Headline Speakers

Grace Tame

We’re thrilled to announce 2021 Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, as our headline speaker for the 2022 QCOSS Conference!

As a powerful advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse, Grace is dedicated to helping people share their stories without shame, educating the public and working with decision-makers to challenge the systems that enable abuse. In 2019, Grace obtained a court order enabling her to speak out publicly as an abuse survivor in the #LetHerSpeak Campaign (this campaign was created by Nina Funnell). Grace has continued to use her voice to push for legal reform and lead positive change.

Amy Remeikis

Amy Remeikis is a political reporter with Guardian Australia and regular contributor to Insiders, The Drum, The Project and ABC Radio. Amy is the author of the best selling On Reckoning which covers Australia’s discomfort in dealing with sexual violence and the failure of the nation’s leaders in addressing it.

Megan Davis

Megan Davis is a Cobble Cobble Aboriginal woman from Queensland and a Professor of Law, an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court, and the Director of the Indigenous Law Centre and the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales. Professor Davis is an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, being the first Australian Indigenous person to be elected to a United Nations body. Professor Davis was a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians.

Conference MC

Karni Liddell

Karni Liddell is a former world record holder, Paralympic swimmer, speaker, TV presenter, “Mama” and clinical social worker. Karni was born with a neuro-muscular wasting disease and her parents were told that their first-born child wouldn’t walk, crawl or live past her teenage years.

Karni broke her first World Record at the age of 14 and she went on to win Paralympic medals at every Paralympics she competed at and she regards being captain of the Number 1 team at the Sydney 2000 Games her greatest sporting achievement.

Karni has risen over $1million dollars throughout her career for the various disability charities she supports.

Karni is currently the Engagement Manager for Disability Connect QLD where her role is to increase employment of People with a disability across the Public sector and the community to 8% and within DCQ to 20%. Karni was the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Ambassador and officially opened the NDIA head office in Geelong, she is a member of the Qld Premier’s Domestic and Family Violence Council and is a Domestic and Family Violence specialist and trainer (Karni delivers the Lifeline DV-alert Working with Women with Disabilities). She is a presenter for Channel 7 and was a talkback radio presenter. She is the Ambassador for Kids Help Line, Muscular Dystrophy QLD and Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association. Karni was the Patron of the International Day of People with a Disability and was awarded the Pride of Australia medal. She won the Qld Teacher and Trainer of the year (2015) and was awarded the Alumni of the Year award for the faculty of health at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Karni holds a Clinical Masters in Social Work (QUT) and a double Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Bond University.

Karni is an internationally acclaimed and sought after keynote speaker and has just done a TED speech, which has been watched by thousands of people around the world and was the only TED speaker on the day to receive a standing ovation.

Speakers

Speakers are listed alphabetically below