Who we are

Conjoint Professor Anne Duggan was appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2023, in recognition of her breadth of knowledge and leadership experience across a range of health care settings.

With experience as a practicing clinician, policy maker and health sector leader, Professor Duggan has gained an in depth understanding of the complex issues surrounding safety and quality in health care. Professor Duggan works closely with jurisdictional stakeholders, colleges and peak bodies, and she represents us in a range of forums.

Before her appointment as CEO, Professor Duggan was our Chief Medical Officer from 2021-2023 and a Clinical Director from 2014-2021. Before joining, Anne was Director, Clinical Governance, with the Hunter New England Local Health District. 

She is a highly respected gastroenterologist and is also Conjoint Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle.

Professor Duggan was a member of the expert panel for the independent review of the regulation of medical practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery. She is also the Chair of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee (MRAC).

View the portrait image of Conjoint Professor Anne Duggan

Professor Hullick is an Emergency Physician in Newcastle New South Wales. She is a senior Harkness Fellow having spent 12 months at Weill Cornell Medical School in New York, investigating care for older people in emergency departments.

With this expertise in geriatric emergency medicine, she has developed a program to support acutely unwell residents in residential aged care facilities and has geriatric emergency medicine leadership roles with the Australasian College and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine.

Professor Hullick recognises vulnerable and complex older people need a health system which collaborates, communicates and places people and their families at the centre of care.

View the portrait image of Conjoint Professor Carolyn Hullick

Our Chief Nursing Officer manages our Communicating for Safety and Comprehensive Care Programs, providing expert clinical advice and a voice for nursing experience and professional practice.

Adjunct Professor Anna Thornton was appointed to the new position of Chief Nursing Officer in April 2024. Prior to this appointment, she was Executive Director of Nursing at St Vincent’s Hospital Network and has held Director of Nursing positions at Liverpool Hospital, Canberra Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital. 

As the Chief Nursing Officer, she manages our Communicating for Safety and Comprehensive Care Programs, providing expert clinical advice and a voice for nursing experience and professional practice.

During her career, Professor Thornton has led strategy in acute care nursing, patient safety and quality, workforce planning and nursing-led research. She has also advised on policy matters through numerous Chair and co-Chair appointments to key nursing and acute care committees.

In November 2023, Professor Thornton received the prestigious Judith Meppem Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th annual NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards. This award recognises the contribution of an outstanding nurse or midwife who, throughout their career, has had a positive and sustained influence on patients, the health system and their profession.

Gillian Shaw brings extensive senior executive leadership to the Commission, with over 25 years working in both commonwealth and state governments, including 16 years’ experience as a senior executive in the Australian Public Service leading complex, high‑impact reform across Australia’s health, disability and aged care systems.

She has deep expertise in intergovernmental relations, regulatory strategy, policy reform and large‑scale program delivery, and a strong track record of delivering outcomes in high‑pressure, politically sensitive environments. Gillian has held senior executive roles across the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.

Her experience includes negotiations for the National Health Reform Agreement, providing operational leadership of the Independent Review of the NDIS, progressing aged care regulatory reform under the new Aged Care Act, and delivering significant reforms in health protection regulation. She has managed multi‑billion‑dollar programs, and shaped nationally significant policy and legislative frameworks.

Frequently asked to establish new functions or lead organisations through periods of structural and cultural change, Gillian is recognised for her strategic judgement, collaborative leadership style and ability to build trusted relationships with ministers’ offices, central agencies, independent boards and stakeholders. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and brings extensive governance experience across government and the not‑for‑profit sector.

Chris Leahy is the Chief Operating Officer of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, a position he has held since October 2021. Prior to this, he held a variety of positions at the Commission, including Director, eHealth and Medication Safety and Director, Safety and Quality Improvement Systems. He has an in-depth understanding of the complex issues surrounding healthcare, and the implementation of standards and policies that improve safety and quality.

Prior to joining the Commission, Mr Leahy held senior executive positions in large acute hospitals, community health, drug health, mental health and oral health services, across Sydney and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Information Management); a Master of Health Service Management; a Juris Doctor at University of Technology, Sydney and is admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Gillian is Executive Director, Clinical Governance at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care where she established a program of work to provide national leadership of clinical governance, including the development of the National Model for Clinical Governance.

Previously, Gillian held the role of Director Healthcare Variation at the Commission, leading the development of the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation series and a program focused on system change to improve the appropriateness of health care.

With a clinical background as a speech pathologist, Gillian has worked across both state and Commonwealth health departments and is experienced in policy development, service planning and translating evidence into practical, system-wide improvement.

BSc (Psych), GAICD

Naomi Poole is Executive Director, Strategy and Innovation and is highly experienced in national strategic policy and program development and implementation. She has an exceptional understanding of strategic policy and planning; and for more than 20 years has led the development, implementation and review of a range of complex Australian health policy and programs with a focus on safety and quality systems and standards, person-centred care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, health literacy, clinical guidance and governance. 

At the Commission, Naomi provides executive leadership in strategic planning and development processes, new policy and program development, systems and process innovation, and cross-agency collaboration and partnerships. Naomi is also responsible for the management of the Communications, Digital Transformation and First Nations Health portfolios.

Dr Heather Buchan is our Senior Medical Advisor and a public health physician who has worked in health policy and medical management roles in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Dr Buchan has a longstanding interest in ways to increase the effectiveness and appropriateness of health care, including methods to improve communication between patients and clinicians, and in the implementation of change in healthcare settings.

Dr Buchan undertakes work across several programs, primarily with our Healthcare Variation team related to embedding safety and quality in health practitioner education. She is also Conjoint Associate Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle.

Associate Professor Liz Marles is our Clinical Director and a general practitioner who provides strategic leadership and expert advice on primary and community health care. 

She led the review of our updated Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Clinical Care Standard and development of our Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard and Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard.

A/Professor Marles is a respected practicing family physician. As Director of the Hornsby-Brooklyn General Practice Unit, just north of Sydney NSW, she has led clinical service delivery to vulnerable groups through the establishment of collaborative clinics, including the award winning Aboriginal Health Clinic - Bungee Bidgel.

A/Professor Marles has developed specific expertise in chronic disease management, mental health and Aboriginal health, and has a strong focus on holistic and preventative care. Her passion for general practice has led to her involvement in multiple government committees and Boards.

She is currently a Director and past Chair of Therapeutic Guidelines, a Director of the Sydney North Health Network and is a past President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

Professor John Turnidge is our Senior Medical Advisor and an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist. He has led national surveillance for antimicrobial resistance and usage in human health since 2014 and is also Chair of our Antimicrobial Resistance Stewardship Advisory Committee.

Professor Turnidge trained at the Flinders Medical Centre Adelaide and undertook research in the United States on antimicrobial pharmacodynamics. He spent eight years at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne before joining the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide as head of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and later as chief of the Laboratory Medicine division. He was a Clinical Director at South Australian Pathology for three years.

Professor Turnidge's research career has led to over 340 publications and a range of editorial boards and leadership positions. He has chaired the Australian Joint Expert Technical Advisory Committee on Antibiotic Resistance, the Expert Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance and the NHMRC’s Expert Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. He co-founded the Australian Society for Antimicrobials in 1999 and was President of the Australian Society of Microbiology from 2010 to 2012.

From 2017 he was Scientific Secretary for the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, and in April 2023 assumed the role of Document and Technical Support.

Professor Peter Collignon is our Senior Medical Advisor and an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist. He is also Chair of our Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Advisory Committee.

Professor Collignon is a physician at Canberra Hospital, a Professor at the Australian National University (ANU) Medical School and a Senior Staff Specialist at Australian Capital Territory Pathology.

Active in many public health advocacy issues, Professor Collignon has a particular interest in antibiotic resistance, infection prevention and control, and hospital acquired infections. His PhD was on the topic of antibiotic resistance and One Health.

The inaugural patron of the Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), Professor Collignon is a member of many national and international committees. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the issue of antibiotic resistance and the use of antibiotics in food and animals since 2000.

In 2010, Professor Collignon was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to Medicine in Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Infection Control.

Dr Lee Fong is our Medical Advisor and a general practitioner based in the Hunter region, working in clinical governance, service development, guideline development and advocacy roles.

He has current roles in private general practice, Hunter New England Local Health District, Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network, Hunter Primary Care, the Hunter GP Association, the GP Deputising Association, Therapeutic Guidelines, and a volunteer GP clinic for the homeless.

Dr Fong has a particular interest in developing and facilitating connections, collaboration and innovation across health care organisations, with the goal of realising system changes that will improve health care equity.

Dr Phoebe Holdenson Kimura is our Medical Advisor and a general practitioner based in Sydney, working in policy and medical and health professional education.

She works clinically at the Hornsby-Brooklyn General Practice Unit and has a passion for building equitable, quality primary care, particularly for disadvantaged population groups.

Dr Holdenson Kimura is a lecturer at the University of Sydney with an interest in professionalism and interprofessional learning. With a strong interest in mental health, she delivers health professional education for the e-Mental Health in Practice program with Black Dog Institute.

Dr Holdenson Kimura also sits on the GP Advisory Group for the Agency for Clinical Innovation at NSW Health.

Dr Andrew Hugman is our Clinical Director for Digital Health, an emergency physician and NSW Ambulance State Retrieval Consultant based in Sydney. He is also the Managing Director and Digital Officer at Manly Haematology.

With over 13 years of experience in digital health, Dr Hugman specialises in online governance in health care, including medical records, digital diagnostic imaging and online clinical tools.

Dr Hugman was previously clinical lead for our My Health Record in Emergency Departments research project and has been a clinical advisor to the eHealth & Medication Safety Program. He was also the Clinical Lead for NSW Health’s Electronic Management System pilot rollout across the hospitals of South Eastern Sydney.

Dr Hugman is passionate about digital health delivering high-quality patient care, increased efficiency and widespread improvements.