BN Health Forum Brisbane: Mind Matters – The Intersection between Mental Health and the Law

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Thursday, 31 July 2025
Legal sessions: 4:00pm | Keynote presentation: 5:15pm | Networking & drinks: 6:15pm
The Grove Rooftop, 480 Queen Street, Brisbane

Mental health has become one of the defining challenges across the healthcare, legal, and insurance sectors. As clinical presentations grow more complex and psychological injury claims rise, professionals are being called upon to navigate new demands with greater sensitivity, clarity, and collaboration.

This year’s Health Forum will explore the shifting intersection of mental health, medicine, and the law. In a powerful and personal highlight, we’ll hear from a high profile mental health advocate who will share their lived experience of navigating a long-term mental health crisis - offering a vital perspective on the human realities behind our systems and policies. Building on this, across two informative legal sessions our health law experts will examine key challenges for the healthcare sector in this area, including high-profile cases and the rise in psychiatric injury claims, offering insights into claims management and risk reduction in an evolving legal landscape.

Together, our speakers will offer deep insights into what’s working, what needs to change, and how different parts of the sector can collaborate to deliver more compassionate, sustainable mental health outcomes.

BN’s Health Forum is a must-attend event for professionals working in or alongside healthcare and life sciences who want to stay up-to-date on the trends and issues affecting the sector. But be quick, registration is free and places are limited.

Following the final session, attendees are invited to join us for drinks and canapés to continue the conversation with their industry colleagues.

Attend with Purpose

Help Us Support Mental Health

This year, we’re proud to support Lifeline Queensland and the critical work they do in crisis support and suicide prevention. For every guest in attendance, BN will be donating $20 to Lifeline to help fund their 24/7 support services for Australians facing mental health challenges.

Mental health affects individuals, families, workplaces, and communities across every sector. By attending, you’re not only joining vital conversations but also helping provide life-saving support for those in need.

BN proudly supports Lifeline Queensland and their vital work in crisis support and suicide prevention. Mental health affects us all, and by attending, you’re helping raise awareness and support for those in need.

About Lifeline Queensland
Learn more here

Program

  • Session 1: Rights, Risks, and Responsibilities – The Legal Landscape in Mental Health Treatment

    Join Barrister, Bianca Stringer, who will explore and discuss current legal issues when it comes to mental health treatment. With reference to current matters including the mass resignation of NSW Health psychiatrists, Coronial Inquests, and recent events involving mental health patients, Bianca will explore the challenges faced by clinicians and treatment providers in this ever evolving landscape.

  • Session 2: Unravelling the Rise of Psychiatric Injury Claims

    Join BN's own, Emma Baker and James Meehan for a fireside chat to untangle the challenges of psychiatric injury claims. In this session we will explore the latest developments in this complex area of personal injury law and consider why psychiatric injury claims are on the rise. By reference to real world examples and recent case law, we will discuss what claims managers, healthcare providers and legal professionals need to know when investigating and responding to these claims.

  • Session 3: The Walking Waitlists – Surviving a Mental Health Apocalypse

    Keynote session presented by one of Australia’s most recognised media personalities and mental health advocates Osher Günsberg.

    Mental health is more than a professional challenge – it is a deeply personal journey. Behind every statistic and policy discussion lies a human experience: the struggle, the resilience, the small victories. Beyond the frameworks and diagnoses, our keynote session will reveal what it truly feels like to navigate mental health conditions, both as a patient and an advocate.

    Osher will offer a deeply personal account of navigating a severe and protracted period of mental ill-health while maintaining a high-profile public role, illustrating the invisible risks many individuals manage in private. His keynote will open a critical conversation on how avoidant behaviours, stigma, and systemic barriers to care can contribute to underreporting, delayed claims, and ineffective recovery outcomes.

    Through his first-hand experience with mental health struggles, Osher will draw a direct line between the delay in seeking help and long-term psychological injury, particularly in roles attracting public scrutiny or leadership responsibility. He will offer practical insights into how individuals and organisations, including those advising or representing them, can mitigate risk by fostering environments where early intervention is not only encouraged but supported.

    In this keynote, Osher will provide effective strategies for identifying cultural and procedural gaps that prolong injury and increase liability and explore how industry professionals can play a proactive role in shifting workplace norms towards better outcomes.

    Join us as we delve into the critical topic of mental health – a universal concern that touches everyone.

Meet our speakers

  • Osher Günsberg

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    Osher Günsberg is one of Australia’s most recognisable media personalities and has been a guest in Australian living rooms for over 25 years.

    From his work on Channel [V] in the early 2000’s to seven seasons on Australian Idol, Osher became the first (and still the only) Australian to host a live, prime time network TV show in the USA when he fronted CBS’ Live to Dance.

    Osher celebrated his 30th year in broadcasting with a Gold Logie nomination for hosting The Masked Singer, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette on Network 10. In 2023, Osher returned to radio with his long-time collaborator, Yumi Stynes, bringing to life the world’s first 24/7 Music Trivia station on ARN. Osher can also be heard on his podcast ‘Osher Günsberg: Better Than Yesterday’.

    Aside from his broadcast work, Osher is a passionate advocate for positive conversations around mental health and climate action. The release of his memoir ‘Back, After the Break’ became an instant best-seller and was nominated at the 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards for Best Biography Book of the Year, which was accompanied by a live show of the same name that sold out a national tour.

    Beyond his regular TV work, Osher recently moved into hosting and producing documentaries, with spectacular success. His first film ‘Osher Günsberg: A Matter of Life and Death’ (produced with Lune Media) was met with enormous acclaim and won the coveted ‘Golden Goddess’ for Best Documentary (one-off) at the 2022 Asian Academy Awards. His upcoming film, ‘My journey into a world of pain’ explores the treatment of chronic and persistent pain.

    In the live space, Osher recently completed a second season at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with the acclaimed satirical news show he created, ‘NTNNNNN’, where he and his talented cast created an entirely new hour of comedy every night.

    Off-air, Osher is a regular columnist for Men’s Health and an in-demand keynote speaker. He currently serves on the board of We Ride Australia after having previously served on the board of SANE Australia, and is a proud ambassador for Movember.

  • Bianca Stringer

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    Bianca was called to the Bar in October 2022, following an established government career in health regulation as well as serving as a solicitor specialising in health law and policy at a large national firm. She has extensive experience in health law, insurance, and regulatory matters and specialises in defending medical negligence claims, handling complex disciplinary proceedings, and advising professionals on risk management and compliance. Bianca regularly appears pro bono for families through Caxton Legal Centre, providing vital legal support in Coronial Inquests.

    Bianca has represented practitioners, hospitals, and insurers in a wide range of matters, providing strategic insights into liability, claims management, and emerging legal challenges in the healthcare sector. Her expertise extends to coronial inquests, AHPRA investigations, and regulatory disputes, making her a trusted advisor in navigating the intersection of law and medicine.

  • Emma Baker

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    Emma Baker is a Special Counsel in BN's Insurance & Health team, specialising in health law and medical malpractice. She has over 10 years’ experience acting for doctors, allied health professionals, private and public hospitals in negligence claims and disciplinary proceedings. Her extensive background includes acting for AHPRA and a number of the National Health Practitioner Boards in disciplinary referrals to QCAT. Emma has previously worked in-house for a State Government department advising on statutory interpretation, procedural fairness, information privacy and commercial contracts.

  • James Meehan

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    James Meehan is a Senior Associate in BN’s Brisbane Insurance & Health team, specialising in health law, medical malpractice and public liability. With extensive experience defending medical negligence claims for public and private hospitals as well as individual practitioners, James also advises health professionals on disciplinary matters, complaints to AHPRA and the OHO, and investigations by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Beyond healthcare, James works with insurers and self-insured clients on public liability claims. His expertise in multi-party litigation and complex liability disputes makes him a trusted advisor in navigating risk and regulatory challenges. James has completed secondments with government insurers and remains committed to pro bono work, assisting clients with guardianship and tribunal matters.

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