PROGRAM
The theme for the 2026 program is:
Without fear or favour - challenges for the modern coroner
The program will focus on the following themes:
This program addresses the key challenges confronting contemporary coronial systems. It aims to strengthen participants’ knowledge across scientific, forensic and medical disciplines, and further examines how community expectations may be effectively accommodated within the functions of the coroner.
A detailed conference program will be announced closer to the event date. A preliminary schedule is available below for your reference.
Program Overview
Tuesday 27 October
Arrival
Enjoy the sites of Hobart
Dinner at leisure
Wednesday 28 October
Registration
8.00am - 9.00am
Day 1 Full Program
9.00am - 4.30pm
Official Welcome Event
6.00pm - 8.00pm
Dinner at leisure
Thursday 29 October
Registration
8.00am - 9.00am
Day 2 Full Program
9.00am - 4.30pm
Gala Dinner
7.00pm - 11.00pm
Friday 30 October
Registration
8.00am - 9.00am
Day 3 Half Day Program
9.00am - 12.30pm
APCS AGM
1.00pm - 1.30pm
*Program is subject to change
DAY 1 - Wednesday 28 October
Foundations of Coronial Investigations
|
Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
|
|
9:00 am - 10:40 am
|
Session 1 - Welcome and opening
|
Chair: President APCS and Chief Coroner Tasmania Olivia McTaggart
|
|
9:00 am - 9:10 am
|
Welcome to Country
|
Dougie Mansell
|
|
9:10 am - 9:30 am
|
Conference Opening by Chief Coroner Olivia McTaggart
|
Chief Coroner Olivia McTaggart
|
|
9:30 am - 10:40 am
|
Water rescue, hypothermia and signs of life
|
Keynote speaker:
Dr Jorian Kippax, Tasmanian of the Year |
|
10:40 am - 11:15 am
|
Morning Tea
|
|
|
11:15 am - 1:00 pm
|
Session 2 - Missing Persons: the changing landscape of recovery of human remains
|
Chair: Coroner Madeleine Wilson
|
|
11:15 am - 1:00 pm
|
Panel discussion and case studies
|
Moderator:
Coroner Madeleine Wilson Panel Members: Dean Wotherspoon Paul Helleman Dr Andrew Reid |
|
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
|
Lunch
|
|
|
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
|
Session 3 - Risk taking and social media - a contemporary issue
|
Chair: Chief Coroner New Zealand Anna Tutton
|
|
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
|
Social media, risky behaviours and safety messaging
|
Dr Amy Peden
Dr Samuel Cornell |
|
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
|
Afternoon Tea
|
|
|
3:00 pm - 4:35 pm
|
Session 4 - Death, grief and fixation
|
Chair: State Coroner Victoria Liberty Sanger
|
|
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
|
The unreasonable, querulant and vexatious participant in
coronial investigations as a driver of change |
Dr Georgina O'Donnell
|
|
4.00 pm - 4.30 pm
|
Family participation in coronial proceedings: opportunities, pitfalls and practical tips
|
Peerce McManus
|
|
4:30 pm - 4:35 pm
|
Day 1 Close
|
Chief Coroner Olivia McTaggart
|
|
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
|
WELCOME RECEPTION
Location: GOTHAM at The Still |
|
*Program is subject to change.
DAY 2 - Thursday 29 October
|
Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
||
|
9:00 am - 10:45 am
|
Session 5 - Without fear or favour; the challenges of the modern coroner
|
Chair: Coroner Leigh Mackey
|
|
|
9:00 am - 9:45 am
|
Challenges for the modern coroner
|
Professor Ian Freckleton KC
|
|
|
9.45 am - 10.45 am
|
Panel - Practical aspects and challenges of an inquest: including
scope of investigation, managing persons/organisations with sufficient interest, and disclosure of evidence |
Moderator:
Professor Ian Freckleton KC Panel members: Coroner Simon McGregor | Coroner Leigh Mackey | Coroner David O'Connell | Cameron Lee | Anthony Crocker. |
|
|
10:45 am - 11:15 am
|
Morning Tea
|
||
|
11:15 am - 12:40 pm
|
Session 6 - Technical aspects of coronial investigation
|
Chair: State Coroner South Australia Naomi Kereru
|
|
|
11:15 am - 11:55 am
|
Advancements in DNA
|
Dr Jodie Ward
|
|
|
11:55 am - 12:40 pm
|
Medical perspective on neck compression - suffocation, strangulation and suspension
|
Dr Don Ritchey
|
|
|
12:40 pm - 1:30 pm
|
Lunch
|
||
|
1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
|
Session 7 - Coronial writing
|
Chair: Acting State Coroner Western Australia Sarah Linton
|
|
|
1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
|
Coronial decision writing
|
Judge Andrew Palmer
|
|
|
2:15 pm - 2:45 pm
|
Afternoon Tea
|
||
|
2.45 pm - 4:20 pm
|
Session 8 - The challenge of self-care
|
Chair: Chief Coroner Northern Territory Elisabeth Armitage
|
|
|
2:45 pm - 4:15 pm
|
Staying Steady Under Pressure: Mindfulness-based Skills for Trauma Prevention, Workload Demands and Emotional Balance
|
Dr Bruno Cayoun
|
|
|
4:15 pm - 4:20 pm
|
Day 2 Close
|
Chief Coroner Olivia McTaggart
|
|
|
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
|
GALA DINNER
Location: Frogmore Creek After dinner speaker: Meg Bignell Introduced by: Coroner Madeleine Wilson |
||
*Program is subject to change.
DAY 3 - Friday 30 October
|
Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
||
|
9:00 am - 10:35 am
|
Session 9 - At the point of impact: Ballistics and dangerous medications
|
Chair: State Coroner Queensland Terry Ryan
|
|
|
9:00 am - 9:05 am
|
Welcome
|
State Coroner Terry Ryan
|
|
|
9:05 am - 9:50 am
|
A Study of the Forensic Ballistics Evidence in some Unusual Coronial Cases
|
Gerard Dutton
|
|
|
9:50 am - 10:35 am
|
The contemporary landscape of medication monitoring
|
Sam Halliday
Dr Jeremy Dwyer |
|
|
10:35 am - 11:05 am
|
Morning Tea
|
||
|
11:05 am - 11:50 am
|
Session 10 - Fire Investigation
|
Chair: Coroner Australian Capital Territory Ken Archer
|
|
|
11:05 am - 11:50 am
|
Burning Questions: Unravelling Fatal Fires
|
Tim McKay
|
|
|
11:50 am - 12:20 pm
|
Session 11 - Pacific Islands: Distinct challenges in the coronial space
|
Chair: State Coroner New South Wales Teresa O'Sullivan
|
|
|
11:50 am - 12:15 pm
|
Strengthening Coronial Practice in the Pacific: Sharing Tonga's Experience
|
Chief Magistrate Loupua Pahulu-Kuli and Senior Magistrate Tevita Fukofuka
|
|
|
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
|
Conference Close and 2027 conference announcement
|
President APCS and Chief Coroner Tasmania Olivia McTaggart
Acting State Coroner Western Australia Sarah Linton |
|
|
12:20 pm - 12:50 pm
|
Lunch
|
||
|
12:45 pm - 1.15 pm
|
APCS Annual General Meeting
|
||
*Program is subject to change.
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