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Executive Team

(As at 30 June 2011)

photo of the department of Health and Ageing Executive

From left to right: David Butt, Deputy Secretary; Rosemary Huxtable PSM, Deputy Secretary; Graeme Head, Deputy Secretary and CEO Health Reform Transition Office; Chris Baggoley, Chief Medical Officer; Andrew Stuart, Deputy Secretary; Jane Halton PSM, Secretary; Paul Madden, Deputy Secretary and Chief Information and Knowledge Officer; Kerry Flanagan, Deputy Secretary; David Learmonth, Deputy Secretary; Mary Murnane PSM, former Deputy Secretary.

Jane Halton PSM

Secretary

Ms Jane Halton is Secretary of the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. She is responsible for all aspects of the operation of the department including the provision of advice on and administration of Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Aged and Community Care, Population Health, regulation of Therapeutic Goods, plus hospital financing and Private Health Insurance. She also has responsibility for leadership on health security issues, including matters related to bioterrorism.
Ms Halton is a member of the board of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a board member of the National E-Health Transition Authority and a Commissioner of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. She is also on the executive board of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and on the Advisory Boards of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), and the Melbourne Institute Advisory Board.

Ms Halton is the chair of the OECD’s Health Committee. She was an Executive Board Member on the World Health Organization (WHO) 2004-2007 and President of the World Health Assembly (2007), and was Vice-Chair of the Executive Board 2005-2006 and Chair of the WHO Program, Budget and Administration Committee 2005-2007. She was the Chair of the WHO Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness.

Ms Halton was a Commissioner of the Health Insurance Commission from 2002-2005 and was Chair of the Australian Obesity Taskforce (2003-2006). She also chaired the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council between 2002-2008. She was co-chair of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Group on Health between 2002-2007. Ms Halton was also a Commissioner of the Australian Sports Commission between
2008-2010.

Prior to joining the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ms Halton was national program manager of the Australian Government’s Aged and Community Care Program with responsibilities for long term care. Ms Halton holds an honours degree in Psychology from the Australian National University, is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and an honorary fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Executives. She holds the position of Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney and Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2002 and the Centenary Medal in 2003.

Professor Chris Baggoley

Chief Medical Officer

Professor Chris Baggoley commenced acting Chief Medical Officer in April 2011 and was permanently appointed to the position in August 2011. In this role he was responsible for a range of professional health issues, including health and medical research, public health, medical workforce, quality of care and evidence based medicine. In addition, Professor Baggoley represented the department in key national health committees and medical organisations. He also had direct responsibility for the department’s Office of Health Protection.

From December 2007 to April 2011, Professor Baggoley was Chief Executive of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, whose role is to lead and coordinate the improvements of safety and quality of health care in Australia.

Professor Baggoley chairs the Australian Health Protection Committee, the Diabetes Advisory Group, the Horvath Review Implementation Steering Committee and the COAG Expert Panel on Emergency and Elective Surgery Access Targets. He is a member of the NHMRC Council and the Clinical, Technical and Ethical Principal Committee of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.

Professor Baggoley is a Professorial Fellow of the School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia and Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide.

Mrs Kerry Flanagan

Deputy Secretary

Kerry Flanagan began acting as Deputy Secretary in the department in December 2009, and was permanently appointed in August 2011. In 2010-11, Kerry was responsible for policy and program aspects of: acute care, including hospitals and some hospital related aspects of health reform; and health workforce, dental and medical indemnity. She was also responsible for co-ordination functions, such as the department’s budget, briefing, correspondence and cabinet matters,
and strategic policy and advice.

Kerry had oversight of the Portfolio Strategies Division, Health Workforce Division, Acute Care Division, the Strategic Policy Unit and the South Australian and West Australian offices.

Kerry chairs the Finance Risk and Security Committee, the Flexible Funds Board and is a member of the Health Workforce Principal Committee (HWPC) of the Australian Health and Medical Advisory Committee.

Mr Graeme Head

Deputy Secretary and Chief Executive of the Health Reform Transition Office

Since its inception in May 2010, Mr Graeme Head has been Chief Executive of the Health Reform Transition Office within the department. In this role, he has had carriage of the implementation of the National Health Reform agenda.
Mr Head joined the Commonwealth in early 2010. Prior to this he had around 30 years experience in a variety of public sector roles in New South Wales; for the last 18 years he has been in executive roles, eight of these as a Chief Executive Officer. Most recently Mr Head was Director General of the Department of Services, Technology and Administration (formerly the Department of Commerce), an agency with nearly 4,000 staff responsible for public works, consumer protection, industrial relations, government ICT, government procurement, and government advertising.

Ms Rosemary Huxtable PSM

Deputy Secretary

Ms Rosemary Huxtable joined the department in 2003 and was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary in March 2010.
As Deputy Secretary, in 2010-11, Ms Huxtable was responsible for a number of the department’s portfolio areas including ageing and aged care, aged care quality and compliance, mental health and drug treatment, tobacco control and e-health. Prior to March 2011, Ms Huxtable had responsibility for primary and ambulatory care, rural health and corporate administration and provided oversight to the department’s work on the National Health Reform agenda considered by the Council of Australian Governments in April 2010. Ms Huxtable was also responsible for the New South Wales and Northern Territory Offices.

Mr David Learmonth

Deputy Secretary

Mr David Learmonth has been Deputy Secretary with the department since June 2006. In 2010-11, Mr Learmonth was responsible for Medical Benefits, Pharmaceutical Benefits, Private Health Insurance, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the Queensland State Office. He was also the department’s representative on the AHMAC Health Policy Priorities Principal Committee.

Mr Learmonth joined the department in November 2003 as the First Assistant Secretary, Primary Care Division. He was responsible for implementing the Strengthening Medicare Package and for a range of programs including, divisions of general practice, GP training, after hours programs, quality, allied health, nursing, GP collaboratives, research and workforce measures.

Mr Learmonth joined the department from the Department of Defence, where he was responsible for industry policy, export and international cooperation. Prior to joining Defence, Mr Learmonth held senior positions in the Aged Care Program. He was responsible for high level policy development and advice, aged care structural reform initiatives, long term financing, population ageing policy and management of Budget arrangements.

Mr Paul Madden

Deputy Secretary and Chief Information and Knowledge Officer

Mr Paul Madden was appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary and Chief Information and Knowledge Officer in December 2010.

In 2010-11, Mr Madden’s role included developing strategies and implementation plans for information, knowledge and technology within the department. He also provided strategic guidance and advice on technical aspects of the various health reform developments to ensure they deliver on agreed outcomes.

Mr Madden is a member of the Departmental Executive Committee and is also the chair of the departmental Information, Knowledge and Technology Committee which provides advice and makes recommendations to the Executive Committee on information, knowledge and technology strategies and plans. Mr Madden also chairs the Grants Management System Program Board which provides overall governance for the development of a single departmental approach and systems to support grants management and procurement across the department.

Mr Madden is also a member of the DoHA National Alignment Program Board, the National Health Chief Information Officer forum and is an external member of the Australian Taxation Office ‘Superannuation Change Management’ Steering Committee.

Prior to joining the department, Mr Madden was Program Director of the Standard Business Reporting (SBR) Program led from the Australian Treasury from 2007-2010.

Ms Megan Morris

A/g Deputy Secretary

Ms Megan Morris commenced as acting Deputy Secretary with the department in March 2011. As acting Deputy Secretary, Ms Morris was responsible for progressing one of the key components of the Government’s national health reform agenda – the establishment of Medicare Locals.

Ms Morris oversaw Primary and Ambulatory Care, Population Health, and Regulatory Policy and Governance Divisions. She was also responsible for the Victorian and Tasmanian offices.

Ms Morris chaired both the Policy Development and Implementation Committee and the Gene Technology Standing Committee. She was the departmental representative for the Australian Population Health Development Principal Committee and Australian Commission on Safety Quality in Health Care Inter-jurisdictional Committee.

Mr Andrew Stuart

Deputy Secretary

Mr Andrew Stuart was promoted to Deputy Secretary in July 2011, after acting in the position from October 2010.
In 2010-11, Mr Stuart played a lead role in the Strategic Review of Portfolio Resources. He will continue to lead the department’s internal change management program and its corporate functions, as well as coordinating the implementation of program consolidation across the department.

Prior to this, Mr Stuart had extensive experience as a Division Head across a number of divisions, including Pharmaceutical Benefits, Ageing and Aged Care, Population Health and Primary and Ambulatory Care.

Mr Stuart chairs the Department of Health and Ageing National Alignment Board, the department’s People and Reconciliation committees, and leads engagement with the not for profit sector under the National Compact.

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