Profiles
Mr Adrian Warner
(WorkCover CEO )
Mr Adrian Warner was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of WorkCover WA from 10 January 2005 and as the Chief Executive he is a member of WorkCover WA's Board. Mr Warner is a member the Workers' Compensation Sub-Committee of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council. Mr Warner has a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Western Australia.
Committee Profiles
Megan Burley
(Convenor)
Megan Burley joined Workcover WA as a Senior Project Officer specialising in stakeholder relationships, management and training in July 2006. Prior to that she managed workers' compensation claims with leading international insurance company, QBE Insurance. She is a member of the Management Advisory Committee for the Australian Institute of Management (AIM). As Conference Convenor, Megan offers a diverse mix of insight, skills and experience in injury management and rehabilitation.
Ellen Thurley
(Conference administrator)
Ellen Thurley graduated from Edith Cowan University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Business double major in hospitality and tourism management. She spent six years working in hospitality and events management in Australia and the UK, before joining WorkCover WA in January 2006. She is currently a Project Officer in the Corporate Relations Branch, where her knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry has been invaluable to its focus on stakeholder relationships and events planning. Ellen is managing the logistics and administration of this year’s Injury Management Conference.
John Carnicelli
John Carnicelli graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Occupational Therapy through Curtin University of Technology in 1997. He spent four years as an Occupational Therapist in vocational rehabilitation specialising in the management of workers compensation claims before joining QBE Insurance as an Injury Management Advisor in 2001. In 2003 he became Service Manager with QBE and was promoted to Technical Manager last year. His key goal is to help employers understand the value and importance of injury management and return to work programs for the sake of their business performance as well as the welfare of injured workers.
Kylie Forrest
Kylie Forrest is an occupational therapist and managing director of Active Injury Management. She has worked in vocational rehabilitation since 1988, and is a member and current president of ARPA (Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association) WA. She is also on the ARPA National Committee. Kylie’s extensive background includes working in the Commonwealth system as well as delivering vocational rehabilitation in Queensland and South Australia. Her vision is to make injury prevention and management a top priority for all businesses and to ensure early vocational rehabilitation intervention when it would assist in return to work.
Rob Guthrie
Rob Guthrie is the Professor of Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Law at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. He was admitted to practice as Barrister and Solicitor in 1982 and practiced in the area of workers compensation for around 10 years before turning his attention to academic research. He has authored several WA Government reports on workers compensation (1991, 1999 and 2001) as well as LexisNexis Workers Compensation Western Australia. Robhas been a strong advocate for injured workers for the past 25 years, and is currently a consultant to WorkCover WA and various Ministers responsible for the State’s workers’ compensation legislation. He holds B Juris, LLB LLM MCom and PhD.
Debbie Larson
Debbie Larson has worked for the CPSU/CSA since 2001 and has been the Workers Compensation Officer for the past four years. Prior to that she worked as a Labour Economist within the workers compensation system as well as several government agencies in the labour relations arena. Debbie is passionate about the critical role of injury management and return to work programs.
Graham Marks
Graham Marks is Chair of the Self Insurers Association of Western Australia, which represents the interests of 27 self insurers at state and national levels. His acute knowledge of workers’ compensation issues has been developed over more than 16 years practice in employer and self insurer workers’ compensation. Graham’s career began with the Fremantle Port Authority in 1966 where he worked in Operations, Finance and Human Resources. His last position there was as Compensation Management Officer. In 1995, he joined Jardine Lloyd Thompson as Claims Administrator for the newly-established self insurance scheme (which now has 100% membership of around 150 Local Government Councils). He is now Operations Manager with the Municipal WorkCare Scheme.
John Mcdonald
John McDonald is Managing Director of Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Science and Post Graduate Diploma in Exercise Rehabilitation at the University of Western Australia in 1996, he has worked as an Exercise Physiologist in the field of musculo-skeletal and neuro-muscular rehabilitation. John’s dedication to injury management best practice comes from more than a decade of working with injured workers, and his desire to see the risks and impact of poorly managed workplace injuries radically reduced.
Liesl Payne
Liesl Payne is an Injury Management Advisor with the Insurance Commission of WA. As a member of the RiskCover Division, she delivers injury management advice, training and support to both RiskCover staff and State Government agencies. Liesl's background includes qualifications in nursing and over 10 years experience in OSH and injury management services across a range of industry sectors including transport, aged care and retail. Liesl's past achievements include the establishment of a major Head Injury facility in the UK and the delivery of best practice in house injury management services.
Nicole Roocke
Nicole Roocke has been Executive Officer of Safety and Health at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) since July 2003, working closely with industry on a range of government regulatory and policy issues, and facilitating communication with the minerals and resources sector on safety and health in WA. Prior to CME, Nicole was a health policy adviser with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), and worked extensively in the workers’ compensation field through policy and systems development with WorkCover WA. Her background also includes working as an independent consultant in injury management and rehabilitation . She is a registered psychologist with a Masters of Science in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UWA, and is currently completing a Masters in Risk Management with the University of New South Wales.
Cheryl Thompson
Cheryl Thompson is an industrial relations expert with a senior management background. She has worked as a senior manager in the health industry for over five years and is now the Operations Manager for Rural Health West. Cheryl consults for many business sectors and has earned a solid reputation for her expertise and practical understanding of corporate management and industrial affairs. She was the founding president of the Combined Small Business Alliance of WA, and in 1997 was a state finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Chris White
Chris White is General Manager of WorkCover WA’s Scheme Development, leading the ongoing health and maturity of the state’s workers’ compensation scheme. Before joining WorkCover WA in October 2004, he was Acting Executive Director for the Office of Director General at the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP), and also held several executive roles within WorkSafe WA. Chris is highly experienced in policy development and implementation, strategic planning, data analysis and Ministerial liaison. He was closely involved in developing both occupational safety and health and workers’ compensation legislation in Western Australia, and played a key role in 2005 reforms to the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act.
