The 2025 DEA Conference will be focused on the implementation of the New Specialist Disability Employment Program including changes to the program, and centred on evolving disability employment policy, design, models, and practice including employment for NDIS participants.
The Conference program will include relevant debates, research, and innovative practices, with the core focus on quality services for participants and employers as well as achievement of employment goals and intersection with the Disability Employment Centre of Excellence.
The DEA 2025 Conference is the ideal gathering place for you, the people seeking to implement this generational change in policy, planning, and practice in the newly evolved landscape of the disability employment sector.
This is a significant opportunity to engage directly with what is going on in disability and employment. Following an Implementation Masterclass, we will have two days full of the latest and best analysis of the current sector developments, leading edge practice program ideas and thinking about future changes.
In addition to impressive keynote speakers and panels, our breakout sessions have garnered a reputation as some of the most valuable of the Conference. There is always a lot going on during these sessions and DEA is delighted to platform an eclectic range of experts to inform our own thinking.
To that end, we are seeking your contributions and are now calling for papers to be presented at this year’s Conference. We have listed a range of core themes and invite papers on these. Please click here for more information.
We are looking for evidence-based, best practice, results-driven presentations. This is your chance to showcase your initiatives that demonstrate improved employment outcomes for people with disability.
For more information click here.
As you know, the program drives discussions across the event. In breaks and drinks, coffee catchups and the Gala dinner, the pulse of the Conference is networking. So, take your opportunity to network with our peers. Across a lectern or a coffee, this is your chance to be involved and prepare yourself for the new era.
Tuesday 13 May 2025
Centre for Inclusive Employment industry launch, Implementation Masterclass & Welcome Reception
Centre for Inclusive Employment industry launch
Lagoon Terrace
Centre for Inclusive Employment industry launch Registration & Morning Tea
Lagoon Room
Implementation Masterclass
Lagoon Terrace
Implementation Masterclass Registration & Lunch
Lagoon Terrace
Afternoon Tea
Welcome Reception
Poolside Lawns
Welcome Reception
Wednesday 14 May 2025
Conference Day 1
Exhibition Area
Registration
Grand Ballroom
Grand Ballroom
Callam Pickering
Exhibition Area
Morning Tea
Grand Ballroom
Panel Discussion: The role of social enterprise in disability employment
Mark Daniels
Jo Barraket AM
Andrea Comastri
Saraya O’Connell
Melissa Cofre
Roksolana Suchowerska
Myron Mann
Exhibition Area
Lunch
Grand Ballroom 1
JobAccess and Inclusive Employment Australia working together to support clients
Karla Fernee
Georgia Miller
Grand Ballroom 2
Building organisational practices to employ young people with disability
Jo Ingold
Dr Qian Yi Lee
Jason McCurry
Grand Ballroom 3
Hosted by the Centre for Inclusive Employment – Evidence to Practice: Transitioning to employment
Roksolana Suchowerska
Liz Willis
Melanie Sennett
Will McKinlay
Grand Ballroom 1
Preetha Sivakumaran
Shannon Lang
Grand Ballroom 3
Evidence to Practice: Transitioning to employment – part 2
Roksolana Suchowerska
Liz Willis
Melanie Sennett
Will McKinlay
Exhibition Area
Afternoon Tea
Grand Ballroom
Inclusive Employment in the Screen and Media Sector
Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM
Jackson Hughes
Grand Ballroom
Gala Dinner – including Hall of Fame Ceremony and DEA Awards presentations
Ellie Cole
Suzanne Colbert AM, GAICD
Thursday 15 May 2025
Conference Day 2
Exhibition Area
Registration
Exhibition Area
Morning Tea
Grand Ballroom
Panel Discussion: The Future of Employment and the NDIS
Graeme Innes
Sam Bennett
Catherine McAlpine
Kelly Treloar
Colin Entwistle
Kirsten Deane
Exhibition Area
Lunch
Grand Ballroom 1
Andrew Radford: A Journey of Resilience and Achievement
Andrew Radford
Rebecca McIntyre
Grand Ballroom 2
The Power of Business Intelligence in Employment Services
Paul Diviny
Jason Russell
Grand Ballroom 3
Jo Ingold
Sharon Kumar
David West
Prof Byron Keating
Grand Ballroom 1
Update from Disability Employment Australia – DES, NDIS and Training
Hanif Mohamed
Kelly Treloar
Sally Karandrews
Grand Ballroom 2
Transforming disability employment: insights from a Paralympian’s journey
Matthew Levy
Grand Ballroom 3
Evidence to Practice: Working effectively with employers – part 2
Jo Ingold
Sharon Kumar
David West
Prof Byron Keating
Exhibition Area
Afternoon Tea
Exhibition Area
Networking