The Western-Pacific’s largest diabetes and metabolic health congress has opened with a Community Day in Melbourne, delivering the 500,000^th Shane Warne Legacy health check to highlight the importance of cardiometabolic health screenings, and the urgent nature of the type 2 diabetes epidemic facing the region. 

Brendan Lynch, whose life was saved on the day the Shane Warne Legacy launched in 2023, will take the 500,000th health check alongside Shane Watson at the Community Day. Without the Shane Warne Legacy, Brendan simply would not be here today to mark this extraordinary milestone and take on this special honour at congress. 

The milestone marks the start of four days of leading research, clinical best practice, and lived experience from delegates representing the wider Pacific through to South Korea, Japan, and India.  

Shane Warne was a fixture of Australian sport, both as a larger-than-life cricketer, but also as an iconic personality with a passion for community and helping people.    

Since launching in 2023 with founding partner Latrobe Health Services and health partner Diabetes Australia, the SWL Health Check program has prompted 1 in 5 participants to seek medical advice and 85% of participants to take action to improve their health following the free health check.   

The milestone comes as leading clinicians, researchers, educators, and community advocates gather for the biennial International Diabetes Federation – Western Pacific Region (IDF-WPR) Congress, being hosted in conjunction with the Australasian Diabetes Congress, and Metabolic Diseases 2026.  

An estimated 215 million people across the Western-Pacific region live with all types of diabetes, making it the most urgent and fastest-growing public health challenge in the region.  

Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain welcomed the Shane Warne Legacy Health Check milestone, saying the program demonstrated the important role screening and prevention could have in public health outcomes. 

“In Australia alone, there is a diabetes diagnosis every five minutes, with an estimated 500,000 Australians silently living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes,” Ms Cain said.  

“This Congress is an opportunity to showcase leading Australian research in diabetes management and prevention, the latest in clinical care, and to hear directly from people living with diabetes about their lives, how they live well with diabetes, as well as the latest innovations.”  

Ms Cain said it was an honour to host the 500,000^th Shane Warne Legacy Health Check at the Community Day, saying the initiative had highlighted the importance of health screening in the community.  

“Reaching half a million Shane Warne Legacy health checks is a remarkable achievement and a powerful reflection of Shane Warne’s enduring legacy,” Ms Cain said.  

“To reach this milestone at an event focused on diabetes is especially meaningful, demonstrating the impact that awareness and early detection can have in improving health outcomes in communities across Australia and beyond.” 

Former Australian Test and One Day International star Shane Watson and AFL icon and type 1 diabetes advocate Paddy McCartin joined Diabetes Australia’s Group CEO Justine Cain to open the Congress during a special Community Day session ahead of the main Congress program.    

Friend of the Shane Warne Legacy, Shane Watson, said his mate Warnie would be chuffed with the way the community had embraced the Legacy program, rolling up their sleeves in the name of better health. 

“Shane would have been so proud of the impact that’s being achieved through these health checks,” Mr Watson said.  

“I have a history of type 2 diabetes in my family, so encouraging people to get a free health check and understand their risk factors is something that’s very close to my heart. To do that in Shane’s honour and see it be such a success is a real privilege.”  

AFL legend and type 1 diabetes advocate Paddy McCartin said the Congress would be a place for people living with all types of diabetes to hear the latest in research and innovation, while sharing community and lived experience stories.  

 
“I want every person diagnosed to know that this condition doesn’t have to hold you back. With the right support and mindset, you can achieve anything.” 

Ms Cain said the Congress and Community Day would explore the impact that diabetes has on not just the individual but on the wider community and the health system, as well as inspiring stories of resilience, and growth, among the latest from global leaders in diabetes, metabolic, and cardiovascular research. 

“Too often, conversations about diabetes happen without enough input from the people who live with it every day. Community Day is about changing that. It puts the voices, experiences and expertise of people living with diabetes at the centre of the discussion, because they are experts in what it takes to live well with this condition,” Ms Cain said. 

“Bringing together people living with diabetes, families, clinicians, researchers and advocates alongside global experts creates a powerful opportunity to learn from one another, challenge assumptions and drive meaningful change,” she said. 

Shane Warne Legacy health check stations are available as part of a dedicated Community Day at the International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region Congress. 

Free Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks, conducted on SiSU Health Stations, are non-invasive, fast, and free. They include measurements of blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), type 2 diabetes risk, and estimated heart age – crucial indicators of cardiometabolic health. 

The International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region Congress will take place this week alongside the Australasian Diabetes Congress and Metabolic Diseases 2026 hosted with the Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association.  

The event is being delivered in collaboration with the Melbourne Convention Bureau and with support from the Victorian Government’s Business Events and Tourism Australia’s Events Bid Fund Program.