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
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Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
|
|
9:00 am - 10:40 am
|
Session 1 - Welcome and opening
|
|
|
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 - 12:45 pm
|
Session 2 - Missing Persons: the changing landscape of recovery of human remains
|
|
|
11:15 am - 12:45 pm
|
Panel discussion and case studies
|
Moderator:
Coroner Madeleine Wilson Panel Members: Dean Wotherspoon Paul Helleman Dr Andrew Reid |
|
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
|
Lunch
|
|
|
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
|
Session 3 - Risk taking and social media - a contemporary issue
|
|
|
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 - 4:00 pm
|
Session 4 - Death, grief and fixation
|
|
|
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 - 4:05 pm
|
Day 1 Close
|
Chief Coroner Olivia McTaggart
|
|
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
|
WELCOME RECEPTION
Location: Lark Distillery |
|
*Program is subject to change.
DAY 2 - Thursday 29 October
|
Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
||
|
9:00 am - 10:30 am
|
Session 5 - Without fear or favour the challenges of the modern coroner
|
||
|
9:00 am - 9:45 am
|
Challenges for the modern coroner
|
Professor Ian Freckleton
|
|
|
9:45 am - 10:30 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 |
|
|
10:30 am - 11:00 am
|
Morning Tea
|
||
|
11:00 am - 12:05 pm
|
Session 6 - Technical aspects of coronial investigation
|
||
|
11:00 am - 11:40 am
|
Advancements in DNA
|
Dr Jodie Ward
|
|
|
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
|
|
|
|
|
12:00 pm - 12:40 pm
|
Medical perspective on neck compression - suffocation, strangulation and suspension
|
Dr Don Ritchey
|
|
|
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
|
Lunch
|
||
|
1:40 pm - 2:25 pm
|
Session 7 - Coronial writing
|
||
|
1:40 pm - 2:25 pm
|
Coronial decision writing
|
Judge Andrew Palmer
|
|
|
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm
|
Afternoon Tea
|
||
|
2.55 pm - 4:30 pm
|
Session 8 - The challenge of self-care
|
||
|
2:55 pm - 4:25 pm
|
Strategies for personal well-being
|
Dr Bruno Cayoun
|
|
|
4:25 pm - 4:30 pm
|
Day 2 close
|
|
|
|
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
|
GALA DINNER
Location: Frogmore Creek After dinner speaker : Meg Bignell |
||
*Program is subject to change.
DAY 3 - Friday 30 October
|
Time
|
Presentation Title
|
Speaker
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
8:00 am - 9:00 am
|
Registration
|
||
|
9:50 am - 10:35 am
|
Session 9 - At the point of impact: Ballistics and dangerous medications
|
||
|
9:00 am - 9:05 am
|
Welcome
|
|
|
|
9:05 am - 9:50 am
|
Ballistics Expert
|
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 - 12:05 pm
|
Session 10 - Fire investigation and the Pacific Islands: Distinct challenges in the coronial space
|
||
|
11:05 am - 11:35 am
|
Developments in Fire Investigation
|
Tim McKay
|
|
|
11:35 am - 12:00 pm
|
Pacific Islands Presentation - Strengthening Coronial Practice in the Pacific: Sharing Tonga's Experience, Addressing Challenges, and Building Regional Partnerships
|
Chief Magistrate Loupua Pahulu-Kuli and Senior Magistrate Sione Fufofuka
|
|
|
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
|
Conference Close and 2027 conference announcement
|
|
|
|
12:05 pm - 12:35 pm
|
Lunch
|
||
*Program is subject to change.
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