The Oceania Academy of Cerebral Palsy and other Childhood-onset Disabilities will host its biennial conference in Hobart, Australia on 4th to 7th March 2026. This event marks several milestones. First, our name change from Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine to reflect our Oceania region, and the addition of 'other Childhood-onset Disabilities' emphasizing a lifespan approach across multiple disabilities. Second, we welcome new co-chairs, Georgina Clutterbuck, physiotherapist/lecturer/researcher from Queensland, Australia and Amy Hogan, from New Zealand, an advocate and writer who has cerebral palsy (CP), likely the first individual with a disability to chair across IAACD academies. Third, aligning with our 5-year strategy to strengthen regional partnerships, we feature our first keynote from the Pacific – paediatrician Ilisapeci Tuibeqa, the Head of Paediatrics at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva, Fiji and President of the Pacific Paediatric Association (PPA) with Sue Woolfenden, an Australian leader in child health equity policy. Finally, we deliver a hybrid conference to maximize accessibility and equity for attendees. Our theme ‘Transforming Care Across Oceans’ highlights the significance of our geographical location – Oceania's island nations must cross oceans to explore, understand, and learn to transform practice. Oceania includes Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and three major cultural regions: Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia), Micronesia (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru), and Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia). These nations comprise about 10 000 islands and 46 million people, with hundreds of cultural groups and over 1200 languages (https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Islands). Many countries are low- or lower-middle income economies (Kiribati, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu), facing frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, and isolation – challenges amplified for individuals with disabilities, their families, and health workers. Even in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, rural areas often lack services, leaving families without screening or basic care. To transform care, we need a skilled, committed, and stable work force that is culturally aware and sensitive to the individuals on whose land they live and work. In Oceania, mass migration of health workers creates challenges to delivering expert care, with shortages of skilled staff, overwork, and unmanageable caseloads (https://www.facebook.com/officialmhmssi/posts/health-minister-launches-addressing-health-workforce-crisis-in-the-pacific-repor/1142908271346562/). Examples of the sizeable challenges ahead include the following. Fiji: The Frank Hilton Organisation (a not-for-profit paediatric service), has 15 allied health professionals (speech therapists, physiotherapists, audiometrist, psychologists, one volunteer occupational therapist), providing services across three main islands for approximately 300 newly enrolled children and families annually. Most families access no other health or education programme. Fiji hospital strain: Severe lack of paediatric beds at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital with 100 children admitted for conditions like pneumonia and dengue to a 50-bed unit (https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/health/cwmhs-pediatric-ward-overcrowded/). Vanuatu: A CP register on Tanna Island identified the prevalence of CP as 3.4 per 1000 children, a likely underestimate.1 Most children with CP (83%) never accessed rehabilitation. Across Vanuatu (population 336 000 across 65 inhabited islands), there are two paediatricians and eight physiotherapists in the national health service. New Zealand: Over 9000 health workers leave annually for overseas employment in Australia (https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Publications/Annual-reports/Annual-report-2024/Registration.aspx). Despite barriers, transformative models are emerging which are reducing the age of CP diagnosis and improving engagement of Māori, Pasifika (Partnering Early to Provide for Infants at Risk of Cerebral Palsy PĒPI ARC),2 and First Nations People in Australia (Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents LEAP).3 A 14-year partnership with Fiji's paediatric teams has built a sustainable assessment service.4 Transforming care across oceans demands curiosity, reciprocal learning, and cultural sensitivity and safety for an inclusive approach to disability. Our conference invites clinicians, researchers, families, and advocates – virtually or in-person – to share knowledge and strategies for equitable, timely, and appropriate care for all people in Oceania and beyond. Not required.
Kilgour et al. (Fri,) studied this question.