New Zealand Rehabilitation Association

19/08/2026

Save the date for the 2027 RMSANZ conference in Melbourne 18-21 July

2027 Rehabilitation Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand 10th Annual Scientific Meeting

13/08/2026

Some positive news for brain injury rehabilitation in Canterbury and the South Island.

13/08/2026

Sure ot be a great event, Abstracts close tomorrow 14 August....

📢 We are extending our abstract submission deadline by two weeks!

⭐ Thank you to everyone who has already submitted an abstract for this year's NZ Association of Gerontology Conference "Honouring the Journey of Ageing" - This is shaping up be a great event.

✍ If your abstract has been sitting on the to-do list , now is your chance

📅 New deadline: Friday 14 August 2026
This will be our only and final extension!

📌 For more information about NZAG2026 and to submit an abstract, visit the conference website

https://tcm.swoogo.com/NZAG2026

We welcome submissions from researchers, practitioners, policy makers, students, service providers, advocates, and people with lived experience. We would love to see your work and ideas featured in the programme.

06/07/2026

15/06/2026

Event Announcement: A REHAB CONVERSATION: Health systems leadership, enabling digital innovation across rehabilitation services, 29 Jun 2026.

Speaker: Dr Becky George

Dr Becky George is an accomplished clinical digital health leader with more than two decades of experience spanning frontline practice, systems leadership, and national digital transformation. In her new role as Group Manager, Clinical Common and Specialised, Digital Apps and Products within Digital Services at Health NZ, Becky leads work that shapes digital alignment, strengthens governance, and ensures digital solutions are safe, equitable, and fit for purpose.

An occupational therapist by profession, Becky has held previous national roles including Clinical Director with Digital Services at Health NZ, Clinical Principal Advisor and Acting Chief Allied Health Professions Officer at the Ministry of Health. Her leadership has contributed to improving health outcomes through clinical digital safety, sector-wide engagement, and policy development across Aotearoa’s digital health ecosystem.

Becky’s doctoral research focused on investigating the enablers of developing health systems leaders in Aotearoa. A Fellow of HiNZ and AIDH, CHIA-certified informatician, and co-founder of the Allied Health, Scientific and Technical Informatics Group, she has co-authored national standards and strengthened digital capability across the workforce. Known for her inclusive leadership and systems-level perspective, Becky is committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Pae Ora, ensuring digital transformation improves equity and outcomes for all communities.

Register here:

15/06/2026

The Traumatic Brain Injury Conference NZ is returning to Christchurch in 2027 and there is one month left to submit your abstract!

Abstract submissions close: Midnight Monday 14 July 2026.

We welcome submissions from researchers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, service providers, advocates and people with lived experience to share insights, research and innovative approaches in traumatic brain injury care and rehabilitation. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss your submission!

https://www.braininjuryconference.nz/

11/06/2026

Rachelle is delighted to announce a newly funded Health Research Council project: Flourishing Health Systems: Embedding Disabled People’s Expertise in Health Design.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/Heart-research-gets-a-boost-with-HRC-funding

Disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori continue to experience significant barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services that support them to live well, participate fully, and flourish across the whole of their lives, as so clearly shown in two very recent reports:

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/news/disability-data-gaps/

https://www.hdc.org.nz/our-work/research-and-data-reports/health-experiences-of-disabled-people-report/

Too often, services are fragmented, difficult to navigate, or designed without enough attention to the expertise of the people and whānau who use them. And this is especially true for those who are not funded by ACC.

This 3-year research project asks what could change if disabled people’s and tāngata whaikaha Māori lived experience and expertise were embedded earlier in health system decision-making — including service design, planning, commissioning and evaluation.

Working alongside disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, whānau, Health New Zealand and research partners, the project will develop and test practical ways to support more equitable, accessible and responsive health and rehabilitation systems for those who are not funded by ACC.

We are excited about this work and grateful to the many people and communities whose wisdom, challenge and partnership have helped shape the kaupapa so far.

04/06/2026

https://www.researchreview.co.nz/nz/Clinical-Area/Other-Health/Rehabilitation/NZ-Rehabilitation-Research-Review-Issue-75.aspx

Rehabilitation Research Review features key medical articles from global Rehabilitation journals with commentary from Professor Kath McPherson. Covering topics such as alcohol rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation, stroke rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory rehabilitation, addicti...