Courage. UNLIMITED.
We are leading in a time of sustained pressure, complexity and constant change. Across the public sector, leadership now means holding the line – delivering reform, meeting rising expectations, operating with constrained resources, and supporting teams through uncertainty while navigating it ourselves.
Women UNLIMITED creates the space to lead in exactly this context.
In 2026, this landmark summit brings together leaders working through ambiguity and disruption. Headlined by global leader The. Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern, the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand, it brings together voices who have led with clarity, empathy and courage under pressure, making high-stakes decisions when the path forward is uncertain. It explores how leaders create direction, momentum and trust when certainty is limited.
Across two days, the focus is practical and immediate: staying steady under sustained pressure, leading through change fatigue, and making confident decisions with incomplete information, while sharpening clarity, conviction and direction in how we lead.
Women UNLIMITED is where leaders reset, rebuild confidence, and return ready to lead with grounded courage.
2026 theme: The courage to lead differently
Watch out our summit video below
Our speakers in
Perth
The Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern
Narelda Jacobs OAM
Joann Wilkie PSM
Amanda Pickrell PSM
Emma Johnson
Dr Daniela Vecchio
Prof Pat Dudgeon AM
Linda Dawson
Hon Jessica Stojkovski MLA
Annelies Moens
Hon Dr Parwinder Kaur MLC
Michelle Reynolds
Rebecca Livesey
Alison Weatherstone
Prof. Lindy Fitzgerald
Isabella Choate
Professor Archa Fox
Brianna Lonnie
Cecilia Gore-Birch OAM
Rebecca Harris
Helen McShane
Joanne Payne
Dr Ashley McGrath
Jacquie Law
Jessy Rolleston-Palmer
Jo Gaines
Julie Adams
Dr Suzanne Goodman
Holly Ransom
Courtney Fiddian
Why attend
Perth Public Sector 2026
The Women UNLIMITED Summit provides two days of insights and strategies, plus two post-summit online seminars forming a three-month learning journey.
All times are shown in AWST.
Welcome to Country
Opening remarks
Opening Ministerial Address
Address & In conversation
Speaker to be announced
The whole person at work: What leaders need to know about psychological safety & the real cost of getting it wrong
- What the evidence tells us about psychological safety and team performance under pressure
- How to identify and address the hidden costs of unsafe cultures in your team
- Practical steps leaders can take to shift team culture without waiting for organisational change
Morning tea
First, & still standing: What it actually takes to lead at the top
- How to build trust and credibility when you’re establishing your authority in a new context
- The daily leadership decisions that sustain influence over time
- Staying anchored to your values when pressure to conform is constant
- What it takes to lead with conviction while remaining open to challenge and growth
What First Nations leadership practice teaches every leader right now
- Evidence-based approaches to leadership under resource constraints and sustained pressure
- What research tells us about the weight leaders carry for team wellbeing, and how to manage it
- Leadership frameworks designed for complexity, uncertainty and long-term impact
- Practical tools you can apply to your team and leadership practice from Monday
Short break
Leadership In Times Of Chaos
Annabel Crabb has spent nearly 30 years watching Australia’s leaders up close — in parliament, in their kitchens, and in an increasingly volatile political and economic arena. With a gift for naming dynamics that many find hard to pin down, she draws on the very latest from Canberra to illuminate what is going on and what you can expect next. Funny, forensic and deeply human, this session will leave you with a new understanding of what your ministers are really up against, and what to expect in the months and years to come.
(This session will be livestreamed)
Networking Bingo
Join your fellow attendees for a networking experience curated by Women UNLIMITED. With a set of intriguing questions in hand, you’ll engage in leadership conversations and discover new connections as you work your way through your networking card. It’s a great way to break the ice and start building valuable connections from the very beginning.
Lunch
Optimism is a strategy: Leading creatively in industries wired for cynicism
- Why optimism is a leadership tool, not a personality trait, and how to use it
- How to keep ideas moving when the system defaults to scrutiny and caution
- The specific behaviours that build emotional safety and unlock contribution
What would you change, and what's stopping you?
Afternoon tea
The art of leading when constraint is the constant
The science of high-performing teams: What leaders can do to unlock it
- What cognitive science tells us about how people make decisions under pressure and uncertainty
- How leaders can build cultures of inquiry and challenge without undermining authority
- The leadership conditions that support team members to speak up, push back, and think clearly
- Why psychological safety and high performance are not in tension, and how to achieve both
Closing remarks
Networking drinks
Opening remarks
In Conversation with Jacinda Ardern: Finding the courage to lead differently
In this special Q&A moderated by Annabel Crabb, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joins the stage to redefine the architecture of influence. Aligned with our theme, “The Courage to Lead Differently,” Ardern draws from her bestselling memoir, A Different Kind of Power, to challenge the outdated notion that leadership requires a “thick skin” or an iron fist.
(This session will be livestreamed from Canberra)
Pause & Reflection
Reflect on one insight from today’s session and consider: where in your current role could you lead differently? Share with your table and leave with one practical intention to take back to your team.
The leaders who had no map & built one anyway
Inside four world-firsts, the leadership lessons you can only learn by going first
Morning tea
The courage to lead on equity: Governance, accountability & getting it done
- WGEA gender equality targets are now law, what they mean for every leader in the room
- Frank conversation with the women running WA’s superannuation, corporations and policy
- How to lead on equity when the pressure is real, the budget is tight, and time is up
- The evidence, framework and language to drive equity in your own organisation now
Seen & heard: The leadership power of showing up as yourself
When leaders hide parts of themselves at work, their people follow. The result is a culture of careful performance, and everything that makes leadership worth doing quietly disappears. Narelda Jacobs has spent decades in front of the camera and just as long navigating what it means to be a First Nations, queer woman in one of Australia’s most visible industries. With a gift for speaking truth without armour, she draws on her own story of identity, visibility, and hard-won belonging to challenge every leader in the room to ask the questions that matter most right now.
Honest and grounding, this session will leave you with a new understanding of why visibility is a leadership act, how to create the conditions where your people feel safe enough to show up fully, and the courage it takes to model authenticity when the stakes are high.
Lunch
The instinct advantage: How to lead change before the system is ready to follow
- How to build the case for change when the evidence is still emerging
- Leading through organisational scepticism and resistance without losing credibility
- The stakeholder engagement and communication strategies that create forward momentum
- How to sustain your team’s motivation and performance when the path is uncertain
Prepared for anything: Leadership tools from the frontline
Afternoon tea
From the edge to the centre: How leaders at the intersection are changing the systems that weren't built for them
- How diverse lived experience strengthens your ability to identify and address systemic barriers
- Building coalitions and influencing policy when you are working against established structures
- Leading change from within: strategies for shifting culture without burning credibility
- Using all of who you are as a leadership asset in complex, high-stakes environments
My one commitment: What I'm taking back
The standard you walk out with: Leading with integrity when it matters most
- How integrity cultures are built, sustained, and lost
- The leadership decisions that create or erode trust in your team and organisation
- How to lead on integrity when the pressure to compromise is real, and the trade-offs are difficult
- Practical tools to embed ethical decision-making into your leadership practice and team culture
Closing remarks & close of summit
Why bring your team
Strengthen your team
Develop and retain talent
Enhance your visibility
Collectively learn and implement
Get discounted table bookings
Who should attend?
Download our Business Case for Attendance template to easily share the value of this event with your organisation and secure approval to participate.
The use of the term “women” across the event is inclusive of both cisgender and transgender women. We acknowledge the under-representation of non-binary people in leadership, which is also a result of gender inequality.
Perth 2026 | Pricing
Can’t attend in-person? Join the online interactive Perth Summit and save $200 off the current rate
Groups of 3-4 save 5%
Groups of 5-9 save 10%
Groups of 10-19 save 15%
Groups of 20-29 save 25%
Groups of 30-49 save 30%
Groups of 50+POA
All prices shown in AUD
Special rates apply for non-government community service providers, & schools.
Call 1300 918 334 or email [email protected] to book.
FAQs
Do all the speakers present live in person?
All speakers at The Hatchery present live and in person unless specifically noted on the event program or circumstances prevent the speaker from appearing live.
Are there opportunities to network with other delegates?
The Hatchery provides a number of networking opportunities for all event attendees. Clearly printed name badges are provided to all attendees at registration. Attendees are encouraged to wear these for the entirety of the event to ease networking processes during all session breaks. Attendees are also encouraged to bring plenty of business cards.
Online attendees are encouraged to network and collaborate during break out sessions or via chat forum on the online platform.
How do I access the slides and resources?
Once the event has finished you will be given the opportunity to provide feedback which will provide access to the session resources which we have permission to share.
Are meals included in my registration?
The program will include morning tea, lunch & afternoon tea for all participants. Please refer to the agenda tab above for more details.
Do you cater for dietary requirements and any additional needs?
Dietary requirements and any additional needs are to be communicated to event organisers minimum one week prior to the event commencing. Please identify yourself to The Hatchery staff upon arrival to ensure all your needs are met.
What if I cannot attend all sessions?
Some sessions are being recorded and will be made available after the event ends online (subject to speaker consent).
What happens if I am no longer able to attend?
All cancellations must be raised at least 2 weeks before the event. For cancellations received in writing more than 2 weeks before the event date, a credit voucher will be issued and valid for 12 months from the registration date to use for another The Hatchery event.
Cancellations must be made in writing to [email protected]. The company regrets that no cancellations will be refunded. Course documentation will however be sent to the attendee.
A substitute attendee is always welcome at no extra charge, you must notify us in writing at least 48 hours in advance if you wish to send a substitute participant. Please email [email protected] and quote your invoice number to arrange this. Delegates may not "share" a pass between multiple attendees without prior authorisation.
For an event cancelled by The Hatchery registration fees are fully refundable.
