Meet SIRA’s Recover at Work reference group

Camille is a leading expert in workplace mental health. With over ten years’ experience working in human resources and consulting teams in leading, designing and implementing mental health programs at work across various industries, Camille brings this experience to the reference group to support NSW workplaces in making real and tangible change.

Camille’s passion for mental health programs at work stems from her own lived experience of mental health, a passion that she continues through postgraduate studies at the Brain and Mind Centre (USYD) in the process of becoming a psychologist, and through a research thesis in burnout.

Camille has previously been involved in lived experience advisory and advocacy for BEING, Neuroscience Australia, and By Mind Side. Finally, Camille founded Grow Together Now, working with organisations as a speaker and consultant to drive change within workplaces through programs that give a voice to people with lived experience.

A member of the SIRA Recover at Work Reference Group for the past 3 years, Camille has contributed to a broad range of SIRA and Mentally Healthy Workplaces Strategy projects.

Camille is the current Chair of the SIRA Recover at Work Reference Group.

Peter is a First Responder from Fire and Rescue NSW, and his inspiring story of mental illness and recovery was used by Dr Sam Harvey of Black Dog Institute in a workplace mental health study that has been viewed over 100,000 times on Facebook and YouTube.

Peter has since collaborated with the Black Dog Institute, the NSW Mental Health Commission and SafeWork NSW using his own lived experience of being involved in a major workplace accident, the impact this had on his mental health, and the challenges he faced recovering at work, to make valuable contributions to key mental health projects. Peter has also worked with the Mindgardens Network as a lived experience representative, making a real difference by evaluating mental health research funding proposals.

A member of the SIRA Recover at Work Reference Group for the past 3 years, Peter is passionate about raising awareness around how support and empathy from colleagues can make a huge difference in mental health recovery in the workplace and continues to contribute to a broad range of SIRA and mentally healthy workplaces projects.

Peter is the current Co-Chair of the SIRA Recover at Work Reference Group.

Carley is a rehabilitation counsellor with a Master’s degree in Mental Health Practice. She has extensive experience in varied roles in the management of mental health and rehabilitation in the workplace.

Carley is passionate about using her own lived experience of mental health recovery to develop services, processes, and initiatives for sustainable and improved outcomes for people with a mental health condition. Through this group, Carley hopes to achieve effective change in the way that mental health is managed and perceived in the workplace.

Keith is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in Ethical Leadership, with over 15 years’ experience managing injury prevention, rehabilitation, and worker compensation programs for some of Australia’s most well-known retail and food manufacturing companies. Keith has consulted several Regulators on the development of policy and mental health intervention projects with a focus on prevention of occupational violence and aggression.

Holding a Master’s in Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Management, Keith has significant experience in young and vulnerable worker risk programs and wants to destigmatise mental health in the workplace.

As a retired Chair of the Health Benefits of Good Work, a Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) initiative, Keith promotes placing recovery at work from mental health injury and illness at the front of employer consideration and assists employers to find proactive ways to protect worker mental health using evidence-based approaches.

Jessica has worked in recovery at work and rehabilitation for more than 10 years. She holds tertiary qualifications in psychology, work health and safety and disaster and emergency management, and has co-developed programs to reduce the impact of physical and psychological injuries and illness on individuals.

As the Manager of Health, Wellbeing and Injury Management at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Jessica is responsible for the development of holistic, person-centred programs to aid in the prevention of injury and illness, as well as injury management in conjunction with return to work strategies, to assist employees to not only return and recover at work successfully, but to also return to the lifestyle that they were accustomed to before their injury or illness.

Alan is a Work Health and Safety, Workers Compensation Officer and Trainer for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) across NSW, ACT and Commonwealth jurisdictions and has extensive experience working as a workers compensation trainer, occupational health and safety trainer and return to work coordinator. Alan’s work includes policy contributions and authoring submissions around psychological healthy and psychologically safe workplace matters.

Alan is passionate about changing workplace culture and believes this is an important time for workers, their workplaces, their families and their communities, as the foundations are in place to achieve healthier and safer work, and workplaces, whether psychological and or physiological.

Michelle is a registered psychologist with 13 years’ experience in workplace rehabilitation, corporate health and disability sector. She has experience in supporting recovery at work following psychological injury and illness and collaborating with stakeholders to achieve safe and durable outcomes.

Michelle has a passion for evidence-based service delivery which is tailored towards positive and inclusive customer experience. Michelle is interested in digital health and using technology to improve access and experience for people seeking support.

In her current role as Head of Innovation for Arriba Group, Michelle is responsible for developing, implementing and measuring the impact of innovative programs designed to prevent or mitigate mental and physical health impacts in the community.

Having served as Chair of the SIRA Recover at Work Reference Group between 2019 and 2023, Tully has extensive experience with mental health recovery in the workplace as both an employer and employee. His background in government and non-government roles spans the health, disability, and community service systems. Tully has also held leadership positions with organisations in the disability, homelessness, suicide prevention and complex trauma recovery sectors, including the National Disability Insurance Agency, Mental Health Commission of NSW and Suicide Prevention Australia.

Tully has been a board director of The Mental Health Services Learning Network (The MHS) for nearly two decades and has enjoyed watching it grow to become the largest network of mental health professionals and people with lived experience across Australia and New Zealand.

Trish is an applied ecologist with 15 years’ experience working in biodiversity conservation and Landcare roles with the NSW State Government, before starting in private practice. Trish has developed a passion for resilience, workplace safety, and agriculture, and brings experience working in behaviour change in the land management sector. Trish is currently studying to become an accredited Holistic Management Educator.

Trish brings her own lived experience of a workplace psychological injury and recovery. Trish faced many challenges throughout the period of her worker’s compensation claim, rehabilitation, and recovery. Trish is committed to share her experience to build healthier and safer workplaces for everyone.

She is also a sitting member of the Young Farmers Connect National Advisory Group, representing a national network of new and young farmers.

Eddie is an experienced Senior Operations Manager and Director, with an extensive career in Health, Emergency Services, Emergency Management and Education. Eddie has worked in front line operational roles as a Nursing Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and an Intensive Care Paramedic for NSW Ambulance where he has over 20 years of firsthand experience in managing the impacts of occupational exposure and injury through front line service.

For the past 15 years, Eddie has had the privilege of leading large teams of front-line workers and operational managers who are recovering at work with physical and psychological injury. In these roles, Eddie was responsible for supporting employees in collaboration with injury management specialists to achieve effective recover at work outcomes. More recently, as an Associate Director in Social Policy within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Eddie is working towards progressing capacity and capability of community resilience by influencing, leading and developing policy and education reform.

Eddie has numerous graduate, postgraduate and professional honours qualifications in Nursing, Paramedicine and Education.

Kate is a research and policy professional with more than twenty years' experience working across personal injury schemes. With an Honours degree in Psychology and a Master's in management (Personal Injury), Kate has expertise in occupational rehabilitation, injury management, provider management, risk management, service development and research. She has worked across workers' compensation and CTP schemes, for scheme agents, insurers and rehabilitation providers .

Kate has a keen interest in improving workplace dynamics from the lens of mental health, by using systems thinking to help employers create psychologically healthy workplaces. With a lived experience of workplace psychological injury, Kate is a strong advocate for post-traumatic growth and supporting the development of pathways from recovery to thriving.

Kate also brings the perspective of neurodiversity and combines her own lived experience and professional expertise to advocate for inclusive workplaces that support all employees.

Kate is committed to contributing to long-term change and brings her passion for scheme design to her new role with the Reference Group.