Dear colleagues

In accordance with the Prime Minister’s announcement on 18 March banning non-essential gatherings of 100+ people, it is with great regret that we advise that the PESA 2020 Australasian Wellbeing in Conference is not proceeding.

PESA is of course committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of attendees, and we feel this outcome is the right one given the rapidly-evolving COVID-19 situation.

Conference registration fees will be refunded in full to delegates. Please provide us with your BSB, account number and account name.

In light of the Prime Minister’s announcement, we are currently awaiting advice from Holiday Inn and Novotel with a view to refunding as much of the accommodation costs paid as possible.  We will keep you updated about developments.

This turn of events will unfortunately have a significant financial impact on our association.  A number of delegates have very kindly expressed concern for PESA, wondering how they might assist.  We are humbled by this sentiment and very grateful for your concern.

We suggest you may wish to help in any of the following ways:

  • If you purchased a non-member ticket, provide your authorisation for PESA to retain $110 from your refund as an annual individual membership fee, plus an annual subscription to our Positive Education Guide.
  • If you purchased a subscription to our Positive Education Guide, provide your authorisation for PESA to retain $29.95 from your refund
  • If your school or organisation is not an institutional member of PESA, we’d be delighted if you would consider joining.  Institutional membership is only $550/year and includes 5 individual memberships as well as 5 Positive Education Guide subscriptions.

PESA is a registered charity, so you might also consider making a donation to assist us to continue to work to support schools and communities across Australia and beyond.

This a particularly distressing outcome given the hundreds of hours of work dedicated by so many people committed to offering a world-class event.  Given the Prime Minister’s sentiments about the potential 6-month-plus duration of these measures, we hope all of this hard work will come to fruition in 2021.

We have received many concerned emails from delegates in the days leading up to this decision – such an outpouring of hope, resilience and empathy.   Thank you for your support and understanding.

PESA wishes you good health as we enter uncharted waters.