Day 1 – The More We Reuse, The Less We Waste
12 October 2026
| FORMAT | TIME (AEST) | TOPIC | SPEAKER / S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am | Coffee, Registration and Networking | ||
| 9:00am | Conference Opens & Welcome Delegates | Mandy Scotney, Master of Ceremonies | |
| 9:05am | Welcome to Country | Refiti Tovi, Turrbal Tribe | |
| 9:15am | Chair’s Address | Terry O’Neill, Chair, Charitable Reuse Australia | |
| Keynote | 9:20am | Impact Through Change – The Global Future of Charity Retail | Andrew Ostcliffe, Retail Specialist, Chiefly Retail |
| Session | 10:00am | Charity Retail in New Zealand – Trans Tasman Learnings | Gareth Marshall, Director of Family Stores, Salvation Army NZ |
| 10:30am | Morning Tea – 30 Minutes | ||
| Panel | 11:00am | Impact Through Change – Navigating the Effects of the Middle East Conflict | Drew Eide, GM Operations, Vinnies Queensland
Jamie Mackay, General Manager, Lifeline Queensland Phil Coyte, Executive Director, Vinnies NSW |
| Session | 11:30am | Inside the Salvos Textile Recovery Facility | Meriel Chamberlin, Business Development Manager, Salvos Stores |
| Panel | 12:00pm | The Future of Unsaleable Clothing – Exports, Recycling and More | Meriel Chamberlin, Business Development Manager, Salvos Stores
Ainsley Simpson, CEO, Seamless Chris Dounis, Managing Director, Recycle Care Nicole Bennett, ESG Manager, Lorna Jane |
| 12:30pm | Lunch – 60 Minutes | ||
| Session | 1:30pm | Effective Storytelling for Reuse Charities | Clare Press, Founder, The Wardrobe Crisis |
| Session | 2:00pm | Session TBC | Speaker TBC |
| 2:30pm | Afternoon Tea – 30 Minutes | ||
| Session | 3:00pm | The Future of Online Reuse Marketplaces | Anne-Marie Cheney, Head of Recommerce, eBay Australia |
| Session | 3:30pm | Lifeline Darling Downs – Circular Economy to Community Impact | Jessica Shelley, Strategic Lead Sustainability, Lifeline Darling Downs |
| Meeting | 4:00pm | Annual General Meeting | Members only |
| Close | 5:00pm | Close of Day 1 Conference | |
| Dinner | 6:30pm | Ticketed Event with Allocated Seating |
Day 2 – Charitable Retail Impact
13 October 2026
| FORMAT | TIME (AEST) | TOPIC | SPEAKER / S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.45am | Board Meeting | Board Directors Only | |
| 8:30am | Coffee, Registration and Networking | ||
| 9:00am | Conference Opens and Welcome Delegates | Mandy Scotney, Master of Ceremonies | |
| Keynote | 9:10am | Charity Retail Tracker Launch – Benchmarking and Trends Analysis | Elizabeth Blunt and Matt Renouf, BDO Australia |
| Panel | 9:50am | Preparing for Global Trends Impacting Australia in 2027 | Andrew Ostcliffe, Retail Specialist, Chiefly Retail
Jeff Drayton, Head of Retail, Anglicare NSW Neil Harvey, Director Retail, Vinnies Victoria |
| 10:30am | Morning Tea – 60 Minutes | ||
| Session | 11:00am | Leveraging Technology to Drive Loyalty, Sales and Sustainability | James Ward, Managing Director and Carina Mercer, Cybertill |
| Session | 11:30am | The Social Impact and Power of Charitable Reuse | Kat Heinrich, Director, Rawtec |
| Session | 12:00pm | Get Your Shops Selling More – Sharing Inspiration from Retail and Charity Shops | Luke Martin, Founder, Shop for Shops |
| 12:30pm | Lunch – 90 Minutes | ||
| Session | 2:00pm | Reimagining Reuse – A Conversation with QUT Student Fashion Designers | Dr Tiziana Ferrero-Regis, Associate Professor, Fashion, School of Design, QUT
Dr Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Fashion, School of Design, QUT |
| Session | 2:45pm | Live Shopping on Social Media – Build Urgency, Interactivity and Community | Johnny Zheng, Senior Manager Digital, Salvos Stores
Dean Salakas, Dean Salakas Advisory |
| 3:30pm | Networking Over Afternoon Tea – 30 Minutes | ||
| Close | 4:00pm | Annual Conference Concludes |
The Shop Manager Break In session agenda will be released in the coming weeks.
The Shop Manager Break-In session topics will be guided by input from Queensland members. A dedicated working group will identify discussion areas based on real shop floor challenges and experiences. If you have a topic you’d like to suggest, please contact Salma or Omer.