2009 PIEF Seminars

In 2009, PIEF organised 3 half-day seminars in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Our inaugural seminars were met with strong support, proving the series to be both extremely timely and relevant to our industry. Collectively we had over 300 delegates in attendance. Delegates attended from a variety of key industry organisations, such as government regulators, private insurers, claims management organisations, private providers and legal firms. We also had delegates from New Zealand, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania attend.

Seminar proceedings were opened by the Executive Manager of the Personal Injury Education Foundation, Nathan Clarke. Session one delivered two perspectives of the financial crisis and is impact on accident compensation schemes. An international perspective was delivered by Robert 'Bob' Aurbach, a widely respected expert in US workers' compensation schemes. Bob provided a fascinating presentation on the current state of workers' compensation in the US and potential lessons to be learned for Australian and New Zealand schemes.

Bringing a local perspective were representatives from Actuarial Services team at PricewaterhouseCoopers who provided their thoughts on the impact of the financial crisis on accident compensation schemes and some insights into what the future may hold.

Our final session for the day brought together many industry leaders from across Australia and New Zealand. The panel discussed many of the current challenges our industry faces, recent progress made and the challenges and the opportunities that remain.

View the embedded image gallery online at:
http://www.pief.com.au/events/previous-events/2009/2009seminars.html#sigProGalleriaa93e6efa07


The participants view...

A post-evaluative survey of participants was undertaken after the seminars and some highlights include:

  • the venues, their locations and catering were rated very highly
  • most participants thought that the registration process was simple and that the pre-seminar information was clear and informative
  • 90 per cent thought Bob Aurbach's presentation was relevant and engaging
  • 67 per cent thought the PricewaterhouseCoopers presentation was relevant and engaging
  • 77 per cent thought the panel session was relevant and engaging
  • 92 per cent thought the seminar was value for money
  • 100 per cent were satisfied with the seminar.