Hi there,

CheckUP staff have been proactively attending and hosting various events this past month, including the Queensland Skin Cancer Prevention Forum, the Brisbane Care Expo, the Central Queensland GP Conference, QPHCN, an RUOK morning tea and more. See details below.

CheckUP thanks everyone who attended our highly successful QPHCN Connect for Mental Health event. We thank our valued speakers, attendees and our sponsor Carole Cooper Consulting. Mark your diaries for the final QPHCN event of the year on 25 November, aligning with Disability Action Week.

Queensland Mental Health Week is just around the corner, running from 4-12 October! The annual awareness week aims to shine a spotlight on individual and community mental health. As the proud coordinator of QMHW, CheckUP encourages everyone to register an event (big or small) and visit the website to download resources and purchase merchandise. 

Our Industry and Workforce Development teams have been connecting and collaborating at numerous events lately. Below you will find an overview of their travels, and further news can be viewed on our blog.

CheckUP continues to provide important online micro-credential courses, including Disability Friendly Business Basics to help businesses build more inclusive services, and Access for All: Disability Awareness Training for Health Providers. Discover more below. 

Get to know the CheckUP team and read staff profiles below. 

Above: Ann Maree Liddy, CheckUP CEO

This newsletter also highlights important health sector news regarding industry events, new child safety legislation, expressions of interest, awareness initiatives, and more.

Note that free flu vaccinations are still available until 30 September, for all Queenslanders aged six months and over. 

As always, thank you to our partners and members for their ongoing support and collaboration. 

Best wishes,

Ann Maree Liddy
Chief Executive Officer
CheckUP

CheckUP's Workforce teams have been out in force, attending numerous events

Below we highlight the events our Industry and Workforce Development teams have recently attended. You can also view the latest Workforce article, which tracks Health Industry Workforce Advisor, Alina Khalid, and First Nations Industry Workforce Advisor, Carissa McAllister, and their journey to Sydney and the Strategic Workforce Planning Conference. 

➡️ CheckUP’s Health Industry Skills and Jobs Advisor (ISJA) Michelle Phillips, Health Industry Workforce Advisor (IWA) Alina Khalid, and Gateway Regional Coordinator Donna Glover, recently took part in the Mareeba Health Workforce Alliance. CheckUP is contributing workforce supports and opportunities, while also listening to the lived realities of Mareeba’s health providers and communities

➡️ Alina and Michelle also recently presented at the Mareeba Allied Health Network (MAHN), sharing how CheckUP supports allied health providers at each stage of the workforce journey.

➡️ CheckUP attended the Central Queensland GP Conference in Rockhampton, co-hosted by Country to Coast PHN, Mater, and Hillcrest Rockhampton Private Hospital. Our General Manager Workforce, Vicky Meyer, and Alina presented to over 100 GPs and practice leaders.

➡️ Alina also recently attended the APNA Festival of Nursing, joining nurses and health leaders from across Australia to explore the future of primary health care.

CheckUP Workforce Consultant

Meet Andrew Hamilton | CheckUP have engaged the services of Andrew, a consultant from Social Scaffolding to provide free one-on-one workforce planning support to community services organisations. 

Andrew had a career in sales, marketing and management roles, before commercial roles for Australia’s largest ‘profit for purpose’ childcare provider (Goodstart) and Australia’s largest ‘intermediary’ (Social Ventures Australia).

Working now in the NFP, community and profit-for-purpose sectors, Andrew specialises in growth, development and commercially-focused strategies for organisations.

CheckUP attends Skin Cancer Prevention Queensland Forum

CheckUP's Mary-Anne Quilter, Program Manager for the Skin Cancer Early Detection (SCED) service, recently attended the Skin Cancer Prevention Queensland (SCPQ) industry forum. The focus this year was on sun-safe practices in the sports sector.

Attendees heard speakers from the Queensland Department of Sport, Racing and Olympics and Paralympic Games, the Office of Industrial Relations, Olympian Bernadette Wallace, the Australian Institute of Sport’s Dr David Hughes and melanoma survivor Anne Gately. QSport also led a panel discussion to highlight good sun-safety practices.

Practical tips were offered, including photo/image guidelines, sun protection reminders in club news, sun-safe team uniforms and merchandise, consideration of game times and aligning sponsors and ambassadors with your sport’s sun safety purpose.

Are you ready for the new Child Safe Organisations Act?

On 26 September, CheckUP will host a webinar, presented by the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC), that provides practical information about Queensland's new Child Safe Organisations Act.

Coming into effect from 1 October 2025, this new legislation requires that organisations providing services to children demonstrate how they are keeping them safe. This is a critical update for all service providers, especially those working with children with disability.

CheckUP's AfA team exhibited at the Brisbane Care Expo

This September, CheckUP proudly exhibited at the Brisbane Care Expo.

The expo provided a great platform for Amanda Frier, CheckUP's Access for All Manager, to promote Access for All, an online course designed to improve disability awareness among health providers. 

Amanda and David Millichap, CheckUP's General Manager – Engagement and Business Development, are currently attending the National Disability Summit in Melbourne.

Highly successful 'Connect for Mental Health' QPHCN event

Earlier this month, CheckUP hosted a QPHCN event focusing on Mental Health. Thanks to everyone who attended our largest event to date! 

Thanks also to our outstanding speakers, including Queensland Mental Health Commissioner, Ivan Frkovic, Lived Experience Advocate, James Hill and Emily Wolter, CEO of Queensland Alliance for Mental Health.

We also extend our gratitude to our panellists, Karen Hale-Robertson - Open Minds, Acting CEO;
Tea Delalic - Richmond Fellowship Queensland, Communications, Marketing and Events Manager; and Tudor Vasile - Mental Awareness Foundation and Walk for Awareness Co-Founder. Additionally, special thanks go to our sponsor, Carole Cooper Consulting.

Click HERE to see the livestream of the event.

Our next QPHCN event will be on 25 November and aligns with National Disability Action Week.

For more information on the QPHCN events we hold throughout the year, see the link below.

CheckUP staff profile

Meet Amber
Amber Hanks is CheckUP's Regional Coordinator for Central and Central West Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Health and Medical Science with Honours in Public Health. Her work focuses on improving access to healthcare in rural and remote Queensland, with a strong emphasis on service integration and community engagement. She is passionate about working alongside communities and providers to create practical, sustainable solutions that are locally driven and make a real difference.

Is your business equipped to support people with disability?

Implementing accessible practices not only fosters a more inclusive environment - it also presents a valuable opportunity to improve customer reach and boost profitability.

Did you know over 5.5 million Australians live with a disability? Many of them are looking for accessible businesses to support.

CheckUP's FREE Disability Friendly Business Basics micro-credentials course offers practical skills to make business services more inclusive and welcoming. If you want to build confidence, expand your customer base, and create a business where everyone feels they belong, complete the FREE course today!

Highlights from the Health Gateway team

The Health Gateway team has wrapped up a successful School Career Expo season and is now focusing on industry engagement and student information sessions.

For our South East schools, recent highlights include hospital tours at Buderim Private Hospital, Brisbane Private Hospital (top left), and St Andrew’s Private Hospital (bottom left), welcoming over 100 students from schools across the South East region. Students explored departments like PACU, Allied Health, and ICU, gaining valuable insights into healthcare careers.

In North Queensland, placements were arranged at St Vincent’s Aged Care for students at Heatley Secondary College, and in Cairns we hosted an Industry Tour for local schools through TAFE Queensland. With Term 4 approaching, the team is gearing up for more industry events and the 3rd Annual Health Gateway Awards!

R U OK? Day

CheckUP staff recently connected for a morning tea to recognise R U OK? Day. It was a great opportunity to check in, listen and chat. 

R U OK? is a national suicide prevention charity and registered public health promotion that encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times.

These four easy steps could change a life:

1. Ask R U OK?
2. Listen
3. Encourage action
4. Check in

Get involved with Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW)

Queensland Mental Health Week is almost here and runs from 4 to 12 October, 2025.

Now is the time to get involved and register an event online to promote mental health and wellbeing. An event can be big or small: a morning tea, a bakeoff, a staff luncheon. What matters is connecting to raise awareness to create stronger, more supportive communities.

Visit the QMHW website to register an event, download resources, purchase merchandise (including t-shirts and ribbons), plus more.

Optimising workforce engagement and rostering webinar

CheckUP Connect and Effective HR recently hosted a webinar offering a detailed introduction to the SCHADS Award, designed to equip employers, managers, and HR professionals with a clear understanding of their key compliance obligations.

The webinar focused on optimising workforce engagement and rostering in line with Fair Work requirements. 

National Men's Health Gathering 2025 - Brisbane

Proudly organised by the Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF), the Gathering will unite a wide range of stakeholders in men’s health, including policymakers, academics, healthcare professionals, and people from community and voluntary sectors. This event provides a platform for collaboration, innovation, and action, while sharing a commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of men and boys across Australia

The Gathering combines two events:

1. The National Men’s Health Conference - an event addressing the key health and social issues affecting men and boys in Australia.
2. The 10th Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Health Convention - a forum highlighting health challenges and solutions for Indigenous males, fostering cultural understanding and targeted strategies.

Last call for free flu vaccine

Free Flu Vaccinations are still available for all Queenslanders over six months of age, until 30 September 2025.

Additionally, free influenza vaccination stakeholder kits have been developed by the Queensland Health Strategic Communications Branch and distributed to stakeholders. Download one here!

Don't miss the 2025 Recovered Futures Art Exhibition 

The countdown is ON for the Recovered Futures Art Exhibition 2025, held from 3 - 8 October in Brisbane City Hall, King George Square.

Coinciding with QMHW, the Exhibition offers a space for artists with lived mental health experience to showcase and sell their artwork.

Entry is FREE! Mark your calendars — you won’t want to miss this!

The exhibition is proudly hosted by Richmond Fellowship Queensland (RFQ), a leading community mental health provider.

Health Consumers Queensland needs expressions of interest for a Puberty Focus Group 

The Queensland Puberty Health Education Project is a 4-year collaborative initiative between the Queensland Department of Education and the Queensland Women and Girls Health Strategy 2032, which aims to enhance health literacy around puberty, including menstruation, for students aged 11-14 years in Queensland state schools.

Health Consumers Queensland is seeking expressions of interest from parents, guardians, and educators from regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland to participate in a focus group and provide feedback on resources and materials that will support the program. All insights will help ensure the program is clear, accessible, and beneficial for students, teachers, and families throughout Queensland.

Get LOUD with Hear and Say

Loud Shirt Day is on 17 October, and Hear and Say needs your help to turn up the volume for kids with hearing loss.

Wear a LOUD shirt and join thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand raising funds to help Queensland kids with hearing loss. This year, Hear and Say aims to raise $220,000.

Signing up is free, and every dollar raised helps provide vital services for kids with hearing loss.

Learn more about Loud Shirt Day.

Indigenous Wellbeing Conference - October 2025

A reminder that the 2025 Indigenous Wellbeing Conference (IWC25) will be held in Meanjin (Brisbane) from 20-21 October. The theme this year is Walking Together, Flourishing Together: Pathways to Indigenous Wellbeing.

The conference brings together First Nations Australian, Māori, and Pasifika voices to explore the power of cultural knowledge, resilience, and community-led approaches to wellbeing.

Whether you're a practitioner, researcher, educator, community leader, or someone with lived experience, IWC25 is your space to connect, learn, and grow.