ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24 National Boards

Each of the registered health professions is regulated by a National Board. The Boards work to ensure that Australia’s health practitioners provide safe, quality healthcare.

All Chairs are registered health practitioners in their profession. The other Board members are a mix of practitioners and people from the community. All are appointed by the Ministerial Council.

• Ms Iris Raye, Chair, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia 
• Adjunct Professor Danforn Lim, Chair, Chinese Medicine Board of Australia
• Dr Wayne Minter AM, Chair, Chiropractic Board of Australia
• Dr Murray Thomas, Chair, Dental Board of Australia
• Dr Anne Tonkin AO, Chair, Medical Board of Australia
• Ms Cara Miller, Chair, Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia
• Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM, Chair, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
• Ms Rebecca Singh, Chair, Occupational Therapy Board of Australia
• Mr Stuart Aamodt, Chair, Optometry Board of Australia
• Associate Professor Paul Orrock, Chair, Osteopathy Board of Australia
• Professor Stephen Gough ASM, Chair, Paramedicine Board of Australia
• Mr Brett Simmonds, Chair, Pharmacy Board of Australia
• Ms Kim Gibson, Chair, Physiotherapy Board of Australia
• Associate Professor Cylie Williams, Chair, Podiatry Board of Australia
• Ms Rachel Phillips, Chair, Psychology Board of Australia

Supporting the Boards

Appointments

National Board members are appointed by the Ministerial Council, and state and territory board members are appointed by the relevant health minister in each jurisdiction.

Our regulatory work is not possible without the right people serving on boards and committees. Ahpra provided administrative support for 483 statutory appointments made within the year.

We have been working to increase the participation of people from diverse backgrounds through advertising and engagement strategies. There were 50.0% more Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, 66.7% more people with disability and 164.3% more people from rural and/or regional areas appointed to boards and committees than last year, but 20.0% fewer culturally and/or linguistically diverse appointees.

Supporting good governance

Ahpra develops, manages and delivers a coordinated governance program. The program has four areas, aligned to the three-year regulatory ‘life cycle’ of members and boards:

• orientation and induction of new members
• professional development, including member skills development
• board effectiveness reviews
• documentation for good governance practice.

Regulatory decision makers from many professions also received professional development to support them in assessing matters involving sexual misconduct and family violence.

Orientation and induction

During the year, 28 new board and committee members attended our orientation program. It included an introduction to the National Scheme and four self-paced online learning modules on governance, decision making and the National Law, information management and cybersecurity, and workplace respect.

Professional development

Two professional development programs were launched:

• An online regulatory governance learning module covering 10 topics, available for members to access on demand for a governance refresh or to support them in navigating their board and committee roles.
• One-day face-to-face workshops on regulatory governance and decision making, addressing key governance concepts, competencies and behavioural attributes using a scenario-based approach. The workshops were delivered by Board Matters, our external governance services provider. During the year, 49 board and committee members attended the quarterly workshops, together with Ahpra staff who work with the National Boards.

Board effectiveness reviews

Board effectiveness reviews are conducted annually over a rolling three-year cycle: the Year 2 reviews are in-depth and formal, and Years 1 and 3 are ‘check-in’ years.

The 2023 review was in-depth, and involved a peer assessment as well as the overall check-in that is conducted as part of every review. Reports were provided to individual board members and Chairs, and a thematic report was prepared for Ahpra. The review was completed in October.

The 2024 check-in review began in May.

Governance documentation

• We developed tailored content for an online training module about workplace respect.
• We reviewed and updated online learning modules in preparation for the introduction of a new learning and development platform.
• We began a review of the Code of conduct for board and committee members.

Payments to Board Chairs

Board members are entitled to remuneration, including travel and subsistence allowances, within the framework determined by the Ministerial Council. In addition to sitting fees for scheduled board and committee meetings, Chairs may also be remunerated for the additional work that is required.