2026 Excellence in Education
Katherine Te Arii
Katherine (Kat) is an exceptional emerging leader whose work is reshaping the future of nursing education in Western Australia. As Lead for Aboriginal Education in the Murdoch University School of Nursing, she has demonstrated remarkable vision, courage, and compassion in driving a groundbreaking partnership between the School of Nursing and the School of Indigenous Knowledges. Through her leadership, Western Australia’s first co‑designed and co‑taught Aboriginal health unit for nursing has been created. A transformative, strengths‑based curriculum grounded in Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing.
As a non‑Indigenous educator, Kat approaches this work with deep humility, accountability, and cultural respect. She advocated tirelessly for an authentically co-designed model, ensuring that Aboriginal educators hold leadership in the curriculum and classroom. This achievement has set a new benchmark for cultural safety, collaboration, and truth‑telling in nursing education.
Kat’s teaching is described by students and colleagues as warm, empowering, and inclusive. She has a rare ability to make students feel safe, confident, and capable while engaging them in difficult but essential conversations about racism, bias, and health inequity. Her innovative teaching strategies, including cultural safety simulations with Aboriginal actors, have been praised for their transformative impact on student learning and professional identity.
The most touching moments in her work come from Aboriginal students who share that her classroom is the first place they have felt seen, valued, and culturally supported at university. Kat honours this trust wholeheartedly, becoming a mentor, advocate, and role model for many. Her commitment extends beyond campus to supporting high school engagement, inviting alumni to co‑teach, and building pathways for future Aboriginal nurse leaders.
Kat’s leadership is grounded in integrity, compassion, and a belief that culturally safe care is everybody’s responsibility. Her work is not only changing curriculum, but also lives, strengthening the nursing profession, and contributing meaningfully to closing the gap
Fiona Kane
Fiona is an outstanding midwife researcher, educator, and clinician whose work has shaped maternity care at local, state and national levels. Through her concurrent roles as Midwife Researcher at the Women and Newborn Health Service, Midwifery Lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, and Fetal Surveillance Education Program (FSEP) Educator for RANZCOG, she seamlessly integrates research, education and simulation to improve maternity safety. Her research directly informs practice, while her leadership in NeoResus, interprofessional simulation, and fetal surveillance education elevates clinical decision‑making across Western Australia and beyond.
A pivotal moment in Fiona’s career was becoming one of only twelve midwives nationally, and only the second ever in Western Australia, to be appointed as an FSEP Educator. This achievement reflects over two decades of dedication to safe maternity care. Teaching multidisciplinary groups across Australia, she creates inclusive, confidence‑building learning environments where clinicians feel safe to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and deepen their understanding of fetal surveillance, an area fundamental to safe antenatal and intrapartum care.
Education is the thread that runs through Fiona’s entire career. From her early days as a clinical facilitator to her current roles in postgraduate teaching, simulation training and research mentorship, she has consistently supported midwives and students to grow in skill, confidence and professional identity. Her ability to make complex concepts accessible, while nurturing curiosity and reflective practice, has shaped countless clinicians who now advocate for respectful, evidence‑based care.
The moments Fiona treasures most are the quiet ones. The heartfelt messages from students and colleagues thanking her for guidance during challenging learning experiences. These expressions of gratitude reflect her warmth, compassion, and the profound impact she has on others.
Lauren Papalia
Lauren is an exceptional Midwife Educator whose leadership, clinical expertise, and unwavering commitment to woman‑centred care have significantly strengthened midwifery practice across Western Australia. In her role at the Women and Newborn Health Service, she leads key portfolios in breastfeeding education, newborn physical examination, and midwife upskilling, initiatives that consistently enhance capability, confidence, and quality of care across the workforce. Her development of the Implanon insertion training program, created in partnership with national stakeholders, has expanded midwives’ scope of practice and established a sustainable model now influencing practice beyond her service.
What distinguishes Lauren is her ability to combine clinical excellence with warmth, humility, and genuine compassion. She is widely recognised for her collaborative approach, her dedication to creating safe and supportive learning environments, and her belief in the potential of every midwife she teaches and mentors. Her leadership in supporting endorsed midwives has empowered clinicians to work confidently to their full scope, improving continuity and woman‑centred care.
Education is at the heart of Lauren’s practice. Whether teaching multidisciplinary breastfeeding workshops, facilitating newborn examination training, or supporting newly graduated midwives, she brings energy, clarity, and deep respect to every interaction. Her influence is felt not only through structured programs but through the countless moments of quiet support she offers to colleagues navigating complex clinical and professional challenges.
One of the most touching moments of Lauren’s career came when she received compassionate, technically excellent care from a midwife she had taught many years earlier. An experience that crystallised the profound, full‑circle impact of her work
