The Honourable Nicola Roxon BA/LLB (Hons), GAICD
Chair
Current term: 8 September 2023 to 7 September 2028
The Honourable Nicola Roxon has broad experience in government, business and the not-for-profit sector, with an emphasis on health, legal, property and finance.
She was the Health Minister from 2007 to 2011 and Australia’s first female Attorney-General from 2011 to 2013.
After 15 years in Parliament, and 6 as a Minister, she has spent the last decade since leaving politics as a non-executive director.
She currently chairs HESTA (the health sector industry superannuation fund) and VicHealth, and is a non-executive director on the boards of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Dexus and Lifestyle Communities.
Ms Roxon completed an BA/LLB at the University of Melbourne and worked as an industrial lawyer, union official and High Court Associate prior to entering parliament.
Much of her work has focussed on advocating for women and against tobacco companies and, in more recent years, in support of strong and inclusive governance.
Erin Lalor AM BSc (Hons) (Speech and Hearing), GAICD, PhD, GCCM
Deputy Chair
Current term: 3 December 2022 to 2 December 2027
Dr Lalor AM was appointed CEO of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation in November 2017. She has over 20 years of leadership experience in the health sector, working in clinical, academic and executive roles. She was previously the CEO of the National Stroke Foundation and a director of the World Stroke Organization. Dr Lalor is a former director of VincentCare Victoria, a member of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs and Chair of Alcohol Change Australia. She was twice recognised as a Victorian finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year awards and identified in the Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence in 2013. Dr Lalor was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2019 for her services to health through the not-for-profit sector and to people with stroke.
Rob Heferen
AIHW CEO, Executive Director
Current Term: 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026; ex-officio appointment
The head of the AIHW is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Rob Heferen was appointed as CEO on 1 July 2021. The CEO is responsible for the effective day-to-day administration of the institute and is the primary point of liaison between the Board and the Executive Committee.
Zoran Bolevich DM, MBA, FRACMA
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 March 2023 to 2 March 2026
Dr Bolevich is the Chief Executive of eHealth NSW and the Chief Information Officer for NSW Health. eHealth NSW is a specialised agency within NSW Health. It is responsible for planning, implementing and supporting a digitally enabled, integrated and patient-centric health information environment. During his prior 25‑year career, Dr Bolevich worked in a range of senior health management, information and communication technology (ICT) leadership roles in Australia and New Zealand.
Before joining eHealth NSW, Dr Bolevich worked at NSW Ministry of Health as executive director for health system information and performance reporting, and as acting deputy secretary for system purchasing and performance.
Marilyn Chilvers BEc (Hons), MAppStat, GradDipTertEd
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 March 2023 to 2 March 2026
Ms Chilvers is an Executive Director in the New South Wales Government, working in the Customer, Delivery and Transformation Division of the Department of Customer Service. She is responsible for driving data integration and insight development initiatives to improve outcomes for citizens, particularly those who are most vulnerable. She led the design, development and implementation of the NSW Human Services Outcomes Framework, and enabled data sharing, modelling and measurement of outcomes and benefits for New South Wales citizens, driving a reformed NSW Human Services data ecosystem to deliver better outcomes.
Ms Chilvers is currently shaping transformational design of complex integrated data initiatives, including the National Disability Data Asset and the NSW Stronger Communities Data Partnership.
Ms Christine Gee AM MBA
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 December 2018 to 2 December 2023
Ms Christine Gee brings to the Board extensive experience in private hospital administration, having held executive management positions for more than 30 years. She is the CEO of Toowong Private Hospital, an authorised mental health service in Queensland. She is involved in a number of state and national boards and committees including as the National President of the Australian Private Hospitals Association, a member of its Private Psychiatric Hospitals Data Reporting and Analysis Management Committee, and Chair of its Policy and Advocacy Taskforce and Psychiatric Committee. She is the President of the Private Hospitals Association of Queensland and Chair of its Mental Health Facilities Network. Ms Gee is a member of the Board of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Chair of its Private Hospital Sector Committee, Mental Health Advisory Group and Co-chair of its Patient Safety Reporting Technical Working Group. She is a community member of the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia and is the Chair of the Medical Board of Australia’s National Special Issues Committee (Sexual boundaries and family violence).
Ms Gee is the 2021 recipient of the Gold Medal of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. She was appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) on 12 June 2023.
Romlie Mokak BSocSc, PGDipSpEd
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 December 2018 to 2 December 2023
Mr Mokak is a Djugun man, a member of the Yawuru people and a Commissioner with the Productivity Commission. He led key national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations as CEO of the Lowitja Institute and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association.
Mr Mokak previously worked for the Australian Government where he had policy and program responsibility in areas such as substance use, male health and eye health, within the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. At the state level, he was the first Aboriginal policy officer appointed to the New South Wales Department of Ageing and Disability.
Mr Mokak was a past chair of the National Health Leadership Forum, the Canada–Australia Indigenous Health and Wellness Working Group and the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress CEOs’ Forum.
Christine Pascott MBBS, FRACGP, MPH, MHLM, GradCert IDI, CHIA, GAICD
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 December 2018 to 2 December 2023
Dr Pascott has worked for over 30 years in health including general practice, public health and mental health sectors and patient safety and clinical quality. Her current roles include medical advisor at the WA Department of Health, Clinical Excellence Division; member of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Expert Advisory Committee of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care; member of the WA Human Tissue Advisory Body; and non-executive director on the board of MDA National. Dr Pascott was previously medical director at the University of Western Australia.
Her areas of clinical interest include communicable diseases, mental health care, patient safety and clinical quality, digital health and health technology assessment. Dr Pascott is a registered specialist GP and holds a Master of Public Health, Master of Health Leadership and Management, Graduate Certificate in Infectious Diseases Intelligence and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Michael Perusco BBus (Acc)
Non-executive Director
Current term: 23 December 2018 to 2 December 2023
Mr Perusco commenced as CEO of Berry Street in February 2018. Before that he was CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society (New South Wales) and Sacred Heart Mission. He has worked in the PM&C, leading the social inclusion agenda, not-for-profit reform agenda and social policy areas. He has also worked at KPMG and Arthur Andersen.
Mr Perusco is a member of the Victorian Government’s Roadmap Implementation for Reform Ministerial Advisory Group, the Aboriginal Children’s Forum and the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. He was a finalist in the 2010 Victorian Australian of the Year awards.
Cathryn Ryan RN, BEd, GDipHlthAdmin, GDipENT (UK), GCertCritCare(Emerg), GAICD
Non-executive Director
Current term: 3 December 2018 to 2 December 2023
Ms Ryan has worked for over 35 years in the public and private health sectors in both Australia and the United Kingdom. She has held a wide range of operational and senior managerial roles, focusing on care outcomes, efficiency, productivity and funding.
More recently, Ms Ryan held the national role as General Manager - Health Funding, Strategy and Performance at Australia's largest not-for-profit private/public hospital operator, St John of God Health Care, where she headed up an integrated team responsible for funding, health information, audit and related analytics for just over ten years. Ms Ryan is currently the Group Director for Health Funding and Patient Services with the prestigious and iconic Cabrini Health who provide acute, sub-acute and aged care services in Victoria. Ms Ryan also has over 10 years’ experience as a non-executive director of a not-for- profit organisation for children with special needs. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a current Grant Assessor for the Medical Research Future Fund (NHMRC) and a member of the Commonwealth’s Prostheses Listing Advisory Committee.
Peter White MBA
Non-executive Director
Current term: 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2026
Mr White was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Homes Tasmania in the Tasmanian Government and recently moved into a consultancy role to assess the feasibility of housing developments within a key infrastructure project. Mr White has over 30 years of experience in senior executive state government housing roles, including over 15 years in Housing Tasmania, he has an extensive history in the development of new housing and facilitating the growth of community housing providers.
Mr White managed the delivery of 530 units under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan, oversaw the transfer of 6000 homes to management by the community housing sector and recently delivered a range of initiatives under the Tasmanian Government’s Affordable Housing Strategy. Prior to working with Housing Tasmania – responsible for the management of over 11,400 public housing dwellings, with a further 1,600 dwellings under management by the not-for-profit sector – Mr White was the Project Manager for the Tasmanian Natural Gas Project.
He has a Bachelor of Business in Property from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Economics and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Tasmania, where he was awarded the McCarthy Medal for Most Outstanding Student in the MBA course. He is also an Associate of the Australian Property Institute.
Walid Jammal MBBS FRACGP MHL DCH
Non-executive Director
Current term: 8 September 2023 to 7 September 2028
Walid is a general practitioner in well-established family practice in Western Sydney. He has various clinical and non-clinical interests including ethics, as well as a post-graduate Masters in Health Law. He has a keen interest in quality and safety in health care, health policy, health reform and health economics, as well as innovative models of care in primary care. He has been involved in various advisory committees focused on health reform for many years, including co-chairing the Primary Care Reform Steering Group which informed the development of the 10-year Primary Care Plan, and a member of the former Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
He is a current member of the Medicare Services Advisory Committee; co-chair of the GP Advisory Committee for the Agency for Clinical Innovation (NSW Health); Member of the Western Sydney Primary Health Network Board; and member of the Western Sydney Local Health District Board.