Executive Team (as at 30 June 2012)

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Professor Jane Halton PSM
Secretary

Professor 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.

Professor 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.

Professor Halton is the chair of the OECD’s Health Committee and a World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board Member 2012-2015. Professor Halton was previously a WHO Executive Board Member 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.

Professor Halton was a Commissioner of the Health Insurance Commission from 2002 to 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. Professor Halton was also a Commissioner of the Australian Sports Commission between 2008-2010.

Prior to her appointment in January 2002 as Secretary of the Department, Professor Halton was Executive Co-ordinator, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and was responsible for advising on all aspects of Australian Government Social Policy including the Status of Women.

Professor 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 was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2002 and the Centenary Medal in 2003.

Professor Chris Baggoley
Chief Medical Officer

Professor Chris Baggoley was permanently appointed to the position of Chief Medical Officer in August 2011. In this role he is 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 Principle 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 Health Care 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.

Mr David Butt
Deputy Secretary

Mr David Butt commenced as Deputy Secretary with the Department in August 2011.

As Deputy Secretary in 2011-12, Mr Butt was responsible for national primary health care reform, population health, and regulatory policy and governance.

Prior to joining the Department, Mr Butt spent three years as CEO of the Australian General Practice Network, the peak national body for Australia’s Divisions of General Practice and State Based Organisations. David also has worked as National CEO of Little Company of Mary Health Care (the Calvary group of public and private hospitals, aged care and home care services) and CEO of ACT Health and Community Care, including two years as Chair of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC).

Ms Kerry Flanagan
Deputy Secretary

Ms Kerry Flanagan is a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Health and Ageing. She joined the Department in 2006.

Ms Flanagan is responsible for policy and program aspects of: acute care, including hospitals and hospital related aspects of health reform; health workforce and dental.

She is also responsible for coordination functions, such as the Department’s budget, briefing, correspondence and Cabinet matters, and strategic policy
and advice.

She has oversight of the Portfolio Strategies Division, Health Workforce Division, Acute Care Division, the Strategic Policy Unit and the Tasmanian State Office.

Ms Flanagan chairs the Finance Risk and Security Committee, the Flexible Funds Board and is a member of the Health Workforce Principal Committee and the Hospital Principal Committee that report to the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. She is a member of the Jurisdictional Advisory Committees of the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority and the National Health Performance Authority, and is on the Board of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

She has worked in senior executive roles in the federal public service for the past 18 years. Between 2003 and 2006 she was head of the Commonwealth Office for Women. From 1992 to 2003 she worked in the Department of Family and Community Services.

Ms Flanagan worked for the World Bank in Washington DC between 1998 and 2000 on pension/social assistance systems in developing countries. She has also worked in the federal departments of Finance, Housing, and Treasury.

She has a background in both policy development and program implementation in housing and homelessness, retirement incomes, health, community development, Indigenous as well as international experience in social policy.

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 2011-12, 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, and eHealth. Ms Huxtable also has oversight of the South Australian and Western Australian State Offices.

Ms Huxtable was a key player in recent work on reforms to aged care culminating in the Living Longer, Living Better package of April 2012. She has maintained responsibility for the implementation of the Mental Health Reform package and has had a lead role in the development of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record system which launched on 1 July 2012.

Ms Huxtable has worked extensively in the areas of health and community services across the public and private sectors, including a number of years on Ministerial staff, a period managing a private consulting business and around 20 years in Commonwealth administration.

In 2005 Ms Huxtable received a Public Service Medal for her work on Medicare.

Mr David Learmonth
Deputy Secretary

Mr David Learmonth has been Deputy Secretary with the Department since June 2006. In 2011-12, Mr Learmonth was responsible for Medical Benefits, Pharmaceutical Benefits, Private Health Insurance, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the Queensland and Northern Territory State Offices. 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 2010.

In 2011-12, Mr Madden’s role included the initiation of projects to implement the enterprise information management strategy, and new enterprise IT governance and approval processes aimed at maximising the Department’s investment in information and technology. He also played a significant role in providing strategic guidance, advice and assurance on technical aspects of the various health reform developments including the development and implementation of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record.

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 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. He also Chairs the Data Governance Council which provides advice and assists with the implementation of consistent information management policies and approaches.

Mr Madden is also a member of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record Program Control Group, the Enterprise Data Warehouse Program Board, DoHA National Alignment Program Board, the National Health Information Performance Principle Committee, the National Health Chief Information Officer Forum, the eHealth ICT Industry Implementation Group, the eHealth Conformance, Compliance and Accreditation Governance Group 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 Program led from the Australian Treasury from 2007 to 2010.

Mr Andrew Stuart
Deputy Secretary

Mr Andrew Stuart is a Deputy Secretary with responsibility for corporate affairs and change management. He also has oversight of the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory State Office.

Mr Stuart has played a lead role in the Department’s Strategic Review of Portfolio Resources. He continues to lead the Department’s internal change management program including its corporate functions and the implementation of the DoHA National Alignment (DNA). 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 DNA 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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