Women in Local Government Conference 2024

The Women in Local Government Conference was developed to support women in the local government sector.  The conference aims to empower women through exploration of leadership and discussion of techniques to address common barriers and challenges.  In identifying and discussing workplace cultures that value the contribution of women in all aspects and levels of the organisation, this event seeks to improve workplaces across Queensland councils. 

By connecting women across the local government sector, we aim to provide officers with valuable insights, effective real-world strategies from experiences officers and plenty of opportunities to network, collaborate and share ideas.  

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global event celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women.   

Join LGMA to celebrate Women in Local Government in Queensland.  

Dates: Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 March 2024

Venue: Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane - 23 Leichardt Street, Spring Hill Q 4000  

Conference Times: 08.30am - 4.00pm

Networking Event: Wed 6 March from 4.00-6.00pm

Registrations: 

Council Officer (Early Bird) $990 per person - closes 5 February / Council Officer (Standard) $1200 per person - 6-23 February - if not sold out prior

Includes: Tea breaks and Lunch on Wednesday and Thursday + the Networking Event on Wednesday

Accommodation, travel/transport are not included in the registration fees.

Member benefits: LGMA Members who attend this event receive a discount off their membership fees for the next financial year.

Council Subscribers: Buy one get one free!  When purchasing one (1) Early Bird Registration, Council can access one (1) complimentary registration to the WILG Conference – subject to availability. Terms: Excludes CEO’s, limit of one complimentary registration per Council.  Please complete this form and scan to admin@lgmaqld.org.au.

Call us now on 3174 5006 to check eligibility!

Accommodation: Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane - Book directly to receive 15% off the best available rate by using the code LGMAQ in the drop down section from special code: https://www.grandchancellorhotels.com/hotel-grand-chancellor-brisbane/book/accommodations

Phone: 07 3831 4055 or Email: reservations@hgcbrisbane.com.au

Car Parking: $15.00 per day for all delegates (up to 10 hours) and $32.00 (10-24 hours)

Transport: Here

Brochure: Here

Keynote Presenters

Kerri Pottharst

Kerri Pottharst is Australia's most decorated Indoor and Beach Volleyball player, having represented her country for an incredible 20 years. Renowned for being one of the fiercest competitors in the world of Volleyball, Kerri is now also known for being a successful speaker, MC, workshop facilitator, coach, mentor, entrepreneur, and published author.

Kerri shares her Gold Medal Excellence strategies with unforgettable tales that combine motivational messages with fun. She brings her hard-earned skills of leadership, teamwork, communication and more to Australia's corporate audiences.

Using entertaining anecdotes from her experiences as a competitor, and as a regular commentator at the Olympic Games and other sporting events, Kerri motivates and inspires her audiences to overcome their fears and self-doubts, to set goals and to push through the barriers to achieve them. An expert at reinventing herself time and time again, Kerri can relate to the constant need to deal with a changing world to stay successful and reach even greater goals.

Kerri’s unique message is as relevant to high level executives as it is to more junior teams. Her in-depth research and preparation ensures the content is relevant and specific to each audience, every time. A consummate professional and experienced presenter, she is as quick-thinking on her feet now as she was on the courts.                            

Amongst Kerri’s many skills is her innate ability to connect with the audience in a way that is warm, authentic, and most importantly, relatable. The same strategies that took her to Gold are easily adapted by audiences to achieve their own corporate and personal goals.

Jackie Furey

Jackie Furey is known as one of Australia’s leading clinical psychotherapists and a specialist in relationships and Mental Health well-being.  For the past 30 years Jackie has helped thousands of people in their personal and professional lives to deal more effectively and successfully with the challenges presenting in todays wonderful yet fast paced and ever-changing world.

Jackie’s work on ‘well-being’ – creating mental strength and emotional resilience has been presented in over 40 major cities around the world. This has resulted in her conducting over 25,000 hours of face to face consultations and having thousands of people benefit from her life-changing keynotes and workshops.

Jackie is university trained in counselling and psychotherapy, a clinical member of PACFA – the Australian governing body of Psychotherapists and Counsellors, a clinical member of AAOS - the Australian Association of supervisors enabling her to offer supervision to other mental health professionals and a member of eMHPrac (black dog institute) and The Ethics Centre.

She also hosted Australia’s much-loved radio talk back relationship show on Mix 106.5 Sydney for 5 years and was a weekly guest on the morning show for Channel 9.

Jackie’s wellness experience also covers meditation (which she has practiced and taught) for over 30 years), conflict resolution, interventions for drug and alcohol issues and facilitating support groups for people struggling with addictions and mood disorders.  Jackie regularly offers her time pro bono to support people working at the coal face in charities and community centres.

Conference Sessions

CEO Panel

The CEO Panel is a favourite feature of the Women of Local Government Conference.  Hear from experienced CEOs about how they have built successful local government careers, what critical skills and approaches they have brought with them and what advice they would give those following in their footsteps.

Tackling the negatives

Despite all of our organisations’ efforts to stamp out such behaviours, sadly many of us will experience bullying and harassment in the workplace.  This session will consider how we can deal with incidents when they occur in order to protect our own mental wellbeing and what action we should take for the benefit of our teams and ourselves.

Update your profile

Social media platforms regularly call on us to update our profile.  But our profile goes beyond just our social media presence.  What is the ‘profile’ you present both online and in real life?  Is it working for you, keeping you safe and supporting you in your roles and development? 

The imposter in the room

Imposter syndrome is real and, at its worst, can lead to self-sabotage and failure to deliver to capability.  Why do we suffer from it (and why do some of us not experience it) and what can you do to manage it, both in yourself and when you see it in others?

Meet the 2023 Young Manager of the Year

The Young Manager of the Year Award is a prestigious award which goes to only a single Queensland local government officer each year.  The officer must have demonstrated skills and commitment to the sector that stand out from peers.  They are a continuous learner, have demonstrated leadership capacity and are delivering for their organisation and community.  In this session we will speak to the 2023 Young Manager of the Year to explore her experiences and achievements.  An inspirational session is guaranteed.

Managing difficult relationships

There will always be people who you do not click with and some of these people will impact your job satisfaction and performance.  This session will explore how to manage those difficult relationships, have the challenging conversations and be assertive when you need to.  This can include relationships upwards, sideways and even with elected members.

Critical Duos

Individual performance and team productivity rely on the quality of relationships; levels of trust, clarity of roles and responsibilities; respect.  We refer to each of the relationships between two individuals in a team as a duo.  This session will explore the importance of these relationships through discussion with two duos about their daily working and interactions.