Strong safety culture works a lot like a good sports team. Everyone knows their role, people are watching each other’s backs, and the result is bigger than any one person. The AIHS North Queensland Symposium 2026 will bring together health and safety professionals, leaders and industry stakeholders at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville for a practical half-day event exploring performance, decision making and risk in high pressure environments. The symposium will will explore what it means to 'Get your head in the game', with our keynote speaker drawing on lessons from elite sport, leadership, mindset, resilience, preparation, teamwork, wellbeing and performance under pressure. The program will then shift to the workplace, exploring what effective team performance looks like in practice, particularly around communication, coordination and cooperation. Drawing on local industry experience, including the Queensland Country Bank Stadium build, the session will connect high performance principles with real WHS challenges.

Our Symposium partner, MinterEllison, will provide practical legal insights on whether 'The ref’s decision final?', and what it takes to challenge their call. Delegates will then experience 'the full stadium as a workplace' through a venue-based tour from the Stadium Manager. The event will close with networking drinks and nibbles. This is a symposium designed to be practical, engaging and locally relevant, helping delegates think differently about safety, performance and the teams they lead or influence.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Connect lessons from elite sport to workplace health and safety, including mindset, preparation, resilience, teamwork, wellbeing and performance under pressure.

2. Identify practical ways to improve work team performance through stronger communication, coordination and cooperation in high pressure or complex work environments.

3. Understand how WHS legal, operational and decision-making issues intersect, including how leaders and safety professionals can support better judgement, escalation and risk management in practice.