Welcome to the Oceania Seating Symposium 2027!
On behalf of the Organising Committee, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to the Oceania Seating Symposium 2027 (OSS2027).
Whether you are joining us as a clinician, researcher, engineer, educator, industry partner, policymaker, student, person with lived experience, family member or advocate, your presence reflects our shared commitment to improving the lives of people who rely on seating, mobility and assistive technology.
This year's theme is Possibility in Motion: Mobility, Belonging and Choice
This captures a vision that extends well beyond technology or clinical practice. It reminds us that mobility is fundamentally about people. It is about creating opportunities to participate in family life, education, employment, recreation and community. It is about dignity, independence, relationships, identity and the freedom to make meaningful choices.
Across Oceania, extraordinary work is being undertaken to advance seating and mobility practice. Our region continues to demonstrate leadership through clinical excellence, research, innovation, education, policy development and, importantly, through meaningful partnerships with people who bring lived experience. Together, we are building systems that are more inclusive, more equitable and more responsive to the aspirations of those we serve.
OSS2027 provides a unique opportunity to bring this community together.
Over the course of the conference you will hear from internationally recognised leaders, discover emerging research, experience cutting-edge technologies, participate in practical workshops and engage in conversations that challenge existing thinking while inspiring new possibilities. Equally important, you will have opportunities to build new collaborations, reconnect with colleagues and learn from diverse experience.
The challenges before us are significant. Growing demand, workforce shortages, technological change, environmental sustainability, health inequities and evolving service models require new ways of thinking and working together. Yet these challenges also present remarkable opportunities to innovate, collaborate and shape the future of seating, mobility and rehabilitation.
Our hope is that every delegate leaves OSS2027 with new knowledge, renewed inspiration and practical ideas that improve outcomes for the people and communities they support. More importantly, we hope you leave with new partnerships, new perspectives and a renewed sense of purpose. Together, let us explore what becomes possible when innovation is guided by compassion, when expertise is strengthened through collaboration, and when every person is supported to live with mobility, belonging and choice.
Welcome to OSS2027.
We look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Australian Chair
Racheal McDonald
Oceania Seating Symposium
Swinburne University of Technology