Key Note Speakers
Summit Overview
Western Australia’s hospitals are under unprecedented pressure.
Across metropolitan, regional, and remote WA, emergency departments are experiencing record levels of access block, ambulance ramping, delayed discharges, and repeat readmissions—driven not by acute clinical need alone, but by systemic gaps between hospitals, housing, disability, aged care, mental health, and community support systems.
The Perth NDISDA, Health2Ageducate & Impact Housing Hospital-to-Home Summit 2026 brings together senior leaders, decision-makers, and frontline experts to address one of WA’s most urgent system challenges: how we move people safely, efficiently, and sustainably from hospital to home.
This 1-day, high-impact Summit is designed to move beyond problem statements and into practical, coordinated solutions, grounded in WA data, national reforms, and real-world models already improving outcomes.
Why this Summit matters — WA Context & System Pressures
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By late 2025, Western Australia was facing compounding pressures across its hospital system:
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Ambulance ramping exceeding 7,000 hours in some months, particularly impacting regional hospitals
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Thousands of patients deemed medically ready for discharge remaining in hospital beds
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Severe shortages in residential aged care, SDA, supported living, mental health accommodation, and transitional housing
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Thin provider markets and workforce shortages across regional and remote WA
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Rising complexity of patient need, including older Australians with frailty, people with disability, and individuals with psychosocial disability
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Fragmented continuity of care between hospitals and community-based supports, driving avoidable deterioration and readmissions
Nationally, a stalled five-year hospital funding agreement has further exposed the fault lines between Commonwealth and State responsibility, particularly where hospitals intersect with aged care, disability, and housing systems.
In WA, geography magnifies every challenge. Long discharge distances, limited local services, and workforce constraints mean traditional metropolitan models often fail to translate regionally.
Yet opportunity exists. WA pilots, national reforms (including Support at Home 2026), evolving NDIS pathways, intermediate accommodation models, and integrated care frameworks all point toward solutions—if aligned, funded, and implemented collaboratively. This Summit exists to do exactly that.
Why this Summit?
Our Health and Human Services Division is hosting this dedicated Hospital-to-Home Summit because housing, support, and care pathways are no longer peripheral to hospital performance - they are central to it.
Hospital flow, patient safety, workforce sustainability, and system cost control are now directly linked to:
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Timely access to appropriate housing and supports
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Integrated discharge planning across sectors
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Early identification of post-hospital needs
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Strong collaboration between hospitals, NDIS providers, aged care, mental health, and community services
This Summit creates a rare, neutral space where health, housing, disability, aged care, mental health, and government come together -not in silos, but around shared responsibility and shared solutions.
The program spans acute care, regional health, workforce sustainability, mental health, psychosocial disability, SDA and supported accommodation, aged care transitions, and integrated community pathways—reflecting the full system reality.
Who should attend — and why
This Summit is essential for professionals involved in hospital flow, discharge planning, housing, support systems, and system reform, including:
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Health & Government
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Health executives and hospital managers
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Discharge planners, patient flow and transition leads
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State and Commonwealth policymakers
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Health service planners and commissioners
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Disability, Housing & Community
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NDIS providers (SDA, SIL, psychosocial supports)
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Community and social housing providers
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Impact housing developers and investors
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Mental health and psychosocial support services
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Aboriginal health and community organisations
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Aged Care & Primary Care
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Residential aged care and home care providers
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Allied health professionals and GPs
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Care coordinators and transition managers
Sponsorship Opportunities
This Summit offers sponsors a unique opportunity to align with system reform, innovation, and impact at a time when hospital-to-home solutions are a national priority.
Book Now
Demand for this Summit is expected to be high, with limited places available to ensure meaningful engagement and discussion.
Secure your place early and join the leaders shaping WA’s Hospital-to-Home future.
Program Topics and Theme
8.00am - 8.25am
Arrival and Registration
8.30am - 8.45am
Welcome and Introductions
8.45am - 9.15am
Hospital Social Workers and Cross-Sector Collaboration: Strengthening Discharge Pathways for better outcomes
Kym Knight
St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals
Hospital discharge is a pivotal transition point in the care journey, where outcomes are shaped not only by clinical readiness but by the strength of collaboration across health, aged care, disability, and housing systems.
This session explores the central role of hospital social workers in coordinating this complex interface and strengthening pathways that enable safe, timely, and person-centred discharge.
Hospital social workers sit at the intersection of multiple systems, working across organisational and sector boundaries to align services and support continuity of care.
They play a critical role in care coordination, risk assessment, advocacy, and discharge planning, translating complex system requirements into practical, individualised outcomes for patients, families, and carers.
The discussion will also explore the realities hospital social workers face in managing complex discharges, including the systemic barriers that arise when health services, aged care, disability supports, and housing systems are not effectively aligned.
It will highlight how effective cross-sector collaboration can reduce fragmentation, strengthen continuity of care, and improve discharge outcomes for individuals and families.
9.15am - 9.45am
Barriers to Safe Discharge: Navigating Complexity at the Health–NDIS Interface
Kate Bullow
WA Department of Health
Delayed discharge is rarely the result of a single issue; rather, it reflects the complexity of coordinating care across health, disability, and housing systems.
This session provides a practical, system-level perspective on discharge planning within acute care, focusing on patients with complex needs, including those requiring advanced wound care, diabetes management, behavioural supports, and specialised equipment.
It will explore the key barriers that impact on safe and timely transitions from hospital to home, including:
• Challenges arising in NDIS planning when a participant is in hospital
• Accessing to appropriate housing and support services including income support
• Translating hospital-level clinical support into community delivery
• Medication continuity, including Schedule 8 requirements
By examining these challenges, the session highlights where system misalignment occurs and the implications for patient outcomes, hospital capacity, and cross-sector coordination.
Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the realities shaping discharge decision-making and the importance of integrated approaches to enable safe, sustainable transitions from hospital to home.
9.45am - 10.15am
Q & A
Audience Q & A with above Speakers
10.15am - 10.30am
Morning tea
Break
10.30am - 11. 15am
Closing the Revolving Door: How SDA Funding and NDIS Transitions influence hospital readmissions and flow
Panel Session
Across Australia, delays, changes, or interruptions in Specialist Disability Accommodation and related NDIS housing and support funding are contributing to a growing cycle of hospital readmissions and prolonged hospital stays.
When Participants are medically ready for discharge but cannot access appropriate SDA or supported living arrangements in a timely way - due to delayed decision-making, funding adjustments, or changes in accommodation plans- they often remain in hospital beds longer than necessary or are readmitted shortly after discharge.
These repeated transitions place further strain on hospital capacity, contribute to bed block, disrupt continuity of care, and increase costs in an already stretched health system.
This session will explore how SDA funding pathways, plan reviews, and transitional support arrangements intersect with hospital discharge planning and post-discharge stability.
Delegates will gain insight into the systemic impact of delayed SDA approvals, the challenges of accommodating people with complex support needs in community settings, and the downstream effect on emergency departments, inpatient units, and discharge coordinators when housing and supports are unstable or withdrawn.
The discussion will also examine strategies to reduce readmissions and improve continuity of care through stronger collaboration between hospitals, NDIS providers, and housing stakeholders.
Topics will include early identification of Participants requiring SDA or supported living, streamlined transition frameworks, housing predelivery planning, and integrated care pathways that support sustained discharge outcomes rather than short-term exits.
By understanding and addressing the “revolving door” phenomenon, delegates will be better equipped to enhance hospital flow, reduce unnecessary bed occupancy, and support participants to live safely and sustainably in the community.
11.15am - 11.45am
Breaking the Cycle: How Transitional Mental Health Accommodation reduces Hospital re-admissions in WA
Erica Kibisu
Extend Home Health Care
Emergency departments and acute mental health units across Western Australia are increasingly managing repeat presentations from individuals with complex psychosocial needs.
While acute care plays a critical role in stabilising immediate risk, many people are discharged without the level of structured, ongoing support required to sustain recovery in the community -contributing to a cycle of readmission.
This session explores how transitional mental health accommodation -including Community Care Units and step-down services—can play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between hospital and independent living. These models provide time-limited, recovery-oriented environments where individuals can build daily living skills, stabilise their mental health, and reconnect with community and clinical supports.
Drawing on practical experience, the session will highlight how these services:
• Support safer, more sustainable discharge from hospital
• Reduce reliance on emergency departments and inpatient care
• Provide integrated, multidisciplinary support tailored to individual recovery goals
• Enable stronger connections between hospital services, community providers, and NDIS-funded supports
The presentation will also explore the importance of early discharge planning, cross-sector collaboration, and continuity of care, particularly for individuals navigating complex pathways across mental health, housing, and disability systems.
Attendees will gain practical insights into how transitional accommodation models can reduce readmissions, improve recovery outcomes, and contribute to a more balanced and effective mental health system in WA -shifting the focus from crisis response to long-term stability and wellbeing.
11.45am - 12.10pm
Legal Obligations and Risk Management in Hospital Discharge: Protecting Patients and Providers across Mental Health, Disability and Aged Care
Speaker details are being updated
Hospital discharge is a critical juncture in patient care, particularly for vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities, mental health conditions, and the elderly
Inadequate assessment, planning, or follow-up can result in serious harm or death, raising complex legal questions around duty of care, clinical negligence, and hospital accountability.
This session will explore the legal implications of discharge decisions, examine Australian case law and coroner findings, and highlight best-practice strategies to safeguard patients while mitigating legal risk.
Attendees will gain insights into how hospitals, clinicians, and policymakers can ensure safe, evidence-based discharge processes that protect patients and reduce liability.
12.10pm - 12.30pm
Q & A
12.30pm - 1.30pm
Networking and lunch
1.30pm - 2.00pm
Depart
Register interest to Sponsor or exhibit
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Disclaimer :
Please note that the below program serves as a guide.
SDA Conferences and Events, NDISDA and all Partners will make every reasonable effort to adhere to the advertised schedule, speakers, and topics; however, we reserve the right to modify the program, substitute speakers, or adjust session content at any time without prior notice due to unforeseen circumstances.
SDA Conferences and Events accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or expenses incurred as a result of changes to the event format, program, speakers, or schedule.