The AOA National Joint Replacement Registry is highly respected and deeply regarded within Australia and throughout the international registry community. The world-leading registry has helped Australia’s orthopaedic surgeons and the health system they work with to improve the lives of millions of Australians, and it grows more powerful and sophisticated every year.
The inaugural AOANJRR Education Forum will feature deep discussions led by every member of the Registry Clinical Director Team, covering everything from how the Registry works, to how it connects with the broader health sector, to what’s in store for the coming years. Join the clinical directors, AOA President Scott Fletcher, key personnel from the MBS and the device sector, and fellow members for a packed one-day program of education, discussion and new connections.
We all have some understanding of the immense value the Registry provides and the benefits it has yielded for patients in Australia and around the world, but this is the key opportunity to explore the inner workings of the AOANJRR and the way it continues to build new links between the community, practitioners, hospitals, government and industry.
Forum details:
When: 9.30am–5pm ACDT Friday 28 March 2025
Where: Adelaide Marriott Hotel
Dinner and discussion panel details:
When: from 6pm ACDT Friday 28 March 2025
Where: Adelaide Marriott Hotel
What's on?
Major topics to be covered in the Forum include:
- The nuts and bolts of the Registry
- The power of evidence-based research and comparisons with international registries
- Patient recorded outcome measures
- Registry interfaces with hospitals and practices
- The future of the Registry
- Benefits of the Registry to key stakeholders
Presentations from invited stakeholders (representatives from the federal government) include:
- The balance between innovation and safety, and the regulatory framework of monitoring and introduction of new devices
- Access to reimbursement for new devices
CPD hours
Attendance at the Forum will be allocated five CPD hours. The dinner and discussion panel will be allocated a further two CPD hours, for a total of seven hours allocated if both are attended.
Non-AOA members will receive a certificate confirming the CPD hours allocated to use as required.
Registration is now open for you to complete as well as share with your networks. We encourage you to register early to support the AOANJRR Education Forum and operations.
Various registration categories are available. Please note that if you do not have a member or non-member AOA login you will be prompted to make one to access the registration form.
| Registration category: |
Price ($AUD,
inc GST): |
| AOA member |
$300 |
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| AOA trainee |
$150 |
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| Non-accredited registrar or uni staff |
$200 |
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| Registry hospital coordinators, nurse, allied health, intern, junior MO, or patient group representative |
$125 |
| |
|
| Concession (patient, medical students) |
$100 |
| |
|
| NZOA/ANZORS/other fellow non-member |
$300 |
| |
|
| NZOA trainee member |
$150 |
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| Government |
$300 |
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|
| Industry (health funds, medical device, hospital exec/management) |
$500 |
| |
|
| Alliance partners/foundations |
$400 |
| |
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| Related societies, institutions, associations |
$450 |
| |
|
| AOA staff/invited guest (approved) |
$0 |
| |
|
| AOA invited speaker |
$0 |
| |
|
| Optional: Dinner and panel discussion (all categories) |
$150 |
Provisional program
View as full screen
Dr Michael O'Sullivan
AOANJRR Registry Committee Chair
Convenor
Dr Scott Fletcher
AOA President
Moderator
Michael O'Sullivan is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Sydney, specialising in hip surgery and hip replacements.
In 1998 he completed a fellowship in adult reconstructive surgery at the Institute of Bone and Joint Diseases in Phoenix, Arizona, followed by a fellowship in hip replacement surgery at Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Centre in Exeter, UK. On returning to Australia in 1999 he completed a six-month fellowship in joint replacement surgery with Dr William Walter.
Michael is an active member of the Arthroplasty Society of Australia, serving as secretary then president of the ASA from 2013 to 2016. He remains actively involved in research with the North Sydney Orthopaedic Research Group and regularly presents at both local and international meetings. He is also a member of the International Society of Hip Arthroscopy and the Hip Preservation Society of Australia.
Scott in an orthopaedic surgeon in Tasmania. Has had a number of leadership roles throughout his orthopaedic career. This included a 25-year span as head of a small orthopaedic department in Tasmania and a 15-year span as director of surgery.
His leadership roles have included state and national roles related to orthopaedics and surgery more generally. He is a member of the Arthroplasty Society (ASA) and spent a year in the presidential role of the ASA.
He also has fellowship with the College of Medical Administration (FRACMA) and uses this role to give him a better understanding of the broader health system. He is an associate professor through the University of Tasmania.
Scott is the current vice president of the Australian Orthopaedic Association and has a particular interest in connecting and integrating health services. 'Connection' is the theme of the 2025 AOA ASM in Hobart, Tasmania.
Professor Paul Smith
Registry Clinical Director
Professor Chris Vertullo
Deputy Registry Clinical
Director
Dr James Stoney
Assistant Deputy Registry Clinical Director
Adj/Professor
Michael McAuliffe
Deputy Registry Clinical Director
Dr David Gill
Assistant Deputy Registry Clinical Director
Dr Simon Singer
Assistant Secretary Prescribed List Reform Taskforce | Department of Health and Aged Care
Professor Peter Lewis
Deputy Registry Clinical Director
Assoc/Professor Chris Wall
Assistant Deputy Registry Clinical Director
Ms Tracey Duffy
Medical Devices and Product Quality Division | Department of Health and Aged Care
Dinner discussion panel
Mr Ben Harris
Director, Policy and Research, Private Healthcare Australia
Sister Mary-Lynne Cochrane
Chronic pain awareness advocate, ex-chair Pain Australia Consumer Group
Prof Richard de Steiger
Former Deputy Director AOANJRR
Paul is a professor of orthopaedics at the Australian National University, director of the Trauma and Orthopaedic Research Unit at Canberra Hospital and the John Curtin School of Medical Research, and director of the orthopaedic unit at Canberra Hospital. He specialises in hip and knee replacement, joint preservation of the hip and knee, knee ligament reconstruction, complex revision joint replacement and major bone grafting, and pelvic and acetubular reconstruction surgery.
Sessions: An introduction to the AOANJRR, The Future of the Registry and Panel Q&As.
Michael specialises in knee and hip replacement surgery, and is actively involved in ongoing research and holds multiple patents for orthopaedic surgery.
Attaining his PhD in 2021 from the University of Technology Queensland (QUT), Michael currently serves as an adjunct professor at QUT. In 2016 he was awarded the prestigious ABC Travelling Fellowship. Michael is also actively involved with the provision of surgery in the Pacific, and with the cancer charity Tour de Cure. He received the AOA Award for Humanitarian Service in 2018.
Sessions: Operational aspects of the AOANJRR and Panel Q&As
Peter Lewis specialises in hip and knee replacements, with a particular clinical interest in revision knee replacement.
Peter is the head of the arthroplasty service for the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, and has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications in total joint arthroplasty.
Sessions: What the AOANJRR can and cannot do, The HTARR process, and Panel Q&As
Chris Vertullo is a knee surgeon based in Queensland, with a special interest in complex ACL and PCL reconstructions, computer navigated total and revision surgery, minimal incision rapid recovery total and partial knee replacement, meniscal repair and preserving arthroscopy, and advanced arthroscopic joint resurfacing/cartilage restoration.
Chris has a strong interest in research into knee surgery, with a PhD investigating improving outcomes in knee replacements.
Sessions: Economics and registry sustainability and Panel Q&As
David Gill specialises in shoulder, wrist, and hand, completing a hand and microsugery fellowship at the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne and adult reconstruction and hand surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA.
David serves as chair for the SOECAG, and is a member of the DDHTAC and CQRFRAG. David is also a specialist advisor to the ACMD of the TGA, and served as a member of the Evaluation Subcommittee of the MSAC, and Shoulder and Elbow Working Group to the MBS Review Committee.
Sessions:
The HTARR process, Preparation of the Annual Report, Benefits of the AOANJRR to the health community and stakeholders, Panel Q&As
Chris Wall is the deputy director at the department of orthopaedics at Toowoomba Hospital and is a senior lecturer at the Rural Clinical School, University of Queensland.
Chris is the orthopaedic co-chair of the ANZ Hip Fracture Registry and is currently completing a PhD investigating the influence of obesity on knee replacement outcomes in Australia.
Sessions: Impact of the AOANJRR on national and international orthopaedic practice and Panel Q&As
James Stoney is a hip and knee surgeon based in Melbourne and has served as assistant clinical director for 12 years. He is currently the director of orthopaedics at St Vincent's Public Hospital.
James specialises in primary and revision hip and knee replacement, and computer-assisted knee replacement, with a special interest in cases compounded by bone deformity, significant misalignment, or damage to the joint.
Sessions: Statistics for dummies i.e. everyone except a satistician, The importance of PROMS: what they are and how they are collected, and Panel Q&As
Dr Simon Singer joined the Department of Health and Aged Care in 2017, joining the Prescribed List Reform Taskforce in November 2024. He previously worked as Principal Medical Adviser in Medical Devices Authorisation at the TGA, leading a team of medical doctors and scientists, responsible for clinical assessment of medical devices. He holds a medical degree from the University of Glasgow, membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (Glasgow) and the Diploma of Human Pharmacology, awarded by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (UK). He has worked in the medical devices, pharmaceutical and contract research organisation industries in medical roles and has gained extensive experience as an investigator in early phase clinical studies of both drugs and devices.
Tracey Duffy is an experienced leader in medical device and product quality regulation, with her team responsible for overseeing the safety and approval of medical devices, including software and AI. Her career spans senior roles within the Australian Department of Health, private sector advisory positions, and international regulatory bodies, where she has contributed significantly to shaping global practices in medical device safety.
Dinner discussion speaker bios
Ben Harris is Director, Policy and Research, at Private Healthcare Australia. Ben is an economist by training, with a long career in governments and peak bodies across the health sector. He is also the author of a range of publications, including Australia’s Mental and Physical Health Tracker.
Sister Mary-Lynne Cochrane, a member of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, has become a passionate advocate for chronic pain awareness.
Mary-Lynne has lived with a severe form of arthritis for over 40 years, undergoing many major surgeries, including three knee replacements, three hip replacements, four back surgeries, two reverse shoulder replacements, pelvic bone transplants, and multiple surgeries on her feet and hands. Despite these challenges, she has dedicated herself to raising awareness about the millions of Australians who live with chronic pain and advocating for improved pain management strategies.
Mary-Lynne has a strong association with Pain Australia, having served as the chair of the Consumer Advisory Group and as a board member. She remains a dedicated advocate, working tirelessly to ensure that people living with chronic pain have a voice in shaping healthcare policies and improving patient outcomes.
Professor Richard de Steiger is the Epworth, Victor Smorgon chair of surgery at the University of Melbourne, and was the deputy director of the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry for 17 years.
He completed his fellowship training in orthopaedic surgery in Melbourne and studied for several years at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, and was an AO fellow in Bern, Switzerland. He was awarded the prestigious ABC Travelling Fellowship in 1998 and obtained his PhD in the School of Public Health, Adelaide University in 2018.
Prof de Steiger’s current research interests include outcomes of joint replacement surgery, particularly periprosthetic joint infection, data linkage, robotic surgery and mechanisms involved in the cause of knee osteoarthritis. He has been a member of innumerable committees over many years and has been president of the International Society of Arthroplasty Registries, the Girdlestone Society and is an active member of the International Hip Society.
Delegates
Delegates are invited from relevant groups across Australia including:
- AOA members and trainees
- private and public hospital staff, including junior doctors, hospital registry coordinators, operating theatre and orthopaedic nurses
- orthopaedic practice staff and nurses
- medical device industry
- medical defence organisations
- Day Hospitals Australia
- consumer patient groups
- state and federal government representatives from the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Veterans Affairs
- researchers
- private health insurers
- Therapuetic Goods Administration
- other allied health practitioners
Accommodation
Please book your flights and accommodation to secure best pricing at your own cost and convenience. The Adelaide CBD has a number of accommodation options available.
AOA has secured discounted room rates with Adina Treasury and Vibe Adelaide. Please note to secure the rates, you must use the link and promo code below when booking.
Adina Treasury
2 Flinders St, Adelaide
Promo code: AOANJRR25
Vibe Adelaide
260 Flinders St, Adelaide
Promo code: AOANJRR25
Sponsors
Major event sponsors
Forum trade exhibition sponsors
Dinner and discussion panel sponsor
Sponsorship
Various sponsorship options are available. For more information on packages and inclusions, view the
AOANJRR Education Forum sponsorship prospectus.
Are you a business interested in sponsorship of a future AOANJRR Education Forum? Please contact Chief Member Experience Officer Michelle White at
michelle.white@aoa.org.au