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

category
media
event information
Thursday, 24 July 2025
Forum sessions: 4:00pm | Networking & drinks: 6:15pm
Ivy Sunroom, 330 George Street, Sydney

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, our expert-led panel session will examine the pressures on frontline care, how regulators and courts are responding to mental health challenges, and how insurers are adapting to a changing risk environment.

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 and continue the conversation with their industry colleagues.

Attend with Purpose

Help Us Support Women on Their Recovery Journey

BN is proud to partner with Two Good Co., an organisation dedicated to empowering and employing women with lived experience of homelessness, domestic violence, and complex trauma.

For every guest in attendance, BN will donate a nutritious and delicious Two Good meal for women and children seeking refuge in local shelters. Two Good isn’t just about meals - it’s about dignity, empowerment, and rebuilding lives. Their programs provide employment pathways, skills training, and a supportive community that plays a vital role in mental health recovery and long-term wellbeing.

By joining us, you’re not just attending an event, you’re helping provide nourishment and hope to someone who needs it.

BN proudly supports our community through donations, volunteering, and partnerships. Our main partner, Two Good Co., helps women impacted by trauma rebuild their lives through connection, skills, and employment.

About Two Good Co.
Learn more here

Program

  • Session 1: A Cross Examination – Mental Health in Medicine and the Law

    Panel session moderated by BN’s Natalie Aprea, with panellists:

    Mental health sits at a complex crossroads between medicine and law, with challenges that continue to evolve in scope and impact. With rising mental health admissions in clinical settings and increasing psychological injury and nervous shock claims, both the legal and healthcare systems are being pushed to adapt.

    This session brings together a panel of legal, insurance, and health industry experts to explore the growing intersection between mental health and the law. Together, they will examine how doctors are managing mental health emergencies in emergency departments, the complexities of diagnosing patients with co-morbid conditions, and advances in psychiatric treatment that are reshaping frontline care. From a legal perspective, this session will consider how regulatory bodies respond to practitioners experiencing mental health issues, how courts are assessing psychological harm, and how insurers are approaching these emerging challenges.

    Our panellists will also explore broader systemic pressures, from workforce mental health to the coordination of care across services and reflect on the reforms needed to support more effective, sustainable, and compassionate responses. Framed as a cross-examination, this session offers a timely and thought-provoking analysis of where medicine and law meet in the mental health space, and how sectors can work together to deliver more sustainable and effective responses.

  • Session 2: 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

    media

    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.

  • Dr Doron Samuell, Professional Opinions

    media

    Dr Doron Samuell is a highly experienced psychiatrist, medical specialist, and behavioural economist, with deep expertise in complex mental health presentations, trauma, and psychological injury. He works at the intersection of psychiatry and the law, collaborating with legal and healthcare professionals to navigate evolving challenges in mental health treatment, risk management, and regulatory frameworks.

    With extensive experience in forensic and clinical psychiatry, Dr Samuell provides expert assessments, treatment guidance, and strategic advice on complex cases. His expertise spans workplace mental health, medico-legal reporting, and system-wide reforms aimed at improving psychiatric care. Passionate about early intervention and sustainable mental health solutions, he is a respected voice in shaping policy and practice in both medical and legal sectors.

    Beyond psychiatry, Dr Samuell applies his skills as a behavioural economist to resolve complex behavioural challenges using quantitative and qualitative evidence. His work addresses microeconomic drivers of productivity and performance, as well as the social and medical impacts of mental health conditions. With leadership experience across Asia-Pacific, India, and North America, he operates at the forefront of emerging knowledge intersections, delivering innovative, evidence-based solutions across the manufacturing, health, and financial sectors.

  • Dr Lai Heng Foong, Sydney Based Hospital

    media

    Dr Lai Heng Foong is an emergency physician based in Sydney with a strong focus on public health, disaster preparedness, and health equity. Passionate about systemic change, she advocates for COVID-19 preparedness, climate-related health impacts, Indigenous health, and the social determinants of health.

    As a frontline clinician in emergency departments, Dr Foong witnesses firsthand the challenges faced by acute mental health patients, including long wait times for hospital beds, rising mental distress among younger cohorts, and the intersectionality of mental health, care gaps, and social factors leading to unmet needs. She is a strong advocate for a health systems approach to domestic violence and serves as both a board member and active collaborator with Bonnie Support Services to help women in South West Sydney rebuild their lives after domestic violence.

    Dr Foong currently chairs both the Public Health and Disaster Committee at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Public and Environmental Health Special Interest Group (PEHSIG) at the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM). She played a key role in shaping ACEM’s Environmental Strategy and Environmental Action Plan and has contributed to medical literature, including authoring book chapters on disaster management in children and public health in emergency medicine in Cameron’s Textbook of Paediatric and Adult Emergency Medicine.

  • Hannah Shiel, Barry Nilsson

    media

    Hannah Shiel is a Special Counsel in BN's Sydney Insurance & Health team, specialising in health law and professional indemnity. Her extensive background includes defending professional negligence claims against medical practitioners and allied health practitioners in the District and Supreme Court, as well as assisting practitioners in coronial inquests. Hannah acts for a range of medical professionals, health professionals and facilities, and has developed a strong background in assisting medical practitioners and other health professionals across the regulatory framework.

    With three years in-house at a medical indemnity insurer, Hannah brings a pragmatic approach to regulatory challenges, supporting clients effectively through matters with AHPRA, the Medical Council of New South Wales and the HCCC.

  • Natalie Aprea, Barry Nilsson

    media

    Natalie Aprea is a Special Counsel in BN’s Sydney Insurance & Health team, specialising in healthcare, life sciences and medical negligence. She has extensive experience representing medical practitioners, allied health professionals, and private health facilities in complex litigation, coronial inquests, and disciplinary investigations involving the HCCC, AHPRA, the Medical Council of New South Wales and the Dental Council of New South Wales. Her expertise also spans telehealth and product liability claims, including large scale medical device class actions. She regularly provides strategic legal and risk management advice to major health institutions on compliance, reporting obligations, and broader insurance matters. With over 15 years in the medical defence industry, Natalie has a deep understanding of the New South Wales healthcare legal landscape.

Receive our latest news, insights and events
Insurance & Health
Family Law, Wills & Estates
Meet our team
Knowledge Hub
Who we are
Barry Nilsson acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we conduct our business, and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.
© Barry Nilsson 2025
Privacy policy Terms of Use Staff Access Reset
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation