Breaking the Silence: Dean Yates to Address Moral Injury at Groundbreaking HEAL Conference

When Dean Yates steps onto the stage at the inaugural HEAL gathering this June, he brings with him not just his powerful memoir "Line in the Sand," but decades of hard-won wisdom about trauma, moral injury, and the urgent need for systemic change in workers' compensation.

As the former Reuters bureau chief who later as head of mental health advocated for better mental health support for some 2,500 journalists worldwide, Yates understands intimately how organizational systems can either heal or harm. His own journey through PTSD and Moral Injury including multiple stays in Melbourne's Ward 17 psychiatric unit opened his eyes to a devastating reality: the Workers' Compensation System, the very system meant to support injured workers often deepens their trauma.

"Line in the Sand," published in 2023, has emerged as a crucial text for understanding moral injury in the context of workers' compensation. Drawing from his extensive experience covering major global traumas – from the Bali bombings to the Iraq War and the Boxing Day tsunami in Aceh – Yates brings unique insight into how trauma intersects with institutional responsibility.

His advocacy has already driven concrete change. In his home state of Tasmania, Yates played a pivotal role in securing legislation that recognizes PTSD as a presumptive work-related illness for state workers. Now, as the policy and advocacy lead for the Mental Health Council of Tasmania, he continues to push for systematic reform.

The HEAL gathering on June 1, 2025, represents a watershed moment for the workers' compensation industry. It's an unprecedented opportunity for professionals to confront their role in a system that too often prioritizes process over people and for the injured and their families to come together uniting in a shared demand of a gentler, kinder system for all. Through Yates's lens, attendees will examine how their actions can either perpetuate trauma or foster healing.

This isn't just another industry conference – it's a call to courage. HEAL challenges participants to move beyond passive acknowledgment to active change, transforming complicity into advocacy and silence into action. Together, attendees will explore practical ways to reshape a system that has too often lost sight of its fundamental purpose: supporting healing and recovery.

For those ready to be part of this crucial transformation in workers' compensation, Yates's presentation promises to be both a wake-up call and a roadmap forward. The time for change is now.