Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Award-winning doctor, co-founder of Doctors with Disabilities Australia, disability advocate, researcher, and lawyer

John Monash Scholar, Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM, a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher, is the only quadriplegic to graduate medical school in Queensland and the second person from Australia to have quadriplegia graduate from medical school.

Halfway through medical school, he was injured in a motor vehicle accident, resulting in a cervical spinal cord injury. As a result of his injury and experiences, Dinesh has been an advocate for inclusion. In fact, he is a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia.

Dinesh works at the Gold Coast University Hospital's emergency department. He is a senior lecturer at Griffith University and an adjunct research fellow at the Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, a research fellow at the Jamieson Trauma Institute, a spinal cord injury researcher, and a doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby team. On top of that, he is a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission, an ambassador for the Human Rights Commission's Includeability program, and an ambassador for the 2021 International Day of People with Disability.

In 2018, Dinesh was named Junior Doctor of the Year at the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, and in 2019, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award and was the 2021 Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year.

In 2023, Dinesh joined the advisory board of healthylife where he uses his experience and skills to provide expert health information and advocate for the health of Australians.

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM is the 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year. A true inspiration, he will change your life, like he has done for so many others.

Disability

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Key Points for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Dr Dinesh Palipana is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher.
Dr Palipana was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland and the second person to graduate medical school with quadriplegia in Australia.
He was involved in a motor vehicle accident halfway through medical school, which resulted in a cervical spinal cord injury.
As a result of his injury and experiences, Dinesh has been a strong advocate for inclusion. He is a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia.
Dinesh works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital; is a senior lecturer at the Griffith University and adjunct research fellow at the Menzies Health Institute of Queensland; a research fellow at the Jamieson Trauma Institute; a researcher in spinal cord injury; and a doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby team.
In 2023, Dinesh became a John Monash Scholar.
Dinesh joined the advisory board of healthylife in 2023.
Dinesh is a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission and an ambassador to the Human Rights Commission’s Includeability program. He was a 2021 International Day of People with Disability ambassador.
He was the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service’s Junior Doctor of the Year in 2018 and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award and the 2021 Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year.
Dr Dinesh Palipana is the 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year.

Topics for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Hardship
Persistence
Human rights
Disability
Medicine
Law
Scientific research
Innovation
Spinal cord injury
Diversity and inclusion
Resilience
Happiness
Wellness

Testimonials for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Dr Palipana was extremely generous in how he shared his personal story. I had many people speak to me after the event to express their gratitude for bringing him to Maddocks to help launch our first disability inclusion network.
Maddocks

Dr. Dinesh was a very engaging speaker. His presentation was at times light-hearted, funny and witty, and at other times serious, sad and sometimes even dark. He took us through his life story - from Sri Lanka, to Sydney, Byron Bay and finally Brisbane - pre and post his accident. His presentation spoke to so many human challenges and, at the end, he invited us all to support each other as 'humans' and to not limit each other's potential. A quote that really stuck out was at the end, when he said: "We are (more) connected than we are separated … But the only thing necessary for us to descend into something bad, for us to become separated, is to do nothing when we see bad things happening. The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Our staff described it as the "best" and "the most inspiring" presentation they had ever seen.
Gilchrist Connell

Dinesh is a wonderful human being and a terrific keynote speaker. He heard what we asked for and delivered in spades. His talk was warm, funny, engaging, inspiring, motivating and very helpful. Dinesh is extremely approachable and accommodating. He arrived well before the event (so no panic is the keynote going to be late) was happy to be photographed and chatted to participants afterwards. If there were more stars l would give them.
University of Wollongong

Excellent speaker with an exceptional ability to answer questions succinctly, but with an impactful amount of detail.
Australian Government Leadership Network (AGLN-Q) not for profit)

Dinesh Palipana connected with both audiences and adapted his talk to be made appropriate for each.
Boost Juice

Professional Conference Organiser

The team at ICMI offer a fantastic and professional service that allows us (event organisers) to focus on the delivery of our events

Corporate Client

I was very happy with the whole process from initial call through to performance, every question or detail was explained in a professional friendly manner. I will definitely be in touch with ICMI again.

Insurance Client

All ICMI staff I dealt with were exceptionally efficient, collaborative and responsive to ensuring our talent was informed.

Government Client

ICMI were flexible and accommodating, this year finding a speaker for your event that would work in a virtual setting was a challenge, but we ended up with a very successful event and the perfect speaker! Always patient and responsive to my calls or emails.

Corporate Client

Association Client

We were impacted by a COVID-19 outbreak in South Australia that threatened to de-rail our Northern Territory based event, but the ICMI logistics team made it happen when the window of opportunity arose.

NFP Client

ICMI listened to our needs and were very supportive with the change of plans with dealing with the pandemic. They gave great advice and helped us secure the right talent for our event.

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