Allison Miller

Director, Digital Capability

Allison Miller is a professional learning and business development leader of 25 years. She is the Director and Lead Consultant of Digital Capability, an organisation which specialises in cutting edge online learning and online business solutions. Allison also helps educational organisations ensure that their training and assessment is effective and compliant, especially online. 

Allison has a Master of Learning and Development (Organisational Development), Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Education (Secondary Business), Diploma of VET, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Diploma of Business. She also leads the ePortfolios Australia professional network and the annual Australian Eportfolio Forum.

Angela McGregor

Owner & Principal Consultant, RTO Consulting

Anni Yaringa

Consultant - VET assessment design, compliance, capability development and audit

Anni has worked in the vocational education and training sector for more than 30 years and has witnessed all the changes from the original introduction of competencies in the late 1990s and the various national VET frameworks: NFROT, ARF, AQTF, VQF and the current Standards for RTOs.

 Her work in the last 15 years has focused on compliance – particularly relating to assessment. Anni’s goal is to find the simplest solution that works. She works independently, facilitating capability development workshops, developing assessment materials, validating assessment materials and judgements. Her passion is to help the front line educator work effectively within the constraints and rules we are bound by.

Anthony Barkey

Director Regulatory Operations, ASQA

Anthony is the Director Regulatory Operations at the Australian Skills Quality Authority.  He leads and manages the regulatory operations team. As well as the day to day oversight of the Brisbane team, he has responsibilities for contributing to the formulation of strategies and policies to manage the compliance assessment of RTOs and CRICOS providers against regulatory requirements.

Cassandra Hoult

Communication Manager, AATIS

Cassandra Hoult is the Communication Manager AATIS and works closely with apprentices, trainees, employers, educators and industry insiders to share the everyday stories about the apprenticeship industry. 

Cass has a particular passion sharing the stories that show that the right career pathway can lead to ‘more than just a job’ and supporting workplaces to create safe and diverse spaces.   

Chemène Sinson

Founder & Principal, Blackwater Projects

Chemène is the founder and Principal at Blackwater Projects, an independent practice that provides advice, products and services that support adult learning and improve performance.

Chemène uses her diverse background in education to inform her work. An Olympian, she has coached elite athletes and mentored coaches. In the school system, she has taught kindergarten, year 12, and a few years in-between. Since launching Blackwater Projects in 2000 she has worked with a mix of corporate, community and government-sector clients.

Chemène has worked in VET for 20 years and specialises in TAE qualifications. She is a TAE trainer and has written TAE materials that more than 100 RTOs have used since they were introduced. She regularly runs professional development events for new and experienced trainers and assessors who want to go ‘beyond the basics’.

Chemène works with her professional network to remain informed of latest research and trends in learning and performance around the world.

Chris Enright

Director, RTO Logic

Chris Enright is the Director of RTO Logic, a consultancy firm that provides wrap around services to the VET sector.  He has more than 15 years’ experience in the Education and Training sector, assuming key leadership roles including operations and chief executive officer roles, driving business improvement and development for numerous respected companies.  

Chris is passionate about professional development and regularly facilitates workshops on a range of topics from intimate business strategy sessions to large full day workshops focusing on RTO compliance.  His down to earth approach ensures participants walk away with a practical understanding of their obligations within the sector. 

Chris is also the Board of Governance’s Chair for Carringbush Adult Education, a not-for-profit training organisation in Melbourne’s inner East.  Chris now spends the majority of his time providing business strategy and compliance advice to RTOs across the country.  He holds a Master of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School. 

David Garner

Principal Consultant, [consult_dg]

David Garner is the Principal Consultant at [consult dg] and provides advice, development and research to the VET sector. He has worked in a variety of compliance related roles for over 15 years.

Most recently, as the General Manager Regulatory Operations for the Australian Skills Quality Authority, David was responsible for implementing ASQA’s regulatory strategy nationally, including monitoring compliance of both training providers, and intending providers, against the VET Quality Framework and Educational Services for Overseas Students Act.

David was also Director, Training Quality, in the Queensland Department of Education and Training. Prior to joining the Queensland department in 2005, David worked in and managed training providers for many years. David has been active in sports administration for over 30 years and sat for many years on the board of the Queensland Fitness, Sport and Recreation Skills Alliance.

Dr Dan Hill

Director, SpecTraining Education

Over the last three decades, Dan has had the fortune of working in several industry sectors including defence, retail, wholesale distribution, mining, education and ITC. As a published author of several industry-leading titles, and a social media influencer with over 22,000 followers, Dan has gained a considerable reputation in adult education, and education leadership and management.

He facilitates nationally accredited courses in vocational education & training, leadership, business administration, frontline management, financial management, time prioritisation and customer service. Dan has also developed and run several specialised programs in the fields of emotional intelligence, workplace training and assessment, brain-based learning, and operational management.

As a passionate facilitator and speaker, Dan is able to engage groups with the right mix of humour, theory, practical activities and self-reflection. His professional experience allows him to draw upon interesting and poignant anecdotes and examples that link past experience in management, entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, operations and strategy to the context of any workplace or training environment.

Dr Patrick Pheasant

Chief Executive Officer, NEAS Australia

NEAS Australia is a global leader in quality assurance for the English Language Teaching (ELT) sector. In the role of Chief Executive Officer, Dr Patrick Pheasant brings 25 years’ experience in applying drama, TESOL and teacher training methodologies across multiple education sectors around the world. Patrick has extensive experience in change management and leadership development and completed his PhD research at the University of Sydney in using process drama in ELT. Patrick is a past Director at the University of Sydney Centre for English Teaching, past Vice-President of the University English Centres of Australia (UECA) and past Convenor of the NEAS Advisory Council.

NEAS Australia (www.neas.org.au ) quality assures more than 110 organisations across more than 200 sites in Australia, ASEAN, China and the Middle East. As an independent, non-governmental, quality assurance specialist for the English language teaching (ELT) community, NEAS endorses ELT centres and courses in universities, high schools, VET, independent and online providers. NEAS also quality assures education agents, products and services and ELT professionals.

Geoff Cake

Learning Leader, MRWED Training and Assessment

Geoff has been with MRWED for eight years and brings more than 25 years of training and facilitation experience to the VET industry, gained in both Australian and international environments. He passionately demonstrates the ability to encourage learners to develop new skills and mind sets in a variety of diverse cultural and economic settings.

Jane Goodfellow

Principal Lecturer, North Metropolitan TAFE

Jane Goodfellow is the Australian VET Teacher/Trainer 2017 winner and has a keen interest in alternative and innovative training methods.

Jane has worked as a TAFE trainer for nearly 25 years and presented at many conferences around Australia sharing her new ideas for engaging VET students.

Jason Ash

General Manager, MRWED Training and Assessment

Jason has more than 15 years of training and assessment experience, gained predominantly in corporate environments. He has specialised in delivering training in sales, coaching, business communication and management and has received international acclaim for his work in Learning and Development. Jason was the winner of the Platinum Award for “Best Young Learning Leader” at the 2011 LearnX Asia-Pacific Awards and was named a young trainer to watch by US Training Magazine in 2012.

Jason is a two-time MRWED Trainer of the year and is one of only three trainers in Australia certified to deliver Bob Pike’s Train-the-Trainer Boot Camp, the world’s most well-respected trainer training program. A strong advocate for the participant-centred approach to training, Jason has spoken on the topic of Creative Training Techniques at conferences all over Australia and at multiple events in the United States.

Jason Blinman

Chief Executive Officer & Founder, The Maven Effect

Jason Blinman is currently the Chief Executive Officer & Founder of The Maven Effect, but more recently, feedback has founded him to be classified as “A Unicorn; a majestic creature to behold both personally and professionally yet amazing to watch in action due to our limited comprehension of its magical abilities”.

Jason has held Senior, Executive and Board roles in RTO’s, Corporate L&D, Human Resources and Operations arenas. Before opening The Maven Effect, Jason held the role of Operations Manager of a prominent club in Sydney Australia. Combining exceptional strategy building techniques with “out of this world” people skills, Jason lead the company to boost its profit growth by $15 million in one financial year.  

Jason is a highly regarded Leader of industry, who brings a wealth of experience to each interaction, working with and learning from some of the World’s most recognised and loved brands such as The Disney Institute and McDonald’s Australia’s RTO.

Jason's Vision - "I want to change the hearts of Leaders everywhere".

John Blake

Consultant, eWorks: Learning technology, development and consultancy specialists

John Dwyer

Lead Consultant, Velg Training

John Dwyer is a national VQF/AQTF trainer/assessor and consultant with having worked in education and training spanning more than 60 years. 

He brings extensive Registered Training Organisation (RTO) experience and has a comprehensive history in developing and delivering a range of workshops and webinars on assessment, compliance, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), moderation and validation processes relating to VQF/AQTF compliance.

Joshua Rayner

Jobs Queensland Executive Director

Joshua Rayner is an experienced government executive who has administered and influenced public policy in many areas including social services, planning, further education, apprenticeships and traineeships and government pricing policies on essential services.

Joshua joined Jobs Queensland as Executive Director after serving in the South Australian and Commonwealth public services for over a decade. His immediate past role was leading the South Australian Training and Skills Commission as a regulator and policy advocate.

He has a great passion for vocational education and training’s beneficial influences on individuals, communities and intergenerational disadvantage.

Karen Dymke

Director, Thoughtfulworks

Karen Dymke is an educator with over thirty years’ experience across a range of sectors, as a teacher, trainer, senior leader, coach and consultant. Her work includes lecturing at Latrobe University in Alternative Educational Models, including VET and the VCAL, as well as travelling Australia as a highly sought-after presenter sharing the latest educational research. Her passion is focused on partnering with educators to progress and support student learning, achievement and well-being, with a speciality in applied learning settings such as VET and TAFE. 

Karen’s work has been acknowledged through the Outstanding Teacher/Trainer of the Year award from the TAFE Development Centre, various scholarships and most recently with a Fellowship from the International Specialised Skills Institute, investigating the professionalization of adult educators. She thinks it should be fun (if hard work) when you learn!

Kathy Dennis

Assistant Secretary, VET Student Loans, Department of Education, Skills and Employment

Kathy is the Assistant Secretary responsible for the VET Student Loans Branch in the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Kathy has been a senior executive in the Commonwealth Public service for 17 years and also spent 12 months working for the ACT Government. 

She has undertaken a range of roles covering policy, program management and service delivery in the Department of Education, the ACT Health Directorate, the Department of Health, Medicare Australia and the Australian Taxation Office. 

Kerri Buttery

Director, VETNexus

Kerri Buttery has a long history of working in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector and in the development of digital learning resources. As a qualified business and information technology teacher, she began developing digital learning resources for students to access in the late 1990s in the form of learning websites. This moved across to using “The Learning Place” and completing her first formal training in online learning in 2002, allowing her to cater for composite classes by creating self-paced resources for students to maximise their learning in a classroom setting with competing priorities. Fast forward to 2017-2018 and Kerri completed formal university studies at UNE, undertaking a Graduate Certificate of eLearning.

Kerri has a passion for ‘educating educators’ in how to engage learners, particularly in an online setting. She regularly runs professional development sessions on various digital learning tools and coaches teams of staff within RTOs in working towards their own in-house development of affordable digital learning resources.

Kevin Ekendahl

Managing Director, Audit Express

Kevin Ekendahl is the Managing Director of Audit Express, Kevin is passionate about Australian training and education, specialising in the provision of quality training, compliance consulting and internal audit. He has been a vocal and energetic campaigner for the reduction of regulation and red tape in the VET sector and frequently provides advice to Ministers and Departments at state and Commonwealth levels.

Kevin was previously a board member of the Victorian Board of the Medical Board of Australia and also publishes regularly on the topic of regulation and industry best practice. Prior to his work with Audit Express, he was the General Manager of Social Enterprises for a not-for-profit organisation and he also worked in the advertising sector in print and radio.

Kevin Ekendal

Managing Director, Audit Express

Kevin Ekendahl is the Managing Director of Audit Express, Kevin is passionate about Australian training and education, specialising in the provision of quality training, compliance consulting and internal audit. He has been a vocal and energetic campaigner for the reduction of regulation and red tape in the VET sector, and frequently provides advice to Ministers and Departments at State and Commonwealth levels. 

Kevin was previously a board member of the Victorian Board of the Medical Board of Australia and also publishes regularly on the topic of regulation and industry best practice. Prior to his work with Audit Express, he was the General Manager of Social Enterprises for a not-for-profit organisation and he also worked in the advertising sector in print and radio.

Laurie Kelly

Senior Consultant, Brain Friendly Training Pty Ltd

Maciek Fibrich

RTO Coach, Director and Principal Consultant, RTO Consultancy

For almost 20 years, Maciek Fibrich has been challenging the status quo in the VET sector, often pushing the limits to achieve unexpected outcomes for RTOs. Some will also argue that disruption is part of Maciek’s DNA, but the reality is, Maciek is truly passionate about ensuring quality within the VET sector and working out ways to use technology to push quality, yet ensuring it never impacts on the human nature of training and assessment. Maciek commenced his VET journey in 1999 when he started his first RTO with his mother, and since then, he has seen the industry morph many times but has never lost sight of the industry’s main focus, educating our students.

Marc Ratcliffe

CEO & Founder, MRWED Training and Assessment

Marc Ratcliffe is a multi-award-winning trainer, author and education entrepreneur. He is the CEO and founder of MRWED Training and Assessment, a private RTO that specialises in Trainer Training. He is a strong advocate for "edu-tainment" and believes that learner involvement and fun are integral to student success. 

He continues to be an in-demand conference speaker and workshop facilitator, having presented at more than 50 conferences in a dozen countries in the past decade and was recently named as the winner of the “Best Training and Development Leadership” Award for 2017 at the World Training and Development Congress in Mumbai.

Maria Langwell

Principal Consultant

Matthew Dale

CEO, Audit Express

Matthew Dale is the Chief Operations Officer of Audit Express, Matthew is passionate about Australian training and education, specialising in organisational development, knowledge management, quality, compliance and internal audit. He has been a vocal and energetic campaigner for policy change and the reduction of regulation and red tape in the VET sector. 

Matthew was previously a senior policy advisor to the Victorian Minister for Skills and Training, and also publishes regularly on the topic of regulation and industry best practice. Matthew is a graduate of Monash University with his studies focussed on Adult Learning and Development, he has previously worked as an RTO Manager, and Compliance Manager for both an industry-focussed not-for-profit organisation and a large national RTO which operated in all states and territories.

Melanie Alexandra

Vocational Education and Training Consultant and Resource Developer

Melanie Alexandra has held a variety of roles across both the academic and vocational education sectors including that of Trainer and Assessor, Curriculum Manager, RTO Manager, Head of Faculty, Head of Quality Assurance, and Senior Lead Auditor.

Over the past decade, Melanie has conducted hundreds of regulatory audits and registrations against the current legislated VET Quality Framework and now provides quality VET audit and compliance consulting services in support of Registered Training Organisations and providers of VET in Schools. Melanie is also the developer and facilitator of Velg Training’s Velg2Go online course content and a Consultant in her own right.  

Michael Hartman

CEO, Skills Impact

Michael has more than 30 years of involvement in work-based learning and vocational education and training. As CEO of Skills Impact (from a start-up in 2016), he is responsible for services which support skill standards and qualification development for a broad range of industry sectors. Previously, as CEO of ForestWorks for 10 years, he led the industry’s skills standards and qualifications program including an industry-wide Innovation Skills Program to support industry development.

Michael has broad and deep knowledge of industry, workplace learning, education and training, used to engage and add value with industry and VET sector stakeholders. He holds a Diploma of Management (Community Services), Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment, Corporate Governance qualifications, Innovation for Leaders Skill Set and trade qualifications.

Michelle Charlton

Vocational Education & Training Consultant, Specialised VET Services

One of Michelle’s greatest interests is ‘why’ and she looks to ignite and share this curiosity for learning at every opportunity.  

Michelle is an experienced presenter and facilitator, a qualified trainer and assessor, and has industry qualifications and experience in project management, leadership and management, training and education, and business operations. She holds tertiary qualifications in Psychology, Adult and Vocational Education, and Training and Development.  

Michelle currently works with her team to offer specialised RTO and VET services, through resource development, validation services, and VET professional development opportunities.  

Mitch Wallis

Founder - Heart On My Sleeve Movement, Well-Being Entrepreneur, Keynote Speaker

Mitch Wallis is a leader in the mental health space in the Millennial generation with a lifelong mission to empower others to overcome suffering and re-imagine the healing potential of the mind through the power of storytelling, conversation & living with authenticity.

Growing up in Sydney, Mitch lived a very “normal” and privileged life. He was fortunate enough to join Microsoft as an intern when he was 19, the youngest person in the company at the time. After 5 years working in Australia, Mitch was promoted to Microsoft HQ in Seattle USA as global product marketing manager for ‘Surface’ where he worked on some of the biggest launches in the hardware space for the tech giant.

However, that wasn’t the full story. His inside life wasn’t the perfect Instagram moment. On the 30th May 2017, his life changed overnight when he released a video of his story, in the hope that someone out there would feel understood and feel less alone by his unexpected yet painfully relatable journey.  Within 1 week the video reached over 1 million people and started a global Movement where people all around the world began drawing and tattooing hearts on their arm and sharing their story.

Mitch now devotes himself full-time to helping solve the single biggest issue facing his generation – mental health. He is one of the most recognisable mental health speakers in Australia and abroad, having delivered keynotes to tens of thousands of people in the last few years. He has spoken at some of the most recognised companies in the world including American Express, Google, KPMG, Allianz and dozens more. He is a workplace wellbeing consultant - helping companies transform culture and create thriving organisations. 

He is a notable social media influencer & mental health advocate with over 30,000 followers, and also runs a weekly psychology Podcast called "UNDERSTOOD". He is writing a book called "7 ways to coping" (publishing 2021).

He was appointed the first-ever ambassador for the Australia & New Zealand Mental Health Association, and has been named a Westfield Local Hero in their annual awards. He holds several board and advisory positions – including SuperFriend and the Corporate Mental Health Alliance of Australia. He has been an expert advisor to the United Nations on the topic of youth mental health. He has featured across Sky News, Channel 10’s The Project, and recognised by GQ Magazine as a Man of Influence.

Mitch is a serial well-being entrepreneur. He is the founder of Heart On My Sleeve - a leading global mental health movement, training organisation and peer support platform that helps businesses and individuals tell stories and lean in to the tough conversations. He is also the founder of Calm Water - a relaxation drink company that relieves stress and anxiety.

Mitch has a Masters of Psychology degree from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelors degree in Commerce from the University of Sydney. He has done specialised study under leading global psychology teachers including Harvard’s Dr Dan Brown and UCLA’s Dr Dan Siegel. He is accredited in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and is a trained Lifeline Crisis Support phone operator.

Paul Pellier

Managing Director, Accellier Education

Paul is the founder of Accellier, an RTO with over a decade of success in a range of industries, government and defence sectors. 

Paul is a self-confessed nerd with a software and digital media background. He loves crafting streamlined, highly automated business systems using tech, freeing his RTO team to do what they do best; serve clients with a delightful course experience.

Paul Walsh

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Industry Standards

Peter Doukas OAM

Managing Director, Denison Toyer Education Lawyers

Peter owns and operates the education law firm Denison Toyer.

Working in the field of Education Law and Corporate Governance since 2007 Peter has acted for over one hundred Registered Training Organisations and Higher Education Providers in various stages of the education management cycle. He routinely acts for colleges in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and provides extensive advice to RTO Management, Higher Education providers, Educational Conglomerates and Universities. His professional practice also includes providing legal and governance advice to listed and unlisted company boards. He has acted in some of the largest cases involving ASQA in the AAT.

Peter is also active in the multicultural space and acts as a volunteer director on various boards. He is the current chair of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW.

He also works providing pro-bono legal assistance to new and emerging communities, particularly in the establishment of associations and governance structures within NSW.

In Australia Day 2020, Peter was awarded Honour of Member of the Order of Australia for services to Multiculturalism.

Saxon Phipps

Director, Year13

Saxon Phipps  is the Founder and director of the Year 13, Australia's largest digital platform for high school leavers. 

Saxon is a passionate leader with determination and work ethic, he is unwaveringly committed to empowering the audience of Year 13. Saxon is a creative thinker and has a natural ability to assess what the Year13 audience desires through the use of data and insights. 

Saxon and the team at Year 13 have been able to apply this process to develop several youth engagement strategies for the likes of the Department of Employment, Westpac, and The Department of Education & Training. He regularly speaks at events about youth employment issues, using the data from the 2017 & 2018 reports known as 'After the ATAR and After the ATAR II : Understanding how Gen Z transition into further education and employment

Simon Walker

Managing Director, NCVER

Tony Kirton

Senior Instructional Designer and Facilitator, Engage Learning and Development

Tony Kirton is an instructional designer and workshop facilitator with more than ten years’ experience in learning and development.

Founder and senior designer at resource design consultancy Engage Learning and Development (formerly DES Learning), which contracts to the public and private sector, Tony develops traditional learning programs as well as e-learning using Articulate Storyline.

Tony has extensive experience in the application of learning design theory, having designed many training programs and hundreds of assessment resources.

Tony’s recent instructional projects include major programs for:

• Boral Australia
• ACE Training Centre
• SafeWork NSW
• Australasia International School
• NSW Health

Known for his engaging and evidence-based approach to workplace learning, Tony also facilitates training and assessment with some of Australia’s leading training providers including the Australian Institute of Management, NSW Health and SafeWork NSW.

Continuing to extend his expertise and keep up-to-date with the latest practices in learning and development, Tony recently completed a four-month leadership program with the University of Michigan. He is currently completing an Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters program with the University of Maryland (USA).

In addition to his current studies, some of Tony’s qualifications include:

• Master of Business and Commerce with a specialisation in Human Resources (Distinction)
• Diploma of Vocational Education and Training
• Diploma of Training Design and Development
• Cert IV in Training and Assessment
• Certificate IV in Frontline Management