VMHPAA Announces Its First National Conference: Stronger Together 2026
- Shane Warren
- Apr 17
- 2 min read
CPD OPPORTUNITIES
For Immediate Release
17 April 2026
VMHPAA is thrilled to announce our first national conference, coming to Melbourne in August 2026 - a landmark day for vocationally trained mental health practitioners, peer supporters, and everyone working in or alongside high-exposure helping roles.
Stronger Together: Peer Support Conference 2026 is a one-day gathering focused on something both simple and profound: how we look after each other, and ourselves, when trauma, cumulative stress, and vicarious exposure start to quietly shape our lives and work.
The conference theme...
This conference is built around peer support in real-world settings for emergency services, first responders, health workers and veterans, alongside counsellors, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, psychologists, community members and those with lived experience.
Because trauma doesn’t always show up on the day it happens. It can surface later in relationships, sleep, patience, work performance, identity, and connection. Stronger Together explores what it looks like to notice earlier, speak sooner, and respond better, without expecting peers to carry what should be shared by systems, supervision, and pathways to qualified support.
Learning • Skills • Stories
Across the day, the program is designed to deliver three complementary experiences:
Learning dialogue Grounded conversations about trauma, vicarious trauma, moral injury, and the delayed “aftershocks” that can follow high-stakes work.
Monday-ready skills Practical tools you can take back to your role immediately: how to check in, listen well, encourage action, and follow up, with clearer boundaries and escalation pathways.
Personal stories and lived experiences Stories that build understanding, reduce stigma, and remind us why peer connection is protective, especially when systems are stretched.
Time and location...
Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre (PRACC), South Morang (City of Whittlesea, VIC)
Saturday 15 August 2026 • 8:15 am – 6:00 pm
Confirmed contributors (more to be announced)...
We’re pleased to confirm early contributors including:
Martin Taylor (Councillor and former Mayor of the City of Whittlesea; Barrister & Solicitor)
Philip Armstrong (VMHPAA CEO; Principal of Man Counsellor)
Richard Hill will be our MC as well as presenting
Additional speakers and keynotes will be announced as confirmations are finalised.
Registrations are open, and if you want the best price, the Super Early Bird offer won’t last. VMHPAA is currently offering 30% off the ticket price (noted as $136.50) if you register before 30 April 2026, with an additional 50% off annual membership fees for new members when registering in that window.
VMHPAA also notes that members can achieve 16 PD points at this conference.
Join us...
If your work involves supporting people who carry the load, or if you’re part of that workforce yourself, this day is designed to be practical, human, and genuinely useful.
Visit the Stronger Together 26 conference page on the VMHPAA website to register and stay across speaker announcements and program updates.
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