The Australian Defence College hosted the inaugural Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics, Ethics Conference at Weston Creek on 22–23 October 2025, bringing together Defence leaders, academics and practitioners to examine “moral courage and its role in leadership excellence”.
Held at the Spender Theatre in the Shedden Building, the two-day conference explored ethical development, moral injury, command accountability, humanitarian operations, military technology and the role of research in strengthening ethical leadership across Defence. The program included keynote remarks from LTGEN John Frewen, sessions with senior Defence leaders, and contributions from academic and professional experts, including Professor Toni Erskine, Dr Simon Longstaff, Dr Matt Beard, Cadel Evans and John Buchanan.
Hosted by the Military Professional Mastery Branch and the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics, the conference was intended to inform future thinking on ADF ethics doctrine, leadership development and research priorities, including moral virtue, moral reasoning and military technology.
The conference videos and additional resources are now available