Foundations to future: Advancing paramedicine

Join us for the only dedicated paramedicine conference in Australasia. The Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference (ACPIC25) is designed to inspire, educate and broaden horizons.

10 - 12 September 2025

Hotel Grand Chancellor
Brisbane

Join us in Brisbane for a full program of scientific research abstracts, case studies, presentations, workshops, panel discussions and more.

To read session overviews, select the conference day and then click the session title.

Wednesday 10 September - Pre-Conference Workshops & Student Day

Thursday 11 and Friday 12 September – Conference


Click the session title to view session overviews

Time (AEST) (Please note: This schedule is subject to change).
08:00 - 08:30

Registration and Arrival Tea & Coffee

08:30 - 08:40

Welcome

08:40 - 09:10

Recognising Deteriorating Patients

Dan O'Brien

09:10 - 09:45

Oxygenation & Ventilation: From First Principles to Advanced Practice

Lucy Oatley, Intensive Care Flight Paramedic, Ambulance Tasmania

09:45 - 10:30

Back to Basics: Mastering Wound Care

Presenter announced shortly

10:30 - 11:00

Morning Tea Break

11:00 - 13:00

WORKSHOP - Trauma Skills Bootcamp

This workshop will consist of four trauma skills stations, each attendee will have 30 minutes hands on time at each workshop station

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

14:00 - 14:45

Career Pathways - Panel Discussion

A/Prof Ben Meadley, Director Paramedicine, Ambulance Victoria and Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University

Jeremy Kuiper, Clinical Education Officer, Australasian College of Paramedicine. AHPRA Registered Paramedic. Casual Vocational educator, private sector. P1 Paramedic, NSW Ambulance

Richard Armour

14:45 - 15:30

Fatigue and Stress Management: How to get the most out of your career

Presenter announced shortly

15:30 - 15:45

Afternoon Tea Break

15:45 - 16:15

Hot & Cold Hazards: Protecting Patients and Paramedics

Lucy Oatley, Intensive Care Flight Paramedic, Ambulance Tasmania

16:15 - 17:00

Complexities of managing the Frequent Presenter: A Case Study

Stephanie Nixon, Advanced Care Paramedic, Queensland Ambulance Service

Click the session title to view session overviews

Time (AEST) (Please note: This schedule is subject to change).
08:00 - 08:30

Registration and Arrival Tea and Coffee

 

Room 1: Research

Room 2: POCUS

Room 3: ABC's

Room 4: Advanced Assessments

08:30 - 10:30

Enhancing quality in journal peer-review: a primer for new and existing reviewers

Paul Simpson, Editor in Chief, Paramedicine. Associate Professor of Paramedicine, Western Sydney University

Veins and Views: Mastering Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Access

Jake Donovan, Intensive Care Paramedic

Airway and Breathing

Dr Owen Jones

Rethinking Pain Management – Practical skills for managing the complexity of acute pain situations

Facilitator announced shortly

10:30 - 11:00

Morning Tea Break

11:00 - 13:00

From Idea to Investment: Funding Your Paramedic Research

Dr Nigel Barr, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead, Paramedicine and Urgent Care, University of the Sunshine Coast

eFAST and the Crashing Patient: Using POCUS to Guide High-Stakes Decision-Making

Hannah Latta

Circulation - Core Concepts to Critical Care

Cat Mackay, MICA Flight Paramedic, Ambulance Victoria

Strapping, Splinting and Taping - Common musculoskeletal presentations

Michael Wann, Clinical educator, Queensland Ambulance Service. 

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 - 17:00

Extract Me If You Can: Using AI in Systematic Reviews

Rachael Vella, Lecturer and Academic Program Advisor, Paramedicine, Western Sydney University

Liz Thyer, 

Primary Care Applications

Dr Aidan Baron

D&E in 3D: Disability & Exposure assessment and management for wherever you find yourself

Shell Piercy, Chief Paramedic Officer, Northern Territory

Paul J Reeves, Principal Advisor, Pre-Hospital Care, Northern Territory Government, Office of the Chief Paramedic

Wound Care

Melissa Alexander, Community Paramedic/Extended Care Paramedic, SA Ambulance

Click the session title to view session overviews

Time (AEST) (Please note: This schedule is subject to change).
08:00 - 08:30

Registration and Arrival Tea and Coffee

08:30 - 09:00

Conference Open

09:00 - 10:00

Opening Keynote Presentation - From Response to Responsibility: The journey to Chief Paramedic and Beyond

Shell Piercy, Chief Paramedic Officer, Northern Territory

10:00 - 10:30

To Be Confirmed

10:30 - 11:00

Morning Tea Brak

11:00 - 11:10

Room 1: Introduction to research presentations

Room 2: Introduction to research presentations

 

Advancing clinical practice and innovation

Paramedic education and workforce development

11:10 - 11:20

Palliative paramedicine: An interrupted time series analysis of pre-hospital guideline efficacy in Victoria, Australia

Mostyn Gooley, Advanced Care Paramedic II, Queensland Ambulance Service 

“Death is a normal part of the job, not a failure”: Preparing paramedic students for death on scene

Dr Natalie Anderson, Senior lecturer, University of Auckland and Staff Nurse, Auckland Emergency Department

11:20 - 11:30

Behind the guidelines: Unpacking how paramedic CPGs are really made

Sonja Maria

Time-and-motion study of community paramedics in an Australian ambulance service

Matt Wilkinson-Stokes, PhD student, University of Melbourne

11:30 - 11:40

Translating delphi-derived advanced practice paramedic capabilities into regulation, education and practice

Alessia Restiglian, Teaching Associate at Monash University and Paramedic 

Improving rural mental health outcomes with community paramedics: A mixed-method feasibility trial outcome

Louise Reynolds, Chief Paramedic Officer, Safer Care Victoria; Associate Professor in Paramedicine, ACU; Adjunct Professor, La Trobe University

11:40 - 11:50

Development of a national implementation strategy for the Palliative Paramedicine Framework to standardise best practice across Australia

Sophia Flanagan-Sjoberg, Paramedic at SA Ambulance Service; Honours student at Flinders University

Declining Ambulance Offload Delays in the Post-COVID era: An interrupted time series analysis

Edward Stacey, Paramedic- Ambulance Victoria, Masters Graduate Student- Monash University

 

Workplace safety and wellbeing

Equity, access and patient-centred care

11:50 - 12:00

Assessing the incidence and prevalence of violence towards paramedics in Ontario, Canada

Elizabeth Donnelly, Professor, School of Social Work, University of Windsor; Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences, Charles Sturt University 

Disparities in ambulance service delivered telehealth amongst patients with limited English proficiency 

Ricky Lam, Advanced Care Paramedic, Queensland Ambulance Service

12:00 - 12:10

Click it or risk it: How education and policy drive paramedic seatbelt use

Lyle Brewster, Course Director, Paramedicine at Charles Sturt University

Mortality in non-transported falls patients attended by road-based EMS in Aotearoa New Zealand

Dr Verity Todd, Senior Lecturer, Paramedicine Department, Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

12:10 - 12:20

Body worn cameras for paramedics: Perceptions on safety and workplace challenges

Clare Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Paramedicine at Charles Sturt University

Frailty documentation in the prehospital setting

Lorna Martin, Lecturer and PhD candidate, Monash University

12:20 - 12:30

Causes and consequences of paramedic fatigue and sleep loss: A qualitative analysis of the paramedic perspective in an Australian context

Sian Wanstall, PhD candidate, Flinders University / Paramedic, SA Ambulance Service

Prehospital prediction of critical illness: Evaluating the New Zealand Early Warning Score (NZEWS) versus clinical triage status codes

Dave Naylor, Lecturer (paramedicine) at Auckland University of Technology.

12:30 - 13:30

Lunch

13:30 - 13:50

Spotlight on Pain Management - Non-Pharmacological Pain Management

James Oswald, Paramedic and Clinical Practice Guideline Specialist, Ambulance Victoria

Spotlight on HALO - Mental Rehearsal

13:50 - 14:10

Spotlight on Pain Management - Chronic Pain Management

Spotlight on HALO - Event Preparation

14:10 - 14:30

Spotlight on Pain Management - New and emerging approaches to pain management

Adjunct Professor Bill Lord, Monash University Department of Paramedicine

Spotlight on HALO - Skill Competency and Decay–What Happens to Skills We Rarely Use And What Can We Do About It

Matthew Humar, MICA Paramedic, Ambulance Victoria. Teaching Associate, Monash University. PhD Candidate, Department of Paramedicine, Monash University

14:30 - 15:00

Spotlight on Pain Management - Panel Discussion

James Oswald, Paramedic and Clinical Practice Guideline Specialist, Ambulance Victoria

Adjunct Professor Bill Lord, Monash University Department of Paramedicine

Spotlight on HALO - Panel Discussion

15:00 - 15:30

Afternoon Tea Break

15:30 - 16:00

Conversations After Life - Coronial Learnings

Capacity and Competence in the Extremes of Age - Capacity

Dr Michael Eburn, Honorary Fellow, Australasian College of Paramedicine

16:00 - 16:30

Conversations After Life - Difficult Conversations

Capacity and Competence in the Extremes of Age - The Older Patient

Dr Will Browne, Geriatrician, Staff specialist, Eastern Health

16:30 - 17:00

Conversations After Life - Organ Donation After Cardiac Arrest: International Models, Challenges and Prehospital Potential

Ben Lawson, Intensive Care Paramedic, Ambulance Tasmania

Capacity and Competence in the Extremes of Age - Paediatric Patients

18:00 - 23:00

Gala Dinner (ticket holders only)

Gala Dinner Presentations – Indigenous Voices in Paramedicine

Michelle Crilly Yorta Yorta woman, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program Lead and Advance Life Support (ALS) Paramedic, Ambulance Victoria

Cam Rota, Manager, Hato Hone St John New Zealand

Click the session title to view session overviews

Time (AEST) (Please note: This schedule is subject to change).
07:20 - 08:20

Women in Paramedicine Morning Session

Please RSVP to this event when purchasing your conference ticket

08:25 - 08:35

Day 2 Welcome and Research Updates

08:35 - 08:50

Reasonable compulsory overtime uncovered: What’s fair? What’s fatiguing? What’s fixable?

Matt Ferris, Clinical Deployment Supervisor - Queensland Ambulance Service

08:50 - 09:05

Paramedic care during death, dying and bereavement: A holistic model for responding to diverse family needs in out-of-hospital death

Eillish Satchell, Professional Teaching Fellow, PhD candidate (School of Nursing, Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland); Registered nurse

09:05 - 09:20

Australasia’s female paramedicine workforce: opportunities and barriers from a national survey

A/Prof Liz Thyer, Associate professor of paramedicine at Western Sydney University

09:20 - 09:35

UK EMS999 Research Winner - HUGS@Home- an update!

Michelle O'Toole, Teacher Practitioner, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland. Lecturer in Paramedicine, University College Cork, Ireland. PhD Candidate, Monash University, Australia

09:20 - 09:50

Resilience - Owning your mistakes

09:50 - 10:00

College Updates

10:00 - 10:10

Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey Updates

Assoc Prof Liz Thyer

10:10 - 10:40

Morning Tea Break

Please take this opportunity to view the research posters during the break

10:40 - 12:10

Global Responses and Local Impacts

10:40 - 11:10 - WHO Clinics

Tarah Puller 

11:10 - 11:40 - From Conflict to Cold

Presented by Dave Brown, Intensive Care and Wilderness Paramedic Ambulance Tasmania. Lead Facilitator, Health in Remote and Extreme Environments, University of Tasmania

11:40 - 12:10 - Urgent Care

Presented by Alison Spicer

Please note: Room change during this session (10:40 - 12:10) is not possible due to timing

The Lived Experience

10:40 - 11:25 - PTSD and Ambulance First Responders (A lived experience)

Presented by: Don Gillies (ASM), Ambulance Victoria (retired), ALS Team manager

11:25 - 12:10 - Session 2: Presenter TBA

Please note: Room change during this session (10:40 - 12:10) is not possible due to timing

12:10 - 13:10

Lunch

13:10 - 13:30  

Spotlight on Evolution of CVA Management - Stroke of Insight: Advancing Assessment to Improve Outcomes

Dr. Wayne Loudon, Executive Manager Community Response Program, QAS and Adjunct senior lecturer, QUT

Spotlight on The Future of the Workforce - Balancing Graduate Paramedics and Workforce Demand: A System Challenge

A/Prof Ben Meadley, Director Paramedicine, Ambulance Victoria and Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University

13:30 - 13:50

Spotlight on Evolution of CVA Management - Stroke in Underserved Populations

Spotlight on The Future of the Workforce - The Paramedicine Identity Crisis

13:50 - 14:10

Spotlight on Evolution of CVA Management - Aeromedical Neuroimaging: the Near Future

Dr Mardi Steere, MBBS MBA FAAP FACEP FRACP, Executive General Manager, Medical & Retrieval Services. Associate Professor, Charles Darwin University. Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT

Spotlight on The Future of the Workforce - What Does a Chief Paramedic Do? And How Can They Help with These Challenges?

Dr Louise Reynolds, Chief Paramedic Officer, Safer Care Victoria. Associate Professor in Paramedicine, Australian Catholic University. Adjunct Professor, La Trobe University

14:10 - 14:40

Spotlight on Evolution of CVA Management - Panel Discussion

Dr. Wayne Loudon, Executive Manager Community Response Program, QAS and Adjunct senior lecturer, QUT

Dr Mardi Steere, MBBS MBA FAAP FACEP FRACP, Executive General Manager, Medical & Retrieval Services. Associate Professor, Charles Darwin University. Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT

Spotlight on The Future of the Workforce - Panel Discussion

Dr Louise Reynolds, Chief Paramedic Officer, Safer Care Victoria. Associate Professor in Paramedicine, Australian Catholic University. Adjunct Professor, La Trobe University

A/Prof Ben Meadley, Director Paramedicine, Ambulance Victoria and Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University

14:40 - 15:10

Afternoon Tea Break

Please take this opportunity to view the research posters during the break

15:10 - 15:40

AUSMAT Presentation

15:40 - 16:10

What got us here, won't get us there: Reimagining the future of paramedicine

Dr Tim Makrides PhD, Associate Professor of Paramedicine, CQUniversity

16:10 - 17:00

Closing Keynote

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM 

17:00 - 17:05

Conference Close

Logo

The College is the peak professional body representing and supporting paramedics and student paramedics across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand since 1973.

The College acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land and sea in which we live and work, we recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and culture and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.

The College acknowledges Māori as tangata whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa New Zealand.