Mr Jim Birch AM, Chair

is also Chair of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Deputy Chair of the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, Chair of Mary MacKillop Care SA and a board member of the Australian Red Cross Society, the Little Company of Mary Health Care and Cancer SA. He was formally a Partner in Ernst and Young having been the Global Health Leader. He has also been the Government and Public Sector Leader from 2012 until the end of 2014. Formerly Mr Birch was also the Lead Partner in Health and Human Services for Asia Pacific. He has over thirty five years’ experience in planning, leading and implementing change in complex organisations transcending such areas as healthcare, justice and human services. Mr Birch has been a Chief Executive of a Human Services and Health Department (South Australia), Deputy Chief Executive of Justice and Chief Executive of major health service delivery organisations, including teaching hospitals. Mr Birch has previously been Chair of the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council, a member of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and was a Board Member of the National E-Health Transition Authority and Chair of Rural Health Workforce Australia. He has a Bachelor of Health Administration from the University of New South Wales.

 

Mr Martin Bowles PSM

is the Secretary Department of Health, a position he was appointed to in October 2014. He is currently leading reforms in primary health care and mental health service arrangements, access to medical and pharmaceutical benefits, aged care, hospital funding and digital health. Previously, Mr Bowles was the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, overseeing the management of migration, humanitarian, citizenship and visa policy and programmes. Prior to this role, Mr Bowles held the positions of Deputy Secretary in the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Department of Defence, respectively. In 2012, Mr Bowles was awarded a Public Service Medal for delivering highly successful energy efficiency policies and remediation programmes for the Home Insulation and Green Loans programmes. He has previously held senior executive positions in the education and health portfolios in the state government public sector, prior to joining the Commonwealth Public Service. Mr Bowles has a Bachelor of Business degree, a Graduate Certificate of Public Sector Management and is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants..

 

Mr Rob Bransby

has more than 35 years experience in business, financial services and the health sector. Rob recently stepped down from his full time role as Managing Director of HBF Health Limited, a position he had held since 2008. During Rob's 12 years at HBF, the organisation consolidated its position as Western Australia's leading health fund, reaffirming its focus on member health and embarking on an ambitious strategy to become a valued health partner to HBF members. Rob has long held a leadership position within the health insurance sector and continues in his role as President of the industry association, Private Healthcare Australia (PHA). Rob is well known for championing the interests of health fund members and as an advocate for not-for-profit health insurers. Prior to working at HBF, Rob enjoyed a successful 25 year career in banking with NAB holding positions including Corporate Finance Manager – Corporate Banking Western Australia, Head of Business Financial Services – New South Wales and CEO – Medfin Finance. Rob is currently President of Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) and Director of the Australian Digital Health Agency, Synergy, Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited, BW Financial Advice Limited, Count Financial Limited, Financial Wisdom Limited and the Craig Mostyn Group. He is also a Commissioner of the Insurance Commission of Western Australia.

 

Dr Eleanor Chew

is a specialist general practitioner and medical educator, with extensive experience representing the role of primary care in the health services profession. A graduate of the University of Queensland, Dr Chew has worked as a GP in Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Canberra in a variety of practice settings including solo, small practices, and corporate practice. Dr Chew is a past Vice President and Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and is an experienced leader with strategic vision and a solid understanding of governance responsibilities. Through her roles with the RACGP, Dr Chew has interacted extensively with other Colleges, the AMA, Medical Board, Medical Defence Organisations, and State and Commonwealth departments, advocating for general practitioners and gaining valuable insights into the many challenges facing the health care system. Dr Chew serves on a range of committees and working groups focused on the advancement of quality primary care, in both the private and government sectors.

 

Dr Elizabeth Deveny

is the Chief Executive Officer of the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network. She was previously the Chief Executive Bayside Medicare Local and Acting Chief Executive Office Northern Melbourne Medicare Local. She has worked as a Research Fellow in both the Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. Dr Deveny has a Doctor of Philosophy, a Master's Degree in Health Education, and a Bachelor of Training and Development from the University of Melbourne.

 

Ms Lyn McGrath

is the Executive General Manager, Retail Sales at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, leading the largest distribution business within CBA; a team of over 10,000 people across Australia, the UK and China. Lyn has been in her current position since 2010, promoted from her previous role of Regional General Manager, Sydney Region. Prior to this, she held roles with St George in the Retail Bank as Head of Customer Experience and as Regional Manager, Northern Sydney. Lyn has extensive senior management experience in strategic and operational roles within the utilities and media industries and over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services. Ms. McGrath is highly regarded for her transformational leadership and customer experience strategy. She holds an MBA and BA from Macquarie University as well as a Dip PR (Hons). She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and currently holds a Board positions at Commonwealth Financial Planning and the Evidence for Learning Board a joint initiative with Social Ventures Australia and Commonwealth Bank. Ms. McGrath is a Senior Fellow with FINSIA and a Fellow with the Australian Institute of Management. In 2012, she was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Australia by the Australian Financial Review.

 

Mr Stephen Moo

is the Chief Information Officer for the Northern Territory Department of Health. Stephen has been employed in the health sector for over 34 years, with the last 16 years having direct responsibility for the design, development, implementation and on-going systems management for major corporate client and clinical information systems, and information communications and infrastructure. Stephen has overseen the Northern Territory’s eHealth program for the past 11 years and is the principal architect and sponsor for the development and implementation of a comprehensive eHealth program that is widely regarded as one of the most advanced of its kind in Australia.
As Chair of the National Health Chief Information Officer Forum for the past 8 years, Stephen has played a key role in the development of the National eHealth Strategy and national eHealth foundation services and standards with the previous National E-Health Transitional Authority.
Stephen was appointed by the Australian Health Minister Advisory Council as the Jurisdictional ICT representative on the eHealth Implementation Taskforce Steering Committee, which assisted to establish the Australian Digital Health Agency.
Stephen is a strong advocate for ensuring clinical information systems and eHealth solutions development have appropriate expert clinical sponsorship and actively involves clinical business analysts, clinical educators and clinical champions with the necessary expert knowledge and skills in information management to deliver clinically appropriate information technology solutions.
Stephen has recently overseen the development of NT Health’s Strategic Information Plan and the original Core Clinical System Renewal Programme (CCSRP) Business Case that will support the replacement of NT Health’s Core Clinical Information Systems over five years. With many years of experience as the Chief Information Officer of NT Health, Stephen will be a major contributor to the CCSRP over the next five years. This will see the development and implementation of a state of the art electronic clinical Health Record to be used across all areas of NT Health service delivery.

 

Ms Stephanie Newell

is a facilitator, educator and healthcare consumer advocate who is highly regarded across multiple industry sectors for her collaborative and innovative approach. Ms Newell works in partnership across all levels of healthcare so that health services and health systems are safe, consumer focused and are informed by, and designed with, health care consumers for health care consumers. Ms Newell is currently the Consumer and Community Engagement Coordinator with the Health Consumers' Council of Western Australia, the state’s peak body for health consumers. Her previous work as a consultant educator and facilitator includes 6 years developing and facilitating the 'Partnering with Consumers to Achieve Quality Outcomes in Healthcare' & 'Patient-centred Care' workshops across Australia for The Australian Council on Health Care Standards. Ms Newell is a foundational member and a designated ‘Patients for Patient Safety Champion’ of the World Health Organization’s Patients for Patient Safety program and a member of the Global Patient and Family Advisory Group of the Beryl Institute for Patient Experience. She also contributes to a number of Australian and international health care policy and research groups and initiatives in areas which include consumer engagement, patient experience, patient safety, quality improvement, accreditation and standards development. Ms Newell holds post graduate qualifications in Entreprenuership, Commercialisation and Innovation from the University of Adelaide and is currently undertaking a Master of Clinical Science by Research.

 

Dr Bennie Ng

is the General Manager, Partnerships and Strategy at Healthscope, a leading healthcare provider in Australia.   He commenced his career as a General Practitioner, and has most recently been the Head of Social Policy at the Office of the Prime Minister.  In addition to a health advisory role to the Australian Government, he has held other senior positions in strategy, services planning and general management including the Head of Clinical Services Planning at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the General Manager Cancer Medicine and Director of Medical Services at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.  Dr Ng has a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Western Australia and a Masters of Business Administration from Curtin University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. 

 

Professor Johanna Westbrook

is Professor of Health Informatics and Director, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, at Macquarie University. She is internationally recognised for her research evaluating the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) in health care and has published over 300 papers. This research has led to significant advances in our understanding of how clinical information systems deliver (or fail to deliver) expected benefits and supported translation of this evidence into policy, practice, and IT system changes. In 2014 Professor Westbrook was awarded Australian ICT Professional of the Year by the Australian Information Industry Association. She has a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Sydney, a Masters in Health Administration from the University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of Applied Science (with Distinction) from the University of Sydney. She is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics and the Australasian College of Health Informatics.

 

Mr Michael Walsh

is the Director-General Queensland Health where he leads a public health and hospital system for a population of 4.7million people. Prior to this role, Michael was the inaugural Chief Executive / CIO of eHealth NSW, providing eHealth and ICT services to the NSW Health System. Michael has also worked as Chief Executive of HealthShare NSW, the NSW Health shared service provider. Michael has extensive experience at the Government Senior Executive level in both NSW and Queensland and has worked in the private sector including for a leading consulting firm. Michael has led large organisational strategy and change programs including major departmental integrations; significant ICT programs; and, large hospital infrastructure programs such as the $10 billion Queensland Hospital rebuilding program including the Gold Coast University Hospital, Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Queensland Children's Hospital. Michael has a strong background in public sector governance and leadership. Michael also has strong experience in portfolio, program and project management, business case development and implementation of major government initiatives.