2026 FPM Spring Meeting

Welcome

On behalf of the Faculty, I warmly invite you to join us for the 2026 Faculty of Pain Medicine Spring Meeting, to be held Friday 2 to Saturday 3 October 2026 at the RACV City Club in Melbourne. 

The theme is of this year’s meeting is Advancing pain care: Challenges and opportunities. Pain medicine today is being practised in a time of considerable change. As clinicians, we continue to navigate increasingly complex patient presentations, evolving evidence, regulatory pressures, and broader health economic challenges — while also recognising the exciting opportunities emerging within our field. This meeting aims to provide a forum for thoughtful discussion, practical learning, and professional connection as we work through these challenges together. Sessions will include workshops that support continuing professional development requirements.

I look forward to welcoming you to Melbourne.

Sincerely,
Dr Harry Sivakumar

Location and venue

Conveniently located on Bourke Street in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, RACV City Club puts you at the centre of Australia’s most vibrant and sophisticated city. Melbourne is renowned for its effortless blend of heritage and contemporary style, where world‑class dining, cultural events and exhibitions come alive after dark. Step outside to explore iconic laneways, stylish neighbourhoods and a celebrated food and arts scene. Experience everything Melbourne has to offer. 

Accommodation

RACV City Club
501 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

We are pleased to advise that exclusive discounted accommodation rates are available for delegates attending the 2026 FPM Spring Meeting. Rates listed below are room ONLY. 

A buffet breakfast is available for guests at a rate of A$35 per person when reception staff are advised at check-in.

Accommodation rates are subject to availability at the time of booking and applicable for stays between 29 September-4 October 2026 only. Please refer to the booking site for terms and conditions. 

We highly recommend booking your accommodation as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Book accommodation here.

Registration fees

Registrations for the 2026 FPM Spring Meeting are now open. Please click here to register.

Your registration will include all refreshment breaks, the welcome reception and plenary sessions on Saturday. Workshops are at an additional cost.

All registration fees are quoted in Australian dollars and are inclusive of GST.

Program and speakers

We are excited to present a diverse range of topics and welcome an outstanding lineup of speakers who will be joining us at this year's meeting. View the full program and learn more about our speakers below.

Workshops

Workshops will take place on Friday 2 October 2026. 

Supervisors of training (SOT) workshop: Entrustable professional activities 
Time: 9am-12pm
Cost: Complimentary (Register via registration form)
Max Participants: 40
Facilitators: Dr Tipu Aamir, Dr Carl Jones, Ms Janet McConville
Overview: This session is open to FPM supervisors and fellows involved in teaching pain medicine trainees. In 2027 the faculty will introduce entrustable professional activities into the training program. This workshop will explore what entrustable professional activities are and how you can effectively deliver these in your workplace. 

FPM Examiner Foundations MCQ workshop 
Time: 9am-12pm
By invitation
Facilitators: Associate Professor Rob Park and Dr Don Johnson 
Overview: FPM examiners heavily involved in the development of the Foundations MCQ Examination have been invited to attend this upskilling workshop. 

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) workshop
Time: 12.30-2pm OR 2.30-4pm
Cost: A$200 incl GST (Register via registration form).
Max participants: 8pax per session
Facilitators: Dr Tom Grosser-Kennedy and Dr Harry Sivakumar
Overview: Simulation-based training designed to ensure specialist pain medicine physicians maintain recognised competencies in managing cardiac arrest.

Opioid-induced ventilatory impairment (OIVI) workshop
Time: 3-5pm
Cost: A$80 incl GST (Register via registration form).
Max Participants: 15
Facilitators: Dr Bronwen Evans and Dr Kushlin Higgie
Overview: This workshop will focus on factors which may increase the risk of OIVI; including case discussions aiming to identify factors which might have increased OIVI risk and ways to reduce risk; discuss changes that might be needed in an attendee’s institution to help them meet the current national clinical care standards including opioid prescribing and the development of "track and trigger" systems aiming to improve detection and subsequent management of OIVI; and discuss patient and carer education, including after discharge.

Social functions

Welcome Reception
Join us for canapés and drinks and enjoy the opportunity to network with colleagues and friends.

Date: Friday 2 October 2026
Time: 5-7pm
Location: RACV City Club
Cost: Complimentary for registered delegates
Guest ticket: A$95

Dining in Melbourne

Melbourne is renowned for its dynamic food scene, offering everything from award-winning restaurants and hidden laneway gems to bustling wine bars and neighbourhood favourites. If you’re looking for dining options during your stay, we've curated a selection of some of our favourite dining destinations across the city and beyond.

CBD favourites:

Beyond the CBD: Local favourites

As many of Melbourne's popular restaurants book out well in advance, we recommend making reservations as early as possible.

Looking for something different? Visit the Visit Melbourne website for more dining inspiration and recommendations.

Recommended cultural safety activity - Immigration Museum guided highlights tour

Time: 2.30 – 3.15pm, daily
Bookings and prices: Via the Immigration Museum website

Delegates seeking to enhance their understanding of cultural safety may wish to undertake the guided highlights tour at Melbourne’s Immigration Museum, located a short walk from the RACV City Club. Through powerful and deeply personal exhibitions, the museum explores the migration stories, cultural identities and lived experiences of Victoria’s diverse communities, offering valuable insights into diversity, inclusion, belonging and the many ways culture is expressed and maintained.

This activity, together with self-directed exploration, self-reflection, and engagement with cultural identity and expression, may be claimable by ANZCA and FPM CPD participants under Category 1 Practice Evaluation – Reviewing Performance: Cultural Safety. Delegates are responsible for determining their own eligibility and recording any CPD activities in accordance with ANZCA and FPM requirements.

Please note: the Immigration Museum visit and any guided tours are not associated with the meeting program. Bookings must be made directly with the museum, and any applicable entry fees are the responsibility of the delegate. Delegates wishing to claim CPD points will need to do so independently.

Sponsorship

If you wish to be a sponsor or exhibitor at the 2026 FPM Spring Meeting, please email view the HCI prospectus and complete the application form.

To see the sponsorship opportunities for all our events, please click here.

Exhibitors

The faculty gratefully acknowledges the below sponsors for their support.

Continuing professional development (CPD)

Participants in the ANZCA and FPM CPD Program will automatically have their attendance auto-populated to their CPD portfolio within 30 days of the conclusion of the meeting.

ANZCA and FPM CPD Program
This event is claimable by ANZCA and FPM CPD participants within the knowledge and skills category.

Category 2: Knowledge and skills 

• Lectures/plenary sessions under ‘Learning sessions’ 
• Workshops under ‘Short format learning’ activity

Category 3: Emergency responses

• Where the workshop states that it satisfies an Emergency response CPD requirement, it has been recognised as suitable to be claimed as an emergency response activity, such as the ‘Opioid-induced ventilatory impairment (OIVI)’ workshop.

If you're not a member of our CPD program
If you’re not participating in the ANZCA and FPM CPD program, please check with your respective college/provider regarding your CPD classifications. Post-event, you may request an electronic certificate of attendance for CPD evidence from the event organiser.

Contact us

For further information, please contact us.