Disability Action Week Highlights, 2025 QPHCN Event
CheckUP brought together health professionals, community leaders, and disability advocates for our final Queensland Primary Healthcare Network (QPHCN) event of 2025, exploring the theme “Communicate. Connect. Create.”
Hosted by Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM (doctor, lawyer, researcher and disability advocate), the event featured powerful conversations about what inclusion really means. The day highlighted inspiring examples from Joshua Bamford on practical disability employment at M&H Ward (McDonald’s) Australia, DJ on his inclusion in schools program reaching 5,000+ students yearly with Social Futures, and Chithrani Palipana on vocational rehabilitation and creating pathways for people with disability.
Debbie Rooskov presented CheckUP’s Disability Friendly Business Basics micro-credential program, designed to help small businesses unlock the disability customer base while building genuine inclusion. The credentials focus on appropriate services, challenging biases, and effective communication.
The event explored real barriers and real solutions. From employment success stories to education programs that shift how young people see disability, speakers shared lived experience alongside practical strategies.
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM reflected on the 2025 Disability Action Week theme and said, “If we are talking about communicating, I think we have to transcend geography. We have to transcend borders. We have to transcend race, ethnicity, all of these things. We have to be brave enough to talk to people with different ideas. So communication takes courage, and it takes a sense of adventure to wander into the other side and talk to people who don’t believe and to try and generate ideas through robust discussion.”
Gain more information about Access for All
Access for All is an online course that aims to improve disability awareness among health providers and increase understanding about the barriers people with disability experience when accessing healthcare.
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Become a disability friendly business
Disability Friendly Business Basics (DFBB) is a training program that teaches businesses how to be more accessible and welcoming to customers and employees with disability.
It’s an online course that covers topics such as making your physical space easier to navigate, communicating more effectively with people who have different needs, and understanding disability inclusion basics.
It’s designed for any business (trades, retail shops, cafes) that wants to serve everyone in their community better and create a more inclusive environment.
Register Today
Eager to attend future events?
CheckUP hosts networking and learning events throughout the year across Queensland.
These gatherings bring together health professionals, community leaders, and service providers to share knowledge, build connections, and explore ways to collaborate.
Whether you’re interested in workforce development, disability inclusion, or reconciliation work, there’s an event coming up that might interest you.
Follow us on Humanitix to stay in the loop about what’s next and stay tuned for QPHCN 2026 dates!
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Sponsor acknowledgement: Thank you, PSC MediProtect
We gratefully acknowledge PSC MediProtect for their support. From humble beginnings in September 1999, PSC Mediprotect has grown to become a market leader in innovative insurance solutions for health professionals, medical, and affinity groups. A commitment to these markets has seen the company develop unique products. PSC MediProtect sponsorship means we can facilitate events to raise disability awareness.
Join us on Tuesday 25 November from 12 – 2 pm for the final Queensland Primary Health Care Network (QPHCN) event of 2025 as we mark Disability Action Week with an exploration of this year’s theme: ‘Communicate. Connect. Create’.
Discover how healthcare providers and businesses across Queensland are working towards improving disability inclusion through accessible communication, genuine connection and by creating inclusive service design and delivery.
Along with our MC, Dr Dinesh Pilipana, there will be a range of engaging speakers with lived and living experience of disability, and people who champion inclusion and strengthen connections. Plus, there will be opportunities to share ideas and stories that support people with disability.
Connect for Mental Health at CheckUP’s September QPHCN event – proudly sponsored by Carole Cooper Consulting
Join CheckUP for the next Queensland Primary Health Care Network (QPHCN) forum, a dedicated space for leaders and professionals in the primary healthcare sector to connect, collaborate, and discuss pressing issues. This 90-minute session will focus on the crucial topic of mental health, providing valuable insights and fostering collaboration in the lead-up to Queensland Mental Health Week. The 2025 Queensland Mental Health Week theme is ‘Connect for mental health’.
Download the QPHCN event flyer | Register for the event
Save the date and stay tuned for the announcement of expert speakers!
Carole Cooper
With more than 25 years of experience across business and People & Culture, Carole Cooper is recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts in cultural transformation with a particular focus on challenging workplaces not delivering on potential.
Carole brings sharp insight, practical tools and grounded leadership experience to every engagement. She previously led the People & Culture function for global ASX-listed company Flight Centre, where she helped shape one of Australia’s most high-performing, people-centred workplaces at scale.
Today, Carole partners with boards, CEOs, executive teams and People & Culture leaders across Australia to shift cultures that feel stuck, disconnected or misaligned with business goals. Her work focuses on creating cultures where clarity, accountability and engagement drive sustained performance.
Carole is a trusted speaker, advisor and mentor. She facilitates executive programs, supports leadership teams in transition, and helps organisations move from well-meaning intent to meaningful, measurable change.
Her clients say they:
- Gain clarity on where to focus their efforts to strengthen culture and performance
- Feel confident in sustaining culture change beyond the initial shift
- Build the commercial maturity of their organisation without losing sight of people
- See higher levels of engagement, accountability and ownership at every level
To find out more, or to connect with Carole, please visit www.carolecooperconsulting.com
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Join CheckUP during National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Stay tuned for more information about the speakers at this event. The theme is Bridging Now to Next #NRW2025.
Join CheckUP and Country to Coast PHN on the Sunshine Coast as we discuss the topic Healthcare: Small business matters!
Learn about workforce solutions, funding opportunities and free workforce support available for your small to medium healthcare business.
Hear from industry experts as they discuss current industry trends affecting the region, available resources and funding for small to medium businesses, and how CheckUP and Country to Coast PHN are collaborating to support workforce development, education, and training in the region.
This event is an excellent opportunity to network with fellow healthcare professionals and gain valuable insights into the support available for small businesses on the Sunshine Coast and beyond.
CheckUP’s Workforce team are pictured above, standing together at an event held in Toowoomba in August 2024.
Find more information on the QPHCN event page.
