The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) has announced its initial speaker lineup for Accreditation Matters 2024, headlined by an international keynote from the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
A landmark two-day conference, Accreditation Matters 2024 will focus on the crucial role accreditation and conformity assessment play in trade, construction, health in ensuring Australians can live their lives safely.
Devin McDaniels, Deputy Secretary of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, will speak at the conference highlighting the importance of accreditation and conformity assessment, standards and regulations to global trade.
Speakers from industry heavyweights The National Measurement Institute (NMI), Standards Australia (SA), CSIRO, Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), Sydney University, the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia (RCPA), SafeWork NSW and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) are also confirmed to present at Accreditation Matters 2024, billed as Australia’s largest ever accreditation conference.
Organisations including Australian Sports Drug Testing Laboratory (ASDTL), Proficiency Testing Australia (PTA), GS1 Australia, Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) and companies including Sealy, Coregas and leading laboratory trainer LTT will also present at the conference.
Accreditation Matters 2024 will take place at the International Convention Centre Sydney on Tuesday, June 25 and Wednesday, June 26 with over 400 industry leaders, technical experts, and quality champions expected to attend.
More than 30 sessions are already confirmed in the multi-choice program, putting the spotlight on the role accreditation plays in the quality and safety of all aspects of our daily lives, and highlighting the importance to global trade for Australian companies.
Conference themes include Future Focused, Accreditation Matters, Trade and Supply Chains, Health as well as a stream for People Development within Australia’s conformance community.
Confirmed speakers include NATA CEO Jennifer Evans, WTO’s Devin McDaniels along with Dr Bruce Warrington, CEO and Chief Metrologist at NMI, as well as:
Olivier Salvado, Lead AI for Mission, CSIRO
Dr Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Sydney University
Adrian O’Connell, CEO, Standards Australia
Tracey Gramlick – Deputy Director of Growth and Strategy for Infrastructure Technologies at CSIRO (also Chair of the Board of Standards Australia)
Karen Eck – Publicity & Brand Strategist; Founder, The Power of Visibility
Peter Carter – General Manager Public Policy and Government Engagement, GS1 Australia
Christopher Bourke – Director, TestSafe Australia, SafeWork NSW, NSW Government
Judy Edmonds – Quality Manager, Australian Sports Drug Testing Laboratory, National Measurement Institute.
Wodek Jakubik – Innovations Manager, Coregas
Karen Cividin – General Manager Proficiency Testing Australia
Prof Tony Badrick – CEO of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP)
Speaking about the conference Ms Evans commented: “For more than 77 years, accreditation has been the secret safety net for all Australians. In 2024, we want to showcase the role accreditation plays in all our lives by bringing all participants of Australia’s accreditation and conformity assessment industry together in one place.
“We will explore the future of accreditation and discuss important topics around global trade by bringing together domestic and international experts to offer insights into the workings of our National Standards and Conformance Infrastructure. Accreditation Matters 2024 will look to the future, but also provide upskilling and professional development opportunities for those in the science community looking to implement change today.
“We will also look at the advent of generative AI and increasingly complex automation used in laboratories, the governance required for these new technologies and how Standards (like the recent ISO/IEC 42001), conformity assessment and accreditation will be vital to securing the confidence of the wider Australian public in these emerging technologies.”
Some of the session topics have also been released and will look at:
Australia’s National Technical Infrastructure
Future of AI Standards
Introverts vs Extraverts in the laboratory
Metrology and traceability
Proficiency testing
Quality/climate change
Accreditation in action
Regulations vs Infrastructure
Hydrogen Future
Upskilling staff and recruiting laboratory staff of tomorrow
Non-conforming building projects
Accreditation 101
Visibility and Communications
More speakers and sessions will be announced in the lead up to the event. To find the latest or discover more information as well as securing your seat at Accreditation Matters 2024, please visit https://nataevents.nata.com.
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