Thrive At Work Summit

You spend your days supporting others.
The Thrive At Work Summit is your day to invest in yourself and your team.

Resilient people | Stronger teams | Better outcomes.

The Thrive At Work Summit event brings together leaders, frontline workers, and teams from across Queensland's Community Services who are committed to improving workplace and employee wellbeing and to making our sector healthier, more resilient and sustainable.

Featuring inspiring speakers and sector experts, the full-day program has been thoughtfully curated to give you tools and strategies you can share with your colleagues and put into practice straight away.

Practical wellbeing strategies to strengthen resilience, combat stress and prevent burnout.
Skill development, including: financial literacy, leadership, productivity, psychosocial hazards legislation and reducing organisational risk.
Inspiring speakers and networking, to help you rediscover your passion for working in this unique sector.
Exclusive access to post-event Boost Sessions and resources to continue your wellbeing development, included as part of your Summit registration.
Enjoy an energising and uplifting day, and leave feeling recharged, inspired, and better equipped to support your community.

Delivered by housing and homelessness peak body Q Shelter and presented by Platinum Partner Bloom HR, the Thrive At Work Summit is no ordinary professional development day.

This event is designed to address the specific needs of Community Services organisations and their staff, to ensure our sector can continue to deliver vital support to Queensland communities, effectively and sustainably.

Join us to be part of something bold, future-focused and deeply needed.

Five people talking to each other in a room in front of a screen

CEOs and Executive Leaders

Unposed group of creative business people in an open concept office brainstorming their next project.

People and Culture Teams

Wellbeing and Workforce Development Leads

Three people sitting at a table talking and laughing

Community Services Professionals

Three woman in a workplace talking to each other, one has her back to the camera

Frontline workers and team leaders

Smilling young business woman in front her team blured in background. Group of young business people. Modern bright startup office interior.

Anyone committed to building a thriving, resilient and future-ready organisation.

Why Thrive At Work?

The Community Services sector relies on compassionate, dedicated people—like you—who go above and beyond to support the most vulnerable. People in our sector care so deeply about other people that they often put their own wellbeing as the last priority.

But we cannot support others if we don't also support ourselves.

With increasing demand on our workforce, and rates of absenteeism, burnout and turnover rising, the wellbeing of our people can no longer sit at the edges of organisational priorities.

Thriving workplaces do not happen by accident. They are created with intention, clarity and action.

The Thrive At Work Summit was designed to bring our sector together to reimagine what is possible and strengthen our organisations and workforce.

What to expect

A full day of learning, inspiration and genuine connection, that continues long after you leave the Summit:

Keynote speakers who bring fresh thinking and real-world insights
Interactive workshops with practical tools you can implement immediately
Live demonstrations of evidence-based wellbeing practices
Leadership panels featuring CEOs, frontline workers and sector innovators
Networking experiences designed for meaningful connection
Follow-up sessions, resources and an online community to continue your support and implementation long after the event has ended.

As a thank you to the organisations and leaders who have supported the thrive At Work vision from the beginning, we're offering an exclusive Early Thriver Offer in December 2025.

Become one of the first to register for the inaugural Thrive At Work Summit in 2026, and you'll enjoy Early Thriver status:

Lock in the exclusive Early Thriver ticket price for the 2026 Summit and for every Thrive At Work Summit in the future
Help shape the programme for the inaugural and future Summits by sharing your wellbeing challenges and successes with organisers
more benefits to be announced soon!

This offer will end on 8 January 2026 so don't delay: lock in our introductory price by becoming an Early Thriver now!

Michael Crossland

Michael empowers organisations with his remarkable lived experience of resilience and hope. Born with a rare life-threatening cancer and the sole survivor of a drug trial, Michael’s journey is a powerful reminder of human strength, courage, and perspective. His story and insights on mindset and purpose inspires teams to navigate challenges, connect with what matters, and bring renewed energy and passion to their work.

Penny Gordon OAM

Penny is a psychologist with more than 40 years' experience specialising in trauma, organisational wellbeing and workforce capability. As Director of Penny Gordon and Associates, she has trained, coached and supported thousands of professionals across Australia, shaping trauma-informed practice and strengthening teams across community services, justice, health and frontline sectors.

Martin Green

Martin helps leaders navigate rapid change, shifting expectations, and the rise of AI. Through his work with organisation LeadChange, he simplifies leadership, strengthens human connection, and builds confidence in complex environments. His approach is practical, experiential, and focused on clarity, connection, and real-world leadership moments.

Tere Vaka

Tere is a psychologist with more than 30 years’ experience in training development and delivery, organisational change, mental health policy development, complex clinical assessments, and counselling. Over the past 15 years, he has delivered numerous seminars and workshops on psychological wellness in the workplace for community-based, corporate and first-responder professions.

Christine Castley

Christine is Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council, former CEO of Multicultural Australia, and former Deputy-Director General of the Queensland Government Depts of Housing & Public Works and Premier & Cabinet. A Malaysian-born Southeast Asian migrant, she brings lived understanding of multicultural Australia to her work, combining community voice, data, and practical delivery to shape better outcomes for communities.

Natalie Carrington

Natalie is CEO of Bloom HR, delivering cost-effective, best-practice Human Resources solutions for the NFP and community services sectors, to ensure healthy, resilient teams and organisational success. Natalie is a certified mediator and specialist in psychological hazards. She is dedicated to creating workplaces where people feel valued and safe so they can focus on supporting the communities they serve.

Emma Dean

Emma is an internationally acclaimed musician, performer, composer, creativity coach, and “choir nerd”. She is the Founder and Director of community choir Cheep Trill, state artistic director for mental health creative organisation Upbeat Arts, and has written choral arrangements for John Farnham, Katie Noonan, Kate Ceberano and others. Emma advocates for the transformative power of group singing in enhancing social connections, confidence, wellbeing, and belonging.

Jo Draper

Jo is a wellbeing and culture specialist with experience across Australia and internationally. She designs and delivers practical, high-impact programs that support resilience, performance, and sustainable wellbeing for teams, leaders, and organisations. As part of her work with Q Shelter, in 2023 Jo led an 18-month project to enhance workforce wellbeing, attraction and retention in Queensland's housing and homelessness sector.

Corey Allen

During his 40 years in the Queensland Police Service, Chief Inspector Allen has held many senior operational roles and led numerous state-wide training programs. Having lived experience of homelessness, he is noted for his empathetic and community-focused approach to policing. In 2011, he received a Churchill Fellowship to study police engagement of rough sleepers overseas, leading to the development of Brisbane programs using culture and community connections to successfully divert young people from homelessness.

Bloom HR

Bloom HR provide transformational HR solutions for the not-for-profit, government and community services sectors. Bloom HR can be your HR team, or support your existing one with additional capacity.

Bloom are award-winning with deep expertise in housing, homelessness and community services. Bloom partners with Employment Hero to deliver a cost-effective, outsourced HR model that strengthens compliance, reduces risk and supports leaders across HR operations, business partnering and talent management.

Talk to us at Q Shelter to find out more about the Thrive At Work Summit, including sponsorship and partnership opportunities.

This is your chance to make your mark on Queensland's premier support and wellbeing event and program for the Community Services sector.

As a partner or sponsor, you'll gain exposure to a wide range of organisations and individuals working to change our communities for the better, with flexible sponsorship opportunities and packages available.

Download our Sponsorship Prospectus to explore our opportunities, and contact our Business Growth and Partnerships Manager, Jo Draper to discuss partnership options with Q Shelter and the Thrive At Work Summit.

You spend your days supporting others.
The Thrive At Work Summit is your day to invest in yourself and your team.

Join us in May 2026 for the inaugural Thrive At Work Summit

Program Highlights

Why Thrive At Work?

If you think wellbeing is just 'yoga mats and fruit bowls', prepare to be surprised.

Discover how operational systems and procedures in your workplace may be impacting your team's resilience and passion for work... and find out how you can manage it effectively and economically.

What to expect

Be an Early Thriver

Book Early and SAVE!