BidgeeCon is a 1.5 day conference designed for regional and rural general practice teams, bringing together GPs, registrars, practice nurses and allied health practitioners working in general practice for practical learning, collaboration and future-focused discussion.
BidgeeCon will deliver hands-on clinical workshops, practical skills sessions and expert-led presentations focused on strengthening and future-proofing general practice. Topics will span emergency care, chronic condition management, aged care and dementia, CPR training, workforce and recruitment, healthcare reform, medico-legal issues, AI and more.
Potential CPD hours Educational Activity (EA) 7hrs and Reviewing Performance (RP) 3hrs.
Program
The program has been built to support sustainable practice, build workforce capability and help general practice teams adapt to a rapidly changing health system, while creating valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the region.
Friday 12.00pm-4.30pm
11.30am-12.30pm – Registration and light lunch
12:30pm-12.40pm – Welcome and introduction
12.40pm-1.40pm
Stream 1 – Emergency dental – Dr Josh Dunn
Stream 2 – Wound care – Amy-Lea Bolger, MLHD Wound Care team
Stream 3 – CPR, Greg Higgins – Higgins Training Solutions
1.40pm-2.40pm
Stream 1 – Prehospital Approach to Asthma, Trauma, Anaphylaxis & Epilepsy – Dr Matthew Simpson, NSW Ambulance
Stream 2 – Wound care – Amy-Lea Bolger, MLHD Wound Care team
Stream 3 – CPR – Greg Higgins, Higgins Training Solutions (cont.)
2.40pm-3.00pm – Afternoon tea
3.00pm-4.10pm
Stream 1 – Prehospital Approach to Asthma, Trauma, Anaphylaxis & Epilepsy – Dr Matthew Simpson, NSW Ambulance
Stream 2 – ECG interpretation – Dr McCready
Stream 3 – CPR – Greg Higgins, Higgins Training Solutions (cont.)
4.10pm-4.30pm – Closing address
Saturday 8.30am-4.30pm
8.30am-9.00am – Welcome address
9.00am-9.30am – Keynote speaker – Health Reform – Associate Professor Michael Clements, Chair, RACGP Rural Council
9.30am-11.00am – Keynote speaker – Shared medical appointments – Associate Professor John Stevens
11.00am-11.15am – Morning tea, expo stalls
11.15am-12.00pm
Stream 1 – Eating disorders, Angela Farrell / Inside Out GP Hub, Sally Corry
Stream 2 – Dementia, Dr Michael O’Brien / Aged care, Jane Gerhard, MPHN
Stream 3 – ADHD prescribing and diagnosis
12.00pm-12.45pm
Stream 1 – Endocrinology, Bridget Cooper
Stream 2 – Chronic Condition Management / Nurse led clinics – Elise Penton, St George Family Medical Centre and Rebecca Manski, Tumut Family Medical Centre
Stream 3 – Endometriosis pain clinic, Trudi Beck
12.45-1.15pm – Lunch, expo stalls
1.15pm-1.45pm – Workforce, Professor Mark Cormack
1.45pm-2.30pm – Panel discussion – facilitated by Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff and featuring keynote speakers and local health professionals
2.30pm-3.15pm
Stream 1 – Recruiting in a candidate driven market, Kaity Fuller, Huntsman Recruiting / Cristy Houghton, MPHN
Stream 2 – AI and Medico-Legal issues, Avant
Stream 3 – New referral pathways for MLHD CCIS, Nicole Logan, Tina Curry and Annie Skipworth
3.15pm-3.30pm – Afternoon tea
3.30pm-4.20pm – Optimising the MBS and team based chronic condition care in general practice – Mario Gupta, Larter Consulting
4.20pm-4.30pm – Final address (Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff)
Meet your keynote speakers
A/Prof Michael Clements
A/Prof Michael Clements is an experienced Townsville based General Practitioner and practice owner with a background in health leadership and clinical and corporate governance. He is also Chair of RACGP’s Rural Council.
A/Prof Clements has accrued a wide variety of skills and special interests in his time with the Royal Australian Air Force and then with QLD Health as Director of Medical Services at Ingham Hospital before opening his private practices in Townsville while concurrently working for the QLD Rural Generalist Training Pathway as an advisor.
Having worked in rural, remote and overseas clinical environments during and after his fellowship training Michael now gets his ‘rural fix’ by flying himself and other clinicians to remote towns in the Gulf of Carpentaria delivering GP clinics. Clinical interests include veterans’ health, mental health, chronic disease and palliative care.
A/Prof John Stevens RN PhD FACN FASLM
Discipline Lead Lifestyle Medicine
National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
Co-founder and Director Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine Ltd
In 2008, John co‑founded the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. With over four decades of experience in health practice, John is both a registered nurse and a medical sociologist. Across his career, he has built a strong record of translational research, informed by his extensive teaching, research activities, and hands‑on professional experience, enabling him to bridge evidence and practice in meaningful and impactful ways.
Prof Mark Cormack
Professor Health System Policy
Professor Mark Cormack was appointed to the Australian National University (ANU) College of Health and Medicine in 2020, following a long career in the Commonwealth, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW) Government services. His professional background covers early work as an allied health professional, and health services manager. Mark has served as a Chief Executive (ACT Health ; Health Workforce Australia) and Deputy Secretary (Commonwealth Departments of Health, Veterans’ Affairs and Home Affairs) and has had portfolio responsibilities covering a wide spectrum of public policy. In national health policy these included mental health, health financing, primary health care, workforce, public hospitals, health technology assessment, research, and health provider compliance.
As Deputy Secretary Australian Department of Health he managed intergovernmental relations at the Commonwealth, State, and Territory levels, working on National Health Reform Agreements and numerous National Partnership Agreements. In the area of national program delivery, his work spanned Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, National Blood Supply, Primary Health Networks, Public Hospitals, Private Health Insurance, and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
In the area of national health workforce, he led policy, planning, clinical training and workforce reform as the CEO of Health Workforce Australia. In international health, Mark was Australia’s delegate to the OECD Health Committee and WHO Western Pacific Region.
He worked as Deputy Secretary in the area of border security, detention and visa compliance at the (then) Department of Immigration and Border Protection (now Home Affairs). He was also responsible for Australian Defence Force workers compensation, veterans’ policy and program delivery through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mark’s areas of interest include public policy and administration; health system governance; health services program management, financing and delivery; health workforce and intergovernmental relations and agreements.
Meet your guest speakers
Dr Joshua Dunn
Dentist, Shumack Dental
A Wagga local, Dr Dunn graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2018 and has been working in Wagga since. During this time, Dr Dunn has worked for NSW Health at the Wagga Wagga Base Dental clinic, Charles Sturt University, and private practice. Dr Dunn currently works at Shumack Dental.
Dr Bridget Cooper
Endocrinologist, BPharm, MD, FRACP
Dr Bridget Cooper is a passionate Endocrinologist committed to improving health outcomes in regional and rural communities. Originally from Wagga Wagga, she completed her medical degree at the University of Sydney and undertook specialist training at The Canberra Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, and John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. She returned to Wagga Wagga and established Riverina Diabetes & Endocrinology in 2025. She also holds appointments at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Calvary Riverina Hospital, and The Canberra Hospital.
Sally Corry
Primary Health Lead
Sally comes from a background of medical administration, management and leadership with over twenty-five years’ experience working with GPs in Primary care and youth mental health services. Sally leads the primary health initiatives at InsideOut including the Upskilling program and the InsideOut GP HUB. With a background in the arts as a filmmaker and musician, Sally enjoys taking a lateral and creative approach to problems and barriers around access and quality of care for those living with eating disorders. As an expert in service provision and management, she is inspired to solve problems, by not only exploring the bigger picture, but also looking into the detail of processes, workflow, culture, software, digital health, clinical governance and quality improvement.
Angela Farrell
Psychologist, MLHD Eating Disorder Coordinator and District Clinical Leader
Angela Farrell is a registered psychologist and has worked in Murrumbidgee Local Health District for the past 23 years, including the last 8 years as the Eating Disorder Coordinator/Clinical Leader. She has over 25 years’ experience working with people with eating disorders as part of her roles in private inpatient and rural community health settings. In her current role, Angela is responsible for developing local inpatient and outpatient pathways for people with eating disorders and works closely with other key stakeholders, at state level to advocate for equitable access to healthcare, for people living in rural and remote communities.
Mario Gupta
Senior Consultant, Larter Consulting Pty Ltd.
Mario is an experienced executive manager with a demonstrated history of working in the general practice, hospital & the healthcare industry. Mario has a strong focus on enhancing primary health care providers to fill the necessary gaps found within the industry and this has led him to work innovatively by winning successful projects through PHN, DHHS and DOH. Mario also worked alongside the Rural GPRC National Leaders Network and was on the PHN taskforce to establish respiratory/COVID-19 clinics across rural Victoria. Being skilled in business planning, coaching, tendering and customer satisfaction, Mario is a strong consulting professional with a bachelor’s degree focused in Banking and Finance from Victoria University.
Mario’s experience has led him to working with various clients through a commitment to quality, patient centric approach, friendliness and in-depth knowledge of primary health care.
BidgeeCon Accommodation Partners
Mention BidgeeCon when booking with the following accommodation providers to access a special event rate.
Townhouse Hotel Wagga
Standard - $185
Deluxe - $205
Executive Suites - $225
These rates include breakfast and free access to the Wagga Leisure center across the road.
BidgeeCon Cocktail Evening
Friday 19 June 2026 | 6.00–8.30pm
The Gardens Function Centre,
Botanic Gardens, 43 Tom Wood Drive, Wagga Wagga
Unwind after the day’s sessions and join us for a relaxed cocktail evening designed for connection, conversation and a bit of surprise.
Enjoy great company, drinks and light catering while being entertained by Jay Cristo, magician and mentalist. Expect moments of astonishment, genuine laughs and those “how did that just happen?” experiences that will have you talking well after the night ends.
Due to catering requirements, tickets are limited. Partners are very welcome. Just remember to purchase a ticket for them as well.
Don’t miss out on one of the most enjoyable social events of BidgeeCon.
