2026 Nursing Event 4: Nursing – from a crossroad to a strategy
Lecture Theatre B, Level 7, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Melbourne (or online)
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On International Nurses’ Day 2026, Prof Sanchia Aranda presented a ‘call to arms’ for the Nursing Profession within the annual Marian Barrett Lecture. Three months later, the first National Nursing Workforce Strategy for the Australian context was launched. Prof Aranda’s lecture and the National Nursing Workforce Strategy both reference the importance of Nursing in addressing the health care challenges facing Australians. Will this strategy enable the sustainable change required to improve health outcomes through maximising the potential of nurses?
You are invited to join this interactive panel discussion about the opportunities and challenges this National Nursing Workforce Strategy offers and to collectively explore what we can do to mobilise meaningful action.
ABOUT THE PANELLISTS
 Adj Professor Emma Saddington was appointed as Chief Nurse Officer for Victoria’s Department of Health, commencing her role on 20 April 2026. She is a highly experienced executive nursing leader with extensive expertise across clinical, operational, and system-level reform in Victoria’s public and community health systems. Her career spans emergency, trauma, surgical, and community services, with a strong focus on quality, safety, workforce capability, and governance. |
Adj Professor Kristie MacKenzie is Chief Nursing Officer at Austin Health. She brings over 30 years of experience across clinical practice, operational management, workforce strategy, education, digital health and health service leadership. Prior to joining Austin Health, Kristie held senior leadership roles at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, including Director of Nursing and Operations and the inaugural Chief Nurse Information Officer, where she led large multidisciplinary teams and major health service transformation and system improvement initiatives. Kristie is passionate about strengthening the nursing profession and improving health outcomes through innovation, collaboration and leadership. She is committed to developing a sustainable nursing workforce, advancing models of care and creating opportunities for nurses to practise to their full potential. |
 Kath Curran is a Registered Nurse and Midwife with 28 years of experience, currently working as the Nurse Unit Manager of the Swan Hill Emergency Department in the Loddon Mallee region, alongside her role as a Forensic Nurse Examiner with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. She has recently completed her Specialist Certificate in Registered Nurse Prescribing at The University of Melbourne and now hold a Registered Nurse prescribing endorsement. |
 Ryan Turfrey is a final-year Master of Nursing Science student at the University of Melbourne and will be commencing his graduate-year program in 2027 through Peter Mac. Ryan is entering the nursing profession following an extensive career within elite sport as both an applied physiologist and then high-performance leader, having worked across 4x Olympic Games campaigns. |
 Professor Sanchia Aranda AM. A nurse by background, Sanchia has worked in cancer control for over 40 years, most recently as CEO of Cancer Council Australia (2015-2020). She has held roles in healthcare, government, and tertiary education and across the spectrum from prevention, through treatment and palliative care. She is a passionate advocate to improve health equity. |
Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha is a haematologist, epidemiologist and biologist, and leads a comprehensive research program addressing the problem of maternal and child undernutrition (especially anaemia) through international field trials, experimental biology, and support for WHO policy and implementation. He leads the WHO Collaborating Centre for Anaemia Detection and Control. He collaborates deeply across the School, University, precinct, and internationally. He is also a laboratory head at WEHI, where he previously served as acting Deputy Director and Division Head, and is a consultant haematologist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. His research program has a record of resolving key evidence gaps, making transformative scientific discoveries, and translating knowledge into policy at the highest international level, including informing WHO guidelines. He has published as lead author in Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, Lancet Global Health, Lancet Haematology, and Blood among others, and his work has attracted support from the NHMRC and international donors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. |
