Northern Institute, in collaboration with Menzies School of Health Research, invites you to an insightful seminar: Australian CBRN Health Systems Preparedness and Governance
Presenter: Erica van Ash, former Clinical Nurse Specialist in Trauma and Intensive Care and PhD candidate at ANU - School of Medicine & Psychology
Join us as we explore strategies and governance frameworks for strengthening Australia’s health systems in response to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

About the seminar:
Current and emerging threats create new complexity in Australian first-line casualty response and health care delivery. The niche academic field of ‘health and human security’ has been underrepresented and slow to emerge in Australia. Historically, Whole of Government and inter-organisational responses have shown cultural reluctance to address the specialist-delivered, advised risks to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) event. Often fraught with complexity and the need for large-scale cultural and organisational change, these restructures are measured as an opportunity cost. The COVID-19 pandemic alerted the nation in global response, to the potential social, economic, and political costs for national underpreparedness. The global pandemic event, COVID-19, brought the issue of biological threat and health security to the fore. While recent defence submarine acquisitions and global conflicts have raised discussion and the threat profile for the use of non-conventional chemical and nuclear weapons.
In the absence of a national CBRN strategy, public health and casualty response plans to successfully transition to a chemical or nuclear disaster event into the Australian health care system are unclear. Work is needed to understand the best approach model that establishes a secure health delivery model to CBRN event(s) in the Northern Territory, while also mitigating health threats to Australia’s national security. Currently, Australia is not prepared to respond to a CBRN attack on, or in, its Strategic Region of Interest. Not being able to respond would significantly undermine the nation's interests in the region and overwhelm its ability to respond.

About the presenter:
Erica is a former Clinical Nurse Specialist in Trauma and Intensive Care. She joined the Army in 2007, including postings to Health and Infantry Battalions, Special Operations Command, Army School of Health, Joint Operations Command, and Army Headquarters. She was the MTF-2 Battlegroup Trauma Nurse on OP SLIPPER, Tarin Kowt - Afghanistan in 2010 – 2011. She trained in CBRN medicine while posted as the CBRN Medical Troop Commander to the Special Operations Engineer Regiment. She developed and ran the ADF CBRN Health Basic courses and has committed the back end of her military career, specialising in this emerging field, to understand all facets of CBRN health capability and joint operational effects.
She holds a Bachelor of Nursing, Grad Dip in Intensive Care Nursing, a Master International Public Health, a Master degree in Health Management, Grad Cert. Capability & Technology (ADF) and is now a PhD candidate at ANU - School of Medicine & Psychology.
Erica’s over 30 years’ experience and education within Australia, the UK, and on military operations have collectively shaped her ability to accurately analyse, manage, and deliver detailed, thorough, and unique solutions across Whole of Government and Industry sectors in CBRN health systems, strategic and organisational risk mitigation and remediation strategies.

Registration for the event:
In-person: Please RSVP here to attend in person—limited seating.
RSVP: https://forms.office.com/r/k4K07EjgEP
Online registration: http://go.cdu.edu.au/f7ua
Once you register you will receive an individual link from Zoom no-reply@zoom.us