the leaders behind two of Australia's most significant health and innovation precincts to share what it actually takes to make them work, and where they are headed next.
Governance is the hardest part - structuring a precinct entity that keeps universities, hospitals and private developers aligned without stalling delivery
Funding beyond the hospital - what infrastructure partnerships, long-term leases and private co-investment mean for how precincts are planned and who takes the risk
Precincts are never finished - future-proofing a campus for population growth, new models of care and technologies that don't yet exist, including the once-in-a-generation opportunity presented by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics
3:20 pm - 3:40 pm
AFTERNOON TEA BREAK
3:40 pm - 4:20 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: MAKING SUSTAINABILITY NON-NEGOTIABLE IN HEALTH FACILITY DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Alana Stoeger -
District Sustainability Program Manager,
Hunter New England Local Health District
Tiernan Humphrys - Senior Technical Specialist Environmental Sustainability at, Victorian Health Building Authority
Mark De Souza - Emergency Medicine Physician and PHD Candidate, University of Melbourne
Sustainable design features are frequently the first to be cut when budgets tighten — but the long-term cost and risk implications of this approach are increasingly clear. This panel explores how to embed climate resilience, net zero targets and circular economy principles into project briefs, procurement and delivery, and how to make the business case to boards and governments.
Alana Stoeger
District Sustainability Program ManagerHunter New England Local Health District
Tiernan Humphrys
Senior Technical Specialist Environmental Sustainability atVictorian Health Building Authority
4:20 pm - 4:50 pm
NEW FOOTSCRAY HOSPITAL – DELIVERING VALUE THROUGH THE STAKEHOLDER AND CONSUMER CO-DESIGN PROCESS TO ACHIEVE AN EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY ASSET
Julia Beckingsale -
Design Lead,
Western Health
Demonstrating the value achieved through patient and community stakeholder engagement in the PPP delivery model and how it has helped shape a community asset 2.
Demonstrating elements of a true community asset from design through to the final outcome – equitable access, welcoming arrival experience, people scaled design, spaces for families and friends
Anecdotal evidence demonstrating the successful outcome of this process – feedback from the patients and staff
