Speakers

We have a distinguished line up of speakers from across the region that will delve into critical issues, share groundbreaking research, and foster collaborations that will shape the future of investigations in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Meg Bignell

Author/Writer of 4 books

Meg Bignell

Author/Writer of 4 books

Meg Bignell is a writer whose career began in regional television production. Her third novel, The Angry Women’s Choir (Penguin, 2022) was shortlisted for the 2022 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award, and won the 2025 Tasmanian people’s choice award for fiction. Meg is also the author of The Good Losers (Penguin 2025), The Sparkle Pages (Penguin, 2019), Welcome to Nowhere River (Penguin, 2021) and Tasmanian Gardens (Thames and Hudson, 2024). She has written and performed for cabaret, stage and television, and lives on a dairy farm in Tasmania with her husband, three children, one dog and one thousand cows.

Dr Bruno Cayoun

Clinical Psychologist, Director

Dr Bruno Cayoun

Clinical Psychologist, Director

Dr Bruno Cayoun is a clinical and research psychologist and developer of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT). He is the founder and Director of the MiCBT Institute, a leading provider of MiCBT training and professional development to mental health services and professional associations internationally since 2003. He is also the clinic Director at Macquarie Psychology, where he keeps a private practice in Hobart, Australia, undertakes mindfulness research at the MiCBT Institute, and regularly cooperates on mindfulness-based research with various universities in Australia and abroad. He has practised mindfulness meditation in the ancient Burmese Vipassana tradition taught by S. N. Goenka, and has undergone intensive training in France, Nepal, India, and Australia since 1989. Dr Cayoun is the author and co-author of five books, scientific articles, and book chapters on MiCBT, and co-developer of validated mindfulness measures (Equanimity Scale-16 and Mindfulness-based Self-Efficacy Scale-Revised). His work bridges classical cognitive-behavioural therapy with contemporary neuroscience and Buddhist psychology, offering clinicians a unified theoretical understanding of how psychological disorders develop and how they can be effectively treated.

Dr Samuel Cornell

Research Fellow, Public Health
University of Queensland

Dr Samuel Cornell

PHD Candiciate who led the work on Social Media issues
University of Queensland

Samuel Cornell is a Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland. His research examines men’s health, enhancement-drug use, social media and risk. His PhD investigated social media risk taking behaviours with a particular focus on natural outdoor environments.

Anthony Crocker

WA Counsel
Francis Burt Chambers

Anthony Crocker

WA Counsel
Francis Burt Chambers

Anthony has been as a barrister for nearly 30 years and has extensive coronial experience in SA, WA and Tasmania. While he often appears for families and health professionals, Anthony has also been counsel assisting in two lengthy inquests into deaths in custody. The first was the death in 2016 of Wayne Morrison in SA’s Yatala Prison. The second concluded last year and concerned the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd in Unit 18 in WA’s Casuarina Prison.

Away from the law, Anthony can often be found watching or playing cricket (he is a cricket tragic!) and, for a period of 10 years, was a Code of Conduct Commissioner for Cricket Australia. He has also recently concluded a period of more than three decades as a Commissioner for the SA Cricket Association.

Gerard Dutton

Forensic firearms and toolmarks expert (Tasmania Police - retired)
Formerly Tasmania Police

Gerard Dutton

Forensic firearms and toolmarks expert (Tasmania Police - retired)
Formerly Tasmania Police

Gerard Dutton retired in 2025 after working 40 years in law enforcement, initially with NSW Police then 30 years with Tasmania Police. 37+ years of his career was spent in the technical field of forensic firearms investigation. In addition to his main role as OIC of the Tasmania Police Ballistics Section, he was very active locally, nationally and internationally, regularly publishing papers, presenting at forensic science and other symposiums, and teaching. He was responsible for examining and presenting the ballistics evidence in some of Australia's high-profile cases of that era including the murder of heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang, the Ivan Milat "Backpacker" murders and the Port Arthur Massacre. He has given evidence many hundreds of times in courts of all jurisdictions around Australia and overseas. He remains engaged in his profession and continues to conduct reviews in cases where firearms have been used.

Dr Jeremy Dwyer

Manager Research And Policy,
Coroners Prevention Unit
Coroners Court of Victoria

Dr Jeremy Dwyer

Manager Research And Policy, Coroners Prevention Unit
Coroners Court of Victoria

Jeremy joined the Coroners Prevention Unit at the Coroners Court of Victoria in 2009. He supports Victorian coroners through conducting research to inform their investigations and recommendations. He was a key member of the team that developed the Court's death surveillance program including the Victorian Suicide Register and the Victorian Overdose Deaths Register.

Professor Ian Freckelton

King’s Counsel, Professor of Law and Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; Honorary Professor, Monash University; Editor, Journal of Law and Medicine.

Professor Ian Freckelton

Ian Freckelton KC is a King’s Counsel practising as a barrister throughout Australia, with expertise in trial, appellate and advisory work. He has appeared in many of Australia’s most prominent coronial inquests and is also a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru. He is a Professor of Law and Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, and an Honorary Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. He is the Editor of the Journal of Law and Medicine and Founding Editor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. Ian has authored more than 50 books and over 750 articles and book chapters across law, medicine and psychiatry. In 2021, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to law and the legal profession. In 2024, he received the Prix Philippe Pinel, the highest honour awarded by the International Academy of Law and Mental Health.

Tavita Fukifuka

Senior Magistrate Ministry of Justice Tonga, Tonga

Tavita Fukifuka

I completed my Bachelor of Laws and Professional Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of the South Pacific, Emalus Campus (2008–2012). I began my career as a private lawyer from 2013 to 2014, appearing before the Supreme Court and Magistrates’ Court. From 2014 to 2016, I served as a Legal Officer and Sub Registrar within the Leadership & Policy Unit and the Registrar General’s Office of the Ministry of Justice. I was appointed Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, Land Court, and Court of Appeal from 2016 to 2019, before serving as Acting Registrar in 2019 and subsequently Registrar of the Supreme Court, Land Court, and Court of Appeal from 2020 to 2023. In September 2023, I was appointed Senior Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court, a position I continue to hold.

Sam Halliday

Chief Pharmacist, Pharmaceutical Services
Tasmanian Department Of Health

Sam Halliday

Chief Pharmacist, Pharmaceutical Services Branch, Public Health Services, Community, Mental Health and Wellbeing
Tasmanian Department Of Health

Sam is a registered pharmacist working in medicines and poisons regulation since 2013 and is currently the Chief Pharmacist for the Tasmanian Government's Department of Health.

Sam and his team administer the Tasmanian poisons legislation to promote the quality use of medicines and minimise the known and emerging harms from medicines and poisons in our community.

Relevantly, this has included:

Regulating the prescribing of high-risk Schedule 8 medicines in Tasmania.
Implementation and stewardship of DORA – Australia's first Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) system for Schedule 8 medicines.
Leading the implementation of TasScript, the national RTPM system, in Tasmania and associated change activities.
Regulatory policy, legislative and operational leadership to support significant medicines scheduling changes in Australia including codeine up-scheduling, medicinal cannabis, psilocybin and MDMA.

Sam has been awarded a Master of Public Health from the University of Tasmania in 2018. His research thesis examined the utilisation of opioid analgesics in Tasmania for persistent non-cancer pain.

He was also awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship in 2019 to investigate international approaches to the regulation of medical cannabis.

Sam graduated from the Tasmanian Leaders Program in 2019, holds a Certificate IV in Government (Statutory Compliance), is a Graduate of the Company Directors Course through the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Certified Health Informatician in Australasia.

He is currently undertaking ANZSOG's Executive Master of Public Administration through the Australian National University.

Sam is a proud husband and father of two children. When time permits, he continues to try and get his golf handicap down.

Paul Helleman

Author/Experienced Bush Walker
Volunteer Searcher

Paul Helleman

Author/Experienced Bush Walker
Volunteer Searcher

Paul retired in 2018, after a 40 year career as a Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger-in-Charge in Tasmania. During his career, Paul worked any locations around Tasmania including sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island Nature Reserve. Paul also worked three summers as an aviation ground support officer at Casey Station Antarctica. Paul was regularly involved in Tasmanian wildfire control operations 1990 to 2017, mainly as Incident Controller but also Planning Officer, Operations Officer, Division Commander and fire fighter. His fire duties included two deployments to the USA.

As Ranger-in-Charge, Paul dealt regularly with issues relating to public infrastructure, safety and recreational use of reserves. He has had a long interest in recreational user disappearances and fatal incidents in Tasmanian National Parks and Reserves. In 2025, after 8 years of research, Paul published the first book on the subject of recreational deaths and disappearances in Tasmanian Reserves and wild places. The book is very popular and has had three printings since November 2025. In 2025 Paul offered his incident management skills and experience to the formal volunteer search for Celine Cremer organised by Ken Gamble (IFW Global). Paul’s offer was to ensure the volunteer search was well-organised, thorough, efficient, effective and most importantly, safe.

To that end, Paul prepared most of the planning and operation documentation for the Celine Cremer search and managed the daily search program with the help and input of the volunteer team. This included a simple grid search method utilising a mobile phone mapping app. to track and record all areas searched."

Dr Jorian (Joe) Kippax

Retrieval Specialist
Ambulance Tasmania

Dr Jorian (Joe) Kippax

Retrieval Specialist
Ambulance Tasmania

Dr Jorian (Jo) Kippax is an Emergency Medicine Specialist employed as a Retrieval Consultant with Ambulance Tasmania’s Critical Care and Retrieval Service (AT-CCR) and a Trauma Specialist at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Jo also an Adjunct Professor with the University of Tasmania lecturing in resuscitation procedures, a reservist officer (LT COL) in the Australian Defence Force, a team leader with AUSMAT disaster relief and is a medical advisor to the Tasmanian Police Search and Rescue unit. 

In 2025 Jo was awarded the Lithuanian “Life Saving Cross” for his role in the rescue of a Lithuanian Rafter in the Franklin River and is the 2026 Australian of the Year for Tasmania.  Jo was formerly a keen expedition mountaineer and was awarded New Zealand Mountaineer of the year in 2005 but now enjoys sharing the Tasmanian wilderness with his family.

Cameron Lee

Principal Crown Counsel, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Cameron Lee

Admitted as Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Tasmania and High Court of Australia, 2001. Principal Crown Counsel, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Tas.)

Leigh Mackey

Coroner, Tasmania

Leigh Mackey

Coroner Mackey was appointed as a Magistrate for the State of Tasmania in October 2024. She brings over 30 years of experience in the Tasmanian legal profession, with extensive legal skills, expertise and knowledge. Prior to her appointment, Coroner Mackey was a Partner at Jennings Elliott, later Ogilvie Jennings, from 1999. She commenced practising law in 1992, when she was admitted to the Supreme Court of Tasmania and the High Court of Australia. Coroner Mackey specialised in personal injury and compensation litigation, particularly plaintiff representation in matters involving injuries sustained in the workplace, motor vehicle accidents, public and private places, and during medical treatment. A significant part of her practice focused on workers’ compensation matters at both State and Federal levels. Throughout her career, Coroner Mackey has held a range of professional appointments across boards and tribunals. These include serving on the Tasmanian Board of the Australian Medical Board, as Chair of the Tasmanian Parole Board and the Helicopter Rescue Tasmanian Trust, and as a member of the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, Legal Profession Tribunal, Police Review Board, Civil Disbursement Fund and Law Foundation. She has also served as a Superannuation Commissioner and lectured in workers’ compensation as part of the Legal Practice Course.

Douglas Mansell

Elder Uncle, Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder

Douglas Mansell

Elder and Uncle, Dougie Mansell grew up on Cape Barren islands in the Bass Strait of LutruwitaTasmania. A well respected and valued Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder and Uncle to many. Dougie Mansell is also an Artist, Songwriter and Mutton Birder, with many a story to tell, who today is Welcoming us to Country through song and a story.

Simon McGregor

Coroner, Coroners Court of Victoria

Simon McGregor

Prior to being appointed as a Coroner in 2018, Simon was a member of the Victorian Bar for 21 years. On his way there, he was President Winneke’s researcher and a Court of Appeal Registrar before he read with H.H. Jack Forrest, had six readers of his own, and two indigenous lawyer mentees. He both practised, and published in, administrative and human rights law, health and regulatory law, inquests, commissions, proceeds of crime and other investigation spaces. During his career, he worked on the Police Shootings trials, the HMAS Melbourne/Voyager litigation, the Kerang Train & Truck Collision and the Parolee Murder cluster inquests. As a Coroner, he triggered the AFL to review its concussion policies, as making recommendations about Victoria’s pill testing, regional injecting rooms, voluntary assisted dying and gun licensing schemes, but he is perhaps best known for his recent inquests into Aboriginal deaths in custody & care (re Veronica Nelson ; re XY respectively), although during his term he has also presided over almost 5,000 other coronial determinations, all of which are equally important to those associated families.

Timothy Mckay

Tasmania Fire Service
Fire Investigator

Timothy Mckay

Tasmania Fire Service
Fire Investigator

Timothy McKAY is a Fire Investigator and has been employed by Tasmania Fire Service for over 30 years where he now manages the Fire Investigation capability. He has extensive experience in fire investigation, having conducted, led and reported upon many fire investigations throughout his career, including those of high impact and complexity, high dollar loss and fires of significant public interest. Additionally, he has significant and unique experience in respect to the investigation of fires involving fatalities. He has appeared extensively as an expert witness in the Coroners Court of Tasmania and the Supreme Court of Tasmania. In addition to tertiary studies, he holds a number of qualifications in fire origin and cause determination including an Advanced Diploma of Fire Investigation and has worked and studied in other jurisdictions, both within Australia and Internationally. Tim is a graduate of the invitation only United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Advanced Fire Origin and Cause and Courtroom Testimony Program, having completed that program at the National Centre for Explosives Training and Research in Huntsville, Alabama, USA in July 2023. He is also the only Australian to have completed the ATF Advanced Compartment Fire Dynamics Program at the National Fire Research Laboratories in Washington DC, USA. He holds the designation of International Association of Arson Investigators Fire Investigation Technician (IAAI-FIT) having qualified to sit and subsequently passing those examinations in 2023.

Tim has a special interest and vast experience in fatal fire investigation and has undertaken a number of highly specialised and unique training programs in respect of this both within Australia, but also in the United States. Most notably, the Virginia Beach Fire Death Investigation Program in Virginia Beach, USA in 2023 and the San Luis Obispo Fire Investigation Strike Team (SLOFIST) Advanced Fatal Fire Investigation Program in California, USA in 2024.

External to his role with TFS, Tim is a highly regarded teacher in Australia and the USA. He is engaged by the San Luis Obispo Fire Investigation Strike Team on an ongoing basis to lecture, mentor and teach on their internationally renowned Fatal Fire Investigation program in California, USA. As part of this work, Tim has provided lectures and teaching to Coroners, Crime Scene Examiners, Detectives, Medical Examiners, Federal Agents and University students from across the USA and Canada. Additionally, Tim is engaged by the San Jose State University in California, USA as a guest lecturer on the subject of fire and explosion science and dynamics on the Bachelor of Forensic Science program. In addition to an extensive history of case work as lead investigator into fatal fires, Tim’s work involves the burning of human cadavers in training and experimentation. This work has seen him involved in the burning of over fifty (50) human cadavers in different fire scenarios and environments for the purpose of experimentation and teaching students how the human body reacts within and to different fire environments and scenario’s. Additionally, he has participated in and provided advice in relation to fire death related post-mortem examinations.

Tim lectures extensively to a broad range of groups or organisations and at conferences as well as presents case studies from his catalogue of case work. Topics lectured on include, but are not limited to, fire and combustion science, fire dynamics and behaviour, fire investigation methodology and process, fire damage dynamics and fatal fire investigation including the physiological fire effects to human decedents.

Tim sits on the Fire Investigation Community of Practice of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) which is a national panel of fire investigation subject matter experts assembled to guide policy and best practice in the sector at the national level. He also sits on the AFAC national technical group in respect to lithium-ion battery fires.

He is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), the Victorian Association of Fire Investigators (VAFI) and the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society, the Tasmania Police Disaster Victim Identification Squad and the Tasmania Police Bomb Scene Examination and Post Blast Investigation team.

Peerce McManus

Barrister, Maurice Byers Chambers

Peerce McManus

Peerce is a barrister practicing out of Maurice Byers Chambers in Sydney with a broad practice in criminal law, public law and coronial inquests and other inquiries. He has extensive experience assisting and representing dozens of families through the coronial process. This includes his work as a solicitor and solicitor advocate with the Coronial Inquest Unit of Legal Aid NSW prior to joining the NSW Bar. Beyond representing families, Peerce has appeared in inquests on behalf of a wide array of interested persons and as Counsel Assisting the Coroner.

Olivia McTaggart

Chief Coroner, Tasmania

Olivia McTaggart

Magistrate Olivia McTaggart is the Chief Coroner of Tasmania and the current President of the Asia Pacific Coroners Society (APCS). She has served as Tasmania’s first full-time coroner since 2014. Appointed as a magistrate in 2005, she previously practised in both civil and criminal litigation, first in private practice and later at the independent bar. Over more than two decades on the bench, Magistrate McTaggart has presided over numerous complex and high-profile public inquests, delivering significant findings across a broad range of issues including public infrastructure and workplace safety, healthcare systems, sudden infant death, child protection, and mental health reform. The implementation of her recommendations has contributed to improved community safety and death prevention outcomes. As Chief Coroner, Magistrate McTaggart has led the strategic reform and specialisation of the Tasmanian Coroners Court. Under her leadership, the Court has evolved into a centralised jurisdiction based in Hobart, comprising three full-time coroners supported by dedicated specialist staff and police officers. Magistrate McTaggart regularly presents to academic, professional, and community audiences on the role of the coroner, coronial practice, and death prevention.

David O'Connell

Coroner, Coroners Court of Queensland

David O'Connell

Magistrate O'Connell is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology-Bachelor of Laws (1990) and Central Queensland University-Graduate Diploma in Taxation (1994) and Masters of Business Administration (2001). Magistrate O'Connell was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1991, and the High Court of Australia in 1994. In 1999, he was awarded the Queensland Law Society's Minter Ellison Prize for the highest pass in the Society's practice management course. Magistrate O’Connell is actively involved in a number of community sporting groups, including as a past committee president and remains an active competitor. On 13 August 2012 Magistrate O’Connell was appointed to the Magistrates Court of Queensland. He was appointed to the position of Central Coroner on 1 October 2012 and is currently Queensland’s longest serving Coroner.

Georgie O'Donnell

Forensic & Clinical Psychologist
G & D O'Donnell Family Trust

Georgie O'Donnell

Forensic & Clinical Psychologist
G & D O'Donnell Family Trust

Dr O’Donnell is a Forensic and Clinical Psychologist in independent private practice in Tasmania. Since 1995, she has worked across settings including the Tasmanian Prison system, the Wilfred Lopes Centre, community-based forensic mental health, inpatient psychiatric care, and private practice. Dr O’Donnell completed her doctoral studies at UTAS, and has completed further postgraduate study at Deakin University, Monash University, and The Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (University of St Andrews, Scotland). She specialises in providing forensic psychological assessments for legal proceedings including criminal law, child safety, community protection, and coronial investigations.

Chief Magistrate Loupua Pahulu-Kuli

Chief Magistrate

Chief Magistrate Loupua Pahulu-Kuli

Chief Magistrate
Tonga Judiciary

Loupua Pahulu-Kuli is a distinguished Tongan lawyer and judicial officer whose career has been marked by a strong commitment to justice, public service, and the rule of law. She has built an accomplished legal career spanning prosecution, legislative service, private legal practice, and the judiciary. Loupua pursued her legal education and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) receiving the prestigious Gold Medal in recognition of her outstanding academic achievement. She further advanced her legal education by completing a Master of Laws (LLM).

Loupua began her professional legal career with the Attorney General's Office of Tonga, serving as a prosecutor from. In this role, she gained extensive experience in criminal law and the administration of justice, laying the foundation for her subsequent career in public service and the judiciary. She also served in the Legislative Assembly of Tonga, contributing her legal knowledge and experience to the legislative process. Her time in the Assembly provided valuable insight into the development and operation of Tonga's legal and governmental institutions.

Loupua entered private legal practice, operating her own law firm. She was the appointed president for the Tonga Law Society for 2 years before appointment to the Bench. Her experience in private practice broadened her understanding of the legal needs of individuals and communities and further strengthened her commitment to providing access to justice. In 2020, Loupua was appointed Senior Magistrate and one of the Coroners for Tonga, marking an important step in her judicial career. Her role as a Coroner requires her to undertake the important judicial responsibility of investigating deaths in accordance with the law.

In 2025, Loupua reached a historic milestone when she was appointed Chief Magistrate of Tonga, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position. Her appointment represents a significant achievement in Tonga's legal and judicial history and reflects her years of legal experience and public service. Throughout her career, Loupua Pahulu-Kuli has demonstrated a deep commitment to the principles of fairness, equality, and the rule of law. She is particularly passionate about pursuing justice for all, and her professional journey reflects a dedication to ensuring that the justice system serves people fairly and with integrity.

Her career—from prosecutor and legislative officer, to private practitioner, magistrate, coroner, and ultimately Chief Magistrate—stands as a testament to her commitment to the legal profession and to the people of Tonga.

Justice Andrew Palmer

Judge
County Court Of Victoria

Justice Andrew Palmer

Judge
County Court Of Victoria

Andrew Palmer was appointed to the County Court of Victoria after careers in academia and at the Bar. As senior counsel at the Victorian Bar, Andrew practiced primarily in the area of health and safety.

As an Associate Professor at Melbourne Law School, Andrew taught and wrote on the law of evidence, proof and advocacy, including written advocacy. Andrew is the author of Proof: How to Analyse Evidence in Preparation for Trial (4th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2021), and co-author of Uniform Evidence (4th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2025).

Andrew is a member of the teaching faculty for the Judicial College of Victoria’s judicial writing programs. He has sat, and written judgments, in all three divisions of the County Court: criminal, common law and commercial.

Dr Amy Peden

Injury Prevention Lecturer & Researcher
School Of Population Health, Unsw Sydney

Dr Amy Peden

Injury Prevention lecturer and researcher @ UNSW Sydney Medicine and Health | Senior Research Fellow, Royal LIfe Saving Society
Senior Research Fellow
UNSW
School Of Population Health, Unsw Sydney

Dr Amy Peden is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney Australia, where she is also the co-founder of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group. She maintains an honorary Senior Research Fellow position with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and an adjunct Senior Lecturer role with James Cook University in Queensland. As a drowning prevention researcher and advocate, Dr Peden provides technical expertise to the World Health Organization, collaborates on research with government, industry and the community and regularly appears in the media.

Dr Andrew Reid

Director & State Forensic Pathologist, Tasmania

Dr Andrew Reid

Director & State Forensic Pathologist, Tasmania

Dr Andrew Scott REID BMedSci, BMBS, FRCPA, Dip For Path Foundation Fellow FFLM (RCP) Director Forensic Medical services State Forensic Pathologist Tasmania

Dr Don Ritchey

Forensic Pathologist
Tasmanian Health Service

Dr Don Ritchey

Forensic Pathologist
Tasmanian Health Service

I completed my forensic pathology fellowship at The Office of the Medical Investigator, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. I have been in the full time practice of forensic pathology in Tasmania since 2006.

Dr Jodie Ward

Chief Forensic HID Scientist
Forensic Human Identification co

Dr Jodie Ward

Chief Forensic HID Scientist
Forensic Human Identification co

Dr Jodie Ward PSM CF is a forensic human identification specialist and founding director of Forensic Human Identification Co. The world-first social enterprise exists to restore names, reunite families and resolve cases through equitable access to forensic human identification services and is Australia's only provider of an end-to-end forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) service specialising in human remains identification. Dr Ward established and led Australia's National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons (2020–2024) and the NSW Specialist DNA Laboratory (2011–2019). Throughout her career, she has pioneered the application of innovative DNA technologies, including FIGG, to resolve hundreds of unidentified and missing persons cases across historical and contemporary contexts in Australia. As a forensic genetics consultant to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, Dr Ward advises on large-scale, DNA-led identification programs for humanitarian investigations, including conflict-affected settings in the Middle East and the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, Ireland. Through Forensic Human Identification Co., Dr Ward is defining national best practice, building dedicated forensic capability and advocating for coordinated responses to investigations involving institutional unmarked and undocumented graves and unidentified and disappeared First Nations people.

Madeleine Wilson

Coroner, Tasmania

Madeleine Wilson

Coroner Wilson was appointed a Magistrate in January 2026 and is assigned to the Coronial Division of the Magistrates Court of Tasmania. Prior to her appointment, she worked at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for 27 years. Between 2020 and 2025, she served as Assistant Director (Summary Prosecutions), where she was responsible for prosecuting complex summary crimes and regulatory offences and appeared as counsel assisting in a number of coronial inquests. Coroner Wilson has extensive experience appearing as counsel in indictable prosecutions in the Supreme Court of Tasmania. She was appointed Senior Counsel in 2021 and served as a Crown Law Officer from 2018 to 2025. For many years, she led the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Unit at the ODPP, appearing as counsel in numerous sexual assault prosecutions.

Dean Wotherspoon

Constable
Tasmania Police

Dean Wotherspoon

Constable
Tasmania Police

I joined Tasmania Police in 1995, became a member of Search and Rescue in 1997, and joined Forensic Services in 2016. Throughout my career, I have participated in significant and complex policing operations, including the 2011 Christchurch earthquake response, the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy, and the search for Celine Cremer.

I have received multiple Tasmania Police commendations for my involvement in search and rescue operations and, in 2022, was recognised by the National Search and Rescue Council for my longstanding contribution to search and rescue. In 2025, I received the John AG Bird Memorial Award in recognition of services to Forensic Services. In 2026, I was a joint recipient of the Royal Humane Society of Australasia's highest bravery award, the Clarke Gold Medal.

With more than three decades of policing experience, I remain committed to supporting the delivery of professional search and rescue, forensic, and investigative services to the Tasmanian community. Ultimately, it is the opportunity to make a tangible, positive difference in people's lives that continues to motivate my commitment to policing.

More speakers to be announced

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