Promoting Great Medical Culture: People, Peers and Places
Doctors Health Australia
Event Details
The Australasian Doctors’ Health Conference 2025 (ADHC2025), taking place at 1 Hotel Melbourne from 27th to 29th November, 2025 is continuing a proud tradition held every two years since 1999 by the Doctors' Health Alliance, and promises to be a solutions-focused gathering under the theme: Promoting Great Medical Culture: People, Peers and Places.
About The Event
The Australasian Doctors’ Health Conference 2025 (ADHC2025), taking place at 1 Hotel Melbourne from 27th to 29th November, 2025 is continuing a proud tradition held every two years since 1999 by the Doctors' Health Alliance, and promises to be a solutions-focused gathering under the theme: Promoting Great Medical Culture: People, Peers and Places. We warmly encourage doctors at every stage of their career—as well as everyone supporting the health workforce in its many forms—to join us in this vital conversation.
At ADHC2025, you will engage with a diverse cohort of participants, including doctors’ health organisations, medicolegal experts, specialists in organisational change and clinical governance, and leaders in narrative medicine, the science of compassion, and workplace safety. Our program is designed to facilitate meaningful networking and engagement across the full spectrum of the medical profession, including those working within complex health systems, medicolegal and regulatory bodies, and financial institutions.
The conference recognises the power of conversation and storytelling as the cornerstones of our profession’s culture. We are committed to enabling individuals, fostering peer support, and strengthening understanding within our workplaces and health systems. This gathering acknowledges the robust research demonstrating that doctors’ health is central to delivering quality care for our communities. We will address barriers to health access and the factors that increase risk of burnout, while moving the conversation towards actionable solutions—empowering us all as individuals, as colleagues, and as organisations.
We look forward to welcoming you to Melbourne and to your participation in this significant dialogue. Should you require further information or wish to register your attendance, please visit https://adhc.org.au/
A Report on the event
Three Directors of the NZ DHAS Charitable Trust attended: Drs Whiteside, Robinson, and Muthu (who was a panellist on the final-day plenary, “On Authentic Action for Medical Leadership”).
Although there was no delegate list, there were approximately 250 delegates, with a notable 85% being women. Around eight New Zealanders were present. There was an absence of junior doctors, and only one college president attended.
It is clear that, despite advances in policy, information, awareness, services for help-seeking/doctor-patients, and Healthy Workforce legislation, there remains major concern among Australian doctors regarding mental health, burnout, suicide, and the consequences for patient care standards. Rates are higher among women doctors, junior doctors, and international medical graduates. There has apparently been a request from an affected family for a Senate enquiry into doctors’ health, training, and workplace standards.
The conference was well run, with streams focused on people (individuals), peers (teams), and places (workplaces/systems).
In addition to the plenaries, there were over 50 stream presentations highlighting the considerable number of organisations offering self-help (noting that only 40% of Australian doctors have a GP), coaching/mentoring, assessment, and treatment.
Some notable topics included:
- The intersection between caring and reporting (to the regulator)
- Schwartz Rounds and similar activities in hospital services to grow cultures of wellbeing and safety
- Doctors as patients
- The value of compassion (towards patients and doctors)
- Supporting IMGs in rural practice
- The benefits of coaching
- Easing the trauma of high-stakes examinations
- The health consequences of complaints and investigations
- Medical student escalation of bullying, harassment, and discrimination
Professor Rowe delivered a plenary on occupational health and safety law, the lack of literacy in this area, and introduced the concept of “industrial manslaughter” (see www.safedr.org and Australian Medical Journal, Insight, 30/11/25 issue).
It is clear that challenges remain regarding national connectivity between key stakeholders, including employers, colleges, the AMA, occupational health, DRS4DRS, Doctors Health Alliance, indemnity insurers (and, in NZ, medical unions). A further challenge is promoting the multiple frameworks for healthy workplaces and member wellbeing so they become living documents.
There was no attempt within the “connectivity forum” to promote a plan addressing organisational responsibilities, accountabilities, workplace–legal frameworks, and leadership—but one cannot expect this from a conference alone.
The NZ DHAS Board became energised to build on its 2025 “Summit” and to consider running a focused workshop with key stakeholders in New Zealand.
G M Robinson
