Trainer Martin Brooker will address the QLD Public Sector AO 5-6 High-Performance & Leadership Workshop at Cliftons Brisbane from 18 – 19 November. Photo: Supplied.
Negotiation & Influence Skills Workshop
Date: 18 November
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Negotiate with strategy, vision and confidence.
- Recognise the importance of negotiation skills in the workplace and in everyday life.
- Discover your personal negotiation style and strategies to resolve conflict during a negotiation.
- Investigate how non-verbal communication, persuasion, influence and culture can impact a negotiation.
- Use a principled approach to respond to critical moments in negotiation simulations.
Trainer Michael Collins is one of the region’s leading talents. Michael is a leadership and change expert with more than 25 years of experience in roles across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He has served in executive positions within the Australian Defence Force and Coca-Cola Amatil. As a trusted adviser, thought leader and seasoned practitioner in leadership assessment and development, Michael combines practical experience with academic insight. His credentials include an MBA and a PhD in neurocognitive leadership, allowing him to blend hands-on experience with scholarly expertise in his advisory and leadership roles.
QLD Public Sector AO 5-6 High-Performance & Leadership Workshop
Date: 18 – 19 November
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Cliftons Brisbane
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Enhance core skills and key leadership capabilities to achieve success and excel.
- Enhance your leadership capabilities as a confident and successful AO 5-6 leader.
- Strengthen and mobilise the unique talents and capabilities of the workforce.
- Lead with focus and optimism in complex environments.
- Explore career advancement opportunities within AO 5-6 roles.
Trainer Martin Brooker is a distinguished veteran with 37 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy. He boasts a career marked by command at sea and operational excellence in the Middle East, Afghanistan and the Pacific. Retiring in 2015 as a commodore, he transitioned to become the founder and director of the Quench Group. Specialising in personal and organisational change, Martin draws from his rich leadership experiences and culture change initiatives. Recognised with awards such as the Conspicuous Service Cross and a Commendation for Distinguished Service, he shares authentic insights on leadership challenges.
Data Storytelling & Data Visualisation
Date: 18 – 20 November
Time: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
This online workshop provides expert-led training that empowers you to turn complex data into clear decisions, driving business growth and advancing your career.
It offers direct engagement with highly rated expert Paul Hodge, a data visualisation university lecturer and corporate educator. You’ll gain practical skills and frameworks for engagement, presentation and design thinking, ensuring your insights captivate and inspire decision makers.
Present & Speak with Impact
Date: 18 – 20 November
Time: 9:30 am – 4 pm
Location: Canberra – 18 November
Brisbane – 20 November
Email: [email protected]
Master public speaking and communication skills. Speak with confidence, adapt with ease, inspire with reach. Presenting and speaking with impact is a skill, and one you can master. This is a practical and participative workshop to build confidence in giving presentations and public speaking. It is designed to build your confidence and effectiveness as a presenter, no matter your experience. Whether you’re learning new techniques, refining your style, or struggling to make your message stick, you’ll discover how to connect, engage and inspire action.
You’ll gain science‑backed tools — from persuasive storytelling and audience‑focused framing to managing nerves and optimising engagement. Through practice, feedback and experimentation in a safe, supportive setting, you’ll polish your delivery and master techniques that you can apply immediately.
Facilitator Sarah Denholm works in Australia and beyond, training groups as well as coaching 1:1. These high-performance programs give clients the skills and replicable tools to communicate with confidence, high engagement and professional presence. She works with a blend of high-performance behavioural science and mindset tools and current best-practice research. She also draws on many years of experience with clients, as well as her time on stages herself, and shares what’s needed for successful outcomes.
MasterCraft Series — Unlock the potential of flexible work
Date: 19 November
Time: 11 am – noon
Duration: One-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
Unlock the potential of flexible work. Join the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation and the APS Academy for an insightful masterclass exploring the latest research on flexible work dynamics, hybrid frameworks, and the impact of remote work on labour markets.
Experience innovation in action: Kathryn Brett, Lynette Caruso and Aaron Mollross share their cutting-edge research and practical insights that shape public policy and improve workplace practices.
Participant benefits:
- Elevate your approach to work.
- Learn how flexible work can enhance team performance and productivity, supporting your teams.
This event is suitable for all staff.
Lunch and Learn — Session 14: Turn audit reports into insights with AI
Date: 19 November
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Duration: One 30-minute face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
See how DEWR is using its AI Workbench to analyse audit reports and identify strategic risks. This session will highlight how AI can support internal audit teams by summarising findings, spotting patterns, and generating insights that inform decision-making. It’s a compelling example of how AI can enhance assurance functions and help agencies move from reactive to proactive risk management.
Participant benefits:
- Discover how AI can help provide insights from complex audit documents.
- Learn how automation supports strategic risk identification and reporting.
- See how AI tools can strengthen internal assurance and governance processes.
This event is suitable for all staff.
5th Annual Risk-Based Regulation Conference
Date: 19 – 20 November
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Canberra Rex Hotel & Online
Email: [email protected]
The Australian regulatory sector is navigating an era of unprecedented complexity, driven by rapid technological advancements, economic volatility and evolving societal expectations. With the pervasive influence of AI, persistent economic pressures and escalating cyber threats, are your strategies robust enough for the challenges of 2025 and beyond?
This pivotal conference moves beyond theoretical discussions to offer practical applications for advancing sophisticated, risk-based regulation. Acquire actionable frameworks for next-generation risk assessment, explore strategies for the ethical integration of technology and gain insights into leading systemic reforms.
Delegates will leave equipped with enhanced professional networks and future-proofing strategies to foster a regulatory environment that is agile, impactful and prepared for emerging challenges. Secure your attendance to contribute to and lead in this critical evolution of regulatory practice.
EL2 – SES Leadership, Capability & Professional Excellence Masterclass
Date: 19 – 20 November
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Hyatt Hotel Canberra
Email: [email protected]
This is an opportunity to gain skills, strategies and advice from one of the most accomplished APS leaders. Learn how to lead at the top of your game, with tips from the top of the public sector. The highest ranks of the public sector demand more from your leadership. You have more responsibility, more difficult and complex problems to solve, and you will need to have a keen sense of the distinctions between your own ideas and the demands of the role.
No-one understands these demands, and the skills needed to meet them, more than Rebecca Skinner. Having led at the highest levels of the APS, including the large Services Australia agency during its most challenging times, she knows exactly what it takes from you, your mindset and your skillset to steer the public sector in the right direction. With an emphasis on capability, accountability and integrity, and a valuable blend of ideas, advice and practical tips, this is a learning and development opportunity that cannot be missed. Join Rebecca for two full days of learning and interactive activities to gain the perspective you need to lead at the top.
Rebecca is a former CEO of Services Australia, with a deep background in defence and national security. She served as the associate secretary of defence and as the deputy secretary for strategic policy and intelligence.
Rebecca led Services Australia through the social security and health demands of the pandemic in the post-Robodebt era, setting the organisation on its customer-centric cultural renewal. She is a resilient people-focused leader experienced in operating under intense pressure through international and domestic crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and defence operations.
Public Sector Women in Leadership Masterclass Sydney
Date: 25 – 26 November
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
Email: [email protected]
This transformative program is designed to enhance and accelerate your leadership development. Take charge of the next phase of your career. This is a watershed moment in your career, and the skills and behaviours that you cultivate now will become the cornerstones of your senior leadership in the years to come. This engaging masterclass is designed to provide you with the crucial skills and behaviours to grow and scale your senior leadership for what comes next.
Specifically designed for women in public sector leadership roles from all jurisdictions, this two-day masterclass will give you the key tools to thrive as a senior leader and set yourself up for success for the rest of your career.
The facilitator is former deputy secretary of the NSW Public Service Alex O’Mara, who will take you on a journey of lightbulb moments and strategically grow key skills so that you walk away refreshed, inspired and more confident in your leadership and the path ahead.
Women of Colour Leadership Summit
Date: 26 – 27 November
Time: 9 am – 5 pm
Location: Canberra Rex Hotel & Online
Email: [email protected]
Be inspired, break stereotypes and lead with confidence. The 5th Public Sector Women of Colour Leadership Summit 2025 will amplify the voices and lived experiences of women of colour who are breaking barriers, leading with purpose and redefining what leadership looks like across the public sector.
This summit will explore the impact of racism, cultural load and systemic bias on leadership pathways while offering practical strategies to navigate these challenges and thrive. Sessions will also unpack the role of allyship, power sharing and policy reform in shifting the burden of change away from those most affected.
