Kia ora and welcome!
Seating to Go is proud to be hosting the 5th Oceania Seating Symposium (OSS) in collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) and the International Seating Symposium (ISS) at the Rotorua Energy Event Centre, Aotearoa, New Zealand, on the 4th – 6th November 2025. After an amazing in-person event in Melbourne in 2023, we are excited to once again welcome people to our beautiful country. November signals the transition between spring and summer and is a wonderful time to combine attending an internationally recognised conference, reconnecting with colleagues and friends from our global community, and exploring the many amazing rohe (regions) of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The initial 1983 ISS meeting in Vancouver has grown to include participants from 27 countries with Sponsor conferences around the world including the U.S.A., Ireland, Brazil, Asia, and Oceania. The Oceania Seating Symposium alternates between Aotearoa, New Zealand and Australia every two years and attracts delegates and speakers from all over the world.
Who is it for? The event is geared towards professionals, manufacturers, suppliers, researchers and users of wheeled mobility, seating, postural care, and associated technologies.
New Zealand Chair
Debbie Wilson
Oceania Seating Symposium
Seating to Go
Theme – Whai Wāhi: Participation - An Expression of Self.
Accessible and appropriate assistive technology, such as wheelchair, seating and postural care solutions, are essential for enabling people to participate fully in everyday life. The ability to "go", "do", and "be" fosters independence, choice and provides opportunities to be actively involved in family, play, education, work, and community life. Innovations in technology, research into best practice, policy changes, and global initiatives supporting education and training, continue to evolve yet the World Health Organisation reports that in some low income countries only 3% of people have access to the assistive products they need, compared to 90% in some high income countries.
Participation is also about equity. The principle of participation is inherent in Aotearoa, New Zealand's, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. How can we create equity and opportunities for self-governance and support participation at all levels in our communities, enabling people to have a voice and lead change across our sector?
The Oceania Seating Symposium 2025 invites us to consider Whai Wāhi: Participation in a broader context as we come together to share innovations, initiatives, communities of practice, service delivery models and resources to meet and surpass our obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.