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Ms Kym Ayscough, Executive Director, Regulatory Operations came to Ahpra in March 2010 after seven years as CEO and Registrar of the Pharmacy Board of New South Wales. After four years as NSW State Manager, Kym took up the role of Executive Director on 1 July 2014. In this role, she is accountable for national delivery of the core regulatory functions of registration, notifications, compliance and legal services.
Kym has a Bachelor of Laws, Master of Law and Master of Management with more than 17 years' experience in professional regulation and thrives on the challenges of building a transparent, efficient, effective and fair system of regulation for health practitioners.
Ms Julie Brayshaw is an academic staff member at the Curtin University School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work in Western Australia. She has been a member of the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia since July 2011 and Chair of the Board since 2014.
Julie has a Bachelor of Applied Science Occupational Therapy from Curtin University and a Master of Science Occupational Therapy (Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation). She worked for more than 25 years as an occupational therapist in the health and disability sectors in rural and remote, overseas (UK and Canada) and metropolitan settings including the Pilbara region of north Western Australia and in Perth tertiary teaching hospitals. Previously, she held the position as Deputy Head of Department (Occupational Therapy) at Royal Perth Hospital.
Karl Briscoe is the Chief Executive Officer of NATSIHWA and proud Kuku Yalanji man from Mossman–Daintree area of Far North Queensland. He has worked for over 15 years in the health sector at various levels of government and non-government, including local, state and national levels. This has enabled him to form a vast strategic network across Australia.
Karl began his career in health when he completed an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker traineeship with Queensland Health in Mossman Community Health. There he progressed to the Senior Health Worker role, Principal Policy along with Partnership Management positions. After he had completed the Primary Health Care training up to the Advanced Diploma, he went on to complete a Master of Public Health, Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, Diploma in Practice Management and more recently, the MURRA Indigenous Business Master Class Program.
Dr Heather Buchan is a public health physician who has worked in health policy and medical management roles in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Heather has a longstanding interest in ways to increase the effectiveness and appropriateness of healthcare, including methods to improve communication between patients and clinicians, and in the implementation of change in healthcare settings.
She is now a Senior Medical Advisor at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. She works across several programs, primarily with the healthcare variation team or related to embedding safety and quality in health practitioner education.
Ms Gill Callister was appointed to the Agency Management Committee for a first term as new Chair and member with expertise in education and training on 4 July 2019. Ms Callister is a Professor (Practice), Associate Dean at Australia and New Zealand School of Government and 2019 Public Service Medal recipient, has dedicated her career to improving public policy and service delivery.
From 2015-2018, Gill served as Secretary of the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET). Before joining DET, she was the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Human Services (2009-2014), where she led policy, legislative and service delivery reform. This followed a range of senior roles in the Victorian Public Service and a ten-year stint in the community sector working with children, young people and families.
Gill is the most recent past President of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victoria). Her leadership in public policy was recognised in 2013 when she was named in the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence and received a Sir James Wolfensohn Public Service Scholarship to attend Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In October 2014, Gill was awarded the IPAA National Fellowship award and a Monash University Fellowship and in 2017 was named as one of the top 50 women in the Victorian public service.
Gill holds Bachelor of Social Work (with Honours) and Arts.
Ms Eliza Collier is the Northern Territory Manager at Ahpra.
After graduating with degrees in Arts and Law in 1998, Eliza worked as a Judge’s Associate in the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal and then as a solicitor at a commercial law firm in Melbourne, mainly in litigation and construction law, before moving into consumer law and professional regulation.
Eliza was the Principal Solicitor and Deputy Director of Consumer Law Centre Victoria, a non-government organisation representing low-income and vulnerable consumers. She also worked in public affairs, policy and complaints investigation roles at the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman. Eliza has held positions on consumer complaints and advisory bodies in areas as diverse as the regulation of architects, motor car traders and essential services.
In 2008, Eliza moved to Darwin and started working at the Health Professions Licensing Authority, investigating complaints about health practitioners in the Northern Territory. Since 2010, Eliza has held positions at Ahpra as Director Notifications, Senior Legal Adviser and Northern Territory Manager. She is passionate about the Northern Territory and its unique lifestyle and has made a home in Darwin with her family.
Eliza is interested in how Ahpra can contribute to closing the gap and how we can work with the Strategy Group to achieve greater access to the National Scheme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Ms Darlene Cox, a member of the Australian health practitioner regulation agency’s Community Reference Group, has been a member of Health Care Consumers Association since 1996. She is an eminent advocate for health consumers with an excellent knowledge of the health system, both locally and nationally.
Darlene has a strong, practical understanding of community engagement principles, clinical governance and health literacy. She has been the Executive Director of Health Care Consumers’ Association Incorporated since 2008. She is a member of the Capital Health Network Board and as well as working in a range of other representative roles advocating for consumer interests in health and social care.
Ms Tania Dalton is a registered psychologist and is a founding member of the AIPA Steering Committee, a member of the AIPA Cultural Competence subcommittee and the national coordinator of AIPA's Cultural Competence 2010, 2011 & 2012. Tania has led the development and implementation of AIPA's Cultural Competence workshop.
Tania works with Indigenous Communities in the Barwon Southwest region as an Indigenous Family Violence Regional Coordinator.
Tania adapted James MacGuire’s Cognitive Skills program for Koorie male and female offenders in prison and further adapted it for Koorie community corrections offenders.
Tania is an experienced facilitator of Cultural Competence, Indigenous Family Violence, Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Courageous Conversations programs. She is actively involved in the Aboriginal community and has a commitment to social justice, health, Social and Emotional Wellbeing, employment, education and training. She is an experienced consultant and project manager and has strong networks in Victoria and nationally. Tania is also an IFV regional Coordinator and a member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Workers Australia.
Tania has a Master of Health Science and Behavioural Science.
Martin Fletcher started with Ahpra in December 2009 as the inaugural chief executive officer. With more than 15 years' experience in patient safety in Australia, the United Kingdom and internationally, he brings strong expertise in public protection and quality improvement to the work of establishing and leading Ahpra.
Before joining Ahpra, Martin was chief executive of the National Patient Safety Agency, the leading National Health Service body for patient safety in England and Wales. From 2004 to 2007 Martin worked with the World Health Organization in Geneva to establish a global program of work on patient safety. From 2000 to 2002, he worked with the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care to establish the first national program of work on patient safety in Australia. Martin has a Master of Management in public sector management, an Honours degree in behavioural sciences and a Bachelor of Social Studies.
Ms Jacqui Gibson-Roos is passionately committed to developing greater transparency for governance within the healthcare system and retaining a system that is inclusive of all Australians. She has a strong interest in self-management and consumer participation, having worked on a number of programs involving developing strategies to integrate consumer participation into community health programs.
Jacqui is also an active consumer who has been involved in boards and committees as a member, chair and co-chair, including Inner South Community Health Service Community Participation Committee, Prahran Mission Board, Chair of Leadership Plus Board and Southern Metropolitan Mental Health Council. She was a judge of the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards 2013.
Dr Sabine Hammond is Professor of Psychology and Honorary Professor of Australian Catholic University. She has extensive experience as a researcher, educator and practitioner in Australia, Europe and the United States, where she has held leadership roles in both academic and professional settings. She is a past Executive Manager for Science, Education and Membership at the Australian Psychological Society. Professor Hammond’s expertise includes ethics, professional practice, and regulation of the profession.
She served on the Victorian Psychologists Registration Board from 2004 to 2010 and on the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmanian and Victorian Regional Board of the Psychology Board of Australia from 2010 to 2012. More recently, Professor Hammond has been actively involved in initiatives aimed at reconciliation and closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, in the areas of suicide prevention and educating the workforce about social and emotional wellbeing, working together and cultural safety.
Prof. Noel Hayman graduated in medicine from the University of Queensland in 1990 and was one of the first Aboriginal students to complete the medical curriculum at this university. Dr Hayman is the Clinical Director of the Inala Indigenous Health Service in Inala, Queensland. One of his major achievements has been to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to mainstream health services.
Noel holds an academic appointment with the University of Queensland School of Medicine as Associate Professor, and Professor with the School of Medicine, Griffith University. His interests include health services research and teaching. Over many years Noel was an adviser to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing on Indigenous health issues through various working groups. Noel was Queensland’s 2011 Australian of the Year. His connection to country is Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon in Queensland.
Dr Hannah McGlade holds qualifications in law and human rights and was appointed to the National Board in October 2018. A Senior Indigenous Research Fellow at Curtin University, she is an experienced tribunal member, serving on the Mental Health Tribunal and previously the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the State Administrative Tribunal. She has been an advisor to both state and federal governments in relation to Aboriginal women and children’s human rights issues.
Hannah was appointed the Senior Indigenous Fellow of the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2016 and has appeared before various UN committees and agencies concerning Aboriginal peoples’ human rights. She has been appointed to several boards including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation and the Aboriginal Family Law Services, in recognition of her extensive service in the Aboriginal community of WA.
Hannah has a Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy and a Certificate in Global Mental Health Trauma and Recovery.
Ms Narelle Mills is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Dental Council (ADC), proudly located on Wurundjeri land of the Kulin Nation.
Narelle started her career in the education of medical practitioners, including roles at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the College of Intensive Care Medicine. Narelle moved into accreditation of programs and assessment of overseas-qualified practitioners as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Physiotherapy Council for almost three years before taking on her current role at the ADC.
Narelle represents the ADC and accreditation through committees and working parties, including the Board of the International Society of Dental Regulators, Accreditation Liaison Group and Chair of the Accreditation role in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes Working Group. She is currently studying for a Master of Health Policy at the University of Sydney.
Christopher O’Brien is a Yorta Yorta man from country Cummeroogunja of the Murray River lands of NSW and VIC. He is a freshwater man and direct descendant of William Cooper, the world-renowned Aboriginal activist who is the ‘founding father’ of NAIDOC deriving from the Day of Mourning, which led the way for the 1967 Referendum.
Christopher has a strong passion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander holistic health as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner with over 20 years’ experience working in various Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations.
Christopher is a solid advocate for his people around psychosocial, physical, spiritual and wellbeing determinants, and is the incoming president for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Council NSW portfolio. He sits on a clinical council for PHN and is the national leader for the QAAMS-Quality Assurance Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Medical Services national program with over 13 years’ experience in the Aboriginal community-controlled health service sector.
Ms Renee Owen’s people are from Yorta Yorta, Cummeragunja on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. Renee has been an Aboriginal Health Worker for over 15 years and her studies through Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) have included many areas including governance and management.
Renee currently works as an Aboriginal Maternity Health Worker/Health Service Team Leader at Wathaurong Aboriginal Health Service in Geelong.
Prof. Gregory Phillips is from the Waanyi and Jaru peoples, and comes from Cloncurry and Mount Isa. He is a medical anthropologist, with 25 years’ experience in leading change.
Gregory is Chief Executive Officer of ABSTARR Consulting, is an Associate Professor of Aboriginal Health, and serves on several boards and committees, including chairing the Cathy Freeman Foundation and the Australian Medical Council’s Indigenous health strategy groups. He developed an accredited Indigenous health curriculum for all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand, founded the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network, and co-wrote a national Indigenous health workforce strategy.
Gregory established the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Ltd in the wake of the federal apology to Indigenous Australians, has advised federal ministers on Indigenous health inequality, and was honoured in 2011 with an ADC Australian Leadership Forum Award.
Gregory has a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (‘Dancing With Power: Aboriginal Health, Cultural Safety and Medical Education), Research Master of Medical Science (‘Additions and Healing in Aboriginal Country’; published as a book in 2003) and a Bachelor of Arts (Aboriginal Studies and Government majors).
Ms Linda Renouf has extensive experience in policy within state and federal government and roles within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service in Queensland and Western Australia. She is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and is currently an appointed Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, former Conciliator at Fair Work Commission, and Principal Policy Advisory, Queensland State Government peak advisory body.
Linda has a Bachelor of Law, Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Master of Law and Doctor of Philosophy (Law) Candidate currently. She is also appointed as community member to the Queensland Board of the Psychology Board of Australia.
Chris Robertson is the Executive Director, Strategy and Policy for Ahpra. He has held senior leadership roles for over 15 years in health policy and regulatory reform, as well as workforce planning and innovation.
He is an authority in the design and application of the National Law across 15 health profession boards, which was a COAG reform initiative. It established a single national regulatory scheme for what is now more than 670,000 registered health practitioners in Australia.
Chris has a Graduate Certificate of Health Management and a Bachelor of Commerce. He was previously a registered nurse with qualifications in critical care from the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Chris is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr Jessa Rogers is a Wiradjuri woman with cultural connections to Cootamundra and surrounding areas of NSW, and whānau connections (through marriage) to Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato-Tainui iwi in Aotearoa New Zealand. Jessa is an Aboriginal academic, board director and consultant. She is a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Advisory Group and the Australian Academy of Sciences Future Earth Steering Committee.
Jessa is a Churchill Fellow and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2017 based at Harvard University. She currently holds an Honorary Fellowship with the National Centre for Indigenous Studies (Australian National University) and works as a manager with PwC's Indigenous Consulting. She was on the Federal Expert Group for the English Language Learning for Indigenous Children program and recently completed her three year term on the National NAIDOC Committee.
Her PhD at the Australian National University looked at the use of Indigenous research methods and methodologies with young Indigenous women to understand their experiences of education away from home. Jessa previously opened Australia’s first boarding school for Aboriginal young mothers and babies as the youngest Aboriginal principal in Australia.
Luke Taylor is the President of the Podiatry Council of NSW and the currently chairs the Forum of Council Presidents, representing the leadership of the 15 health profession councils in NSW. His clinical background is in the management of diabetes-related foot complications.
Luke is the Director of Podiatry for South Western Sydney Local Health District and is active in service design and development, undergraduate education and health service leadership.
Dr Anne Tonkin is a practising general physician with a sub-speciality in clinical pharmacology. She has been involved in medical regulation for 10 years – initially with the Medical Board of South Australia and since 2010, with the SA Board of the Medical Board of Australia. She has been Chair of the SA Board since 2012 and a member of the Medical Board of Australia since 2015.
Anne was a clinical academic in the Adelaide Medical School for 22 years and Director of the Medicine Learning and Teaching Unit from 2006 to her retirement in 2014. She has been a practising general physician at the Royal Adelaide Hospital since 1992 and is now in part-time practice as a relieving general physician.
Through her sub-specialty in clinical pharmacology, Anne has been involved in drug regulation nationally for more than 20 years. She has served terms on the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and continues to provide evaluation services to the Therapeutic Goods Administration and sit on several advisory committees related to drugs and therapeutics.'
Anne has a Bachelor of Science (Honours), Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Master of Educations, Doctor of Philosophy and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Over the last 15 years, she has also served the community through her roles with the Australian Medical Council in medical school and specialist college accreditation.
Marni Tuala is a proud Bundjalung and Wonnarua woman who grew up in Northern NSW and comes from a long line of healers. Marni holds a unique perspective, having studied both midwifery and the law and is passionate about improving the cultural safety of the wider health system. Marni has worked clinically as the Aboriginal liaison midwife at The Tweed Hospital and is currently employed as the Director of Aboriginal Health for the North Coast Primary Health Network. As the President of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), Marni has led and informed policy change at a national level and has developed the expertise to drive system-wide reform of health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Marni holds a Master in Primary Maternity Care and is currently completing a Master of Law.
Marni is passionate about her responsibility to her community to provide role modelling and mentoring, and enjoys contributing to the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce through nurturing the next generations and developing a safe system for them to work in. In 2015, Marni was a part of the original team of the First Peoples Health Unit (FPHU) at Griffith University, put together and led by Professor Roianne West. The FPHU provides high level leadership and strategic direction on First People’s health in the areas of learning and teaching, research and engagement. The FPHU is an influential leader in the tertiary sector and is committed to closing the gap in health outcomes by improving the cultural capabilities of the wider health workforce through quality education and training.
Marni is committed to working collaboratively with health services, clinicians and community members to improve access to quality health care and influence better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
Ms Theanne Walters is Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Medical Council, and a senior advisor to the World Federation for Medical Education. In the Western Pacific region, she contributes to external evaluations of medical schools and accreditation development through the Western Pacific Association for Medical Education.
Theanne contributes to policy development on accreditation of professional courses through membership of the Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum, and the Accreditation Liaison Group for Ahpra.
Prof. Mark Wenitong is from the Kabi Kabi tribal group of South Queensland. Involved in both clinical and policy work throughout his career, he is currently the Aboriginal Public Health Medical Officer at Apunipima Cape York Health Council, where he is working on health reform across the Cape York Aboriginal communities.
Mark has also previously been a Senior Medical Officer at Wuchopperen Health Services in Cairns, a Medical Advisor for the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in Canberra, the acting CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and has worked in community development with World Vision in Papunya, Northern Territory.
Mark is a past president and founder of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and sits on numerous councils and committees. Previously a member of the National Health Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council, he is Chair of Andrology Australia – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Health Advisory Committee, board member of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine.
Mark is heavily involved in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce and has helped develop several national workforce documents and sat on the COAG Australian Health Workforce Advisory Council.
Prof. Roianne West is a Kalkadoon descendent and Director of the First Peoples Health Unit at Griffith University, with more than 25 years of experience in First Peoples health and education.
At a national level, Roianne is a member of the Ahpra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy Group and co-lead of the recently successful Ahpra Cultural Safety Education Project. At a local level, her role requires her to have an intimate understanding of accreditation standards, codes of conduct and standards of practice for 23 undergraduate health programs and she co-chairs the Griffith University Medical Program Indigenous Health Subcommittee.
Roianne has developed the tools, skills and knowledge to influence every aspect of Indigenous health including comprehensive study resulting in the achievement of a PhD. While also participating in important Indigenous health workforce development research projects she demonstrates leadership, advocacy and addresses difficult issues with a view to long-term, sustainable and realistic outcomes.
Roianne has qualifications as a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Nursing, Master of Nursing (Mental Health) and a Doctor of Philosophy.
Dr Lisa Whop is from the Wagadagam tribe and Panai Clan of Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait, and is a Senior Research Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research. She is Australia’s leading authority on cervical cancer control in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Lisa has a Bachelor of Medical Science, Master of Applied Epidemiology and a Doctor of Philosophy (Epidemiology). She brings years of research experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the health sector, is skilled in community engagement and frequently speaks at state, national and international meetings and conferences on the topic of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
As an advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and improved health outcomes Lisa skilfully translates research into policy and health practice which centres on the voices and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Lisa is a committee member of the Cancer Australia Leadership Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control and the Quality Committee of the National Cancer Screening Register Telstra Health, and a member of the Australian Epidemiological Association and Clinical Oncological Society of Australia. She is a recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship.
Dr Ailsa Wood has been in private practice in Brisbane since 2000. Her qualifications include Bachelor of Science from The University of Queensland and a Master of Chiropractic from Macquarie University.
Before becoming President of the Queensland Chiropractors' Association of Australia, Ailsa served for several years as an executive member, holding the portfolio of Public Education.