GPRA board members
Dr Melanie Smith — President
Melanie has attained Fellowship of the RACGP and has worked clinically at a practice in Happy Valley, South Australia. Melanie’s interests from a clinical perspective lie in palliative care, mental health and children’s health. Working collaboratively with GPRA members, supervisors and the professional bodies, Melanie is passionate about supporting GP registrars during training, and the profession as a whole, to ensure the future of general practice is a healthy one for patients and doctors alike. Melanie was previously a GP registrar and Registrar Liaison Officer (RLO) with GPEx.
Dr Sama Balasubramanian — President-Elect
Dr Sama Balasubramanian is a GP working in regional NSW in the town of Wagga Wagga and was appointed GPRA president in November 2018. He has a passion for registrar advocacy and wellbeing, and sits on the GPRA Board as the Registrar Director. He was a Registrar Liaison Officer (RLO) GP Synergy and is the registrar representative on the WentWest Primary Health Network Clinical Council. Sama was involved in multiple committees for GP Synergy, and was on the management committee for the General Practice Training and Education Conference 2017. He is also a member of the RACGP NSW&ACT Faculty Board.
Scott Williams — Chair
Scott Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of the Police Health Group, a not-for-profit member based private heath insurance organisation for both the Police and Emergency Services community. Scott has worked within the healthcare industry for 28 years and, having commenced his career as a nurse, has held many clinical and management roles in both community and hospital. Scott has also held a variety of senior executive roles within public and private health across both Australia and the United Kingdom.
In addition to his CEO role, Scott has been active in serving on several Boards at a local and national level which have included Ronald McDonald House Charities and HeartKids SA/NT. Currently he is serving as a Director on the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Governing Council, Appointed Director for the Australian Breastfeeding Association and recently as Chair of the Joanna Briggs Institute Advisory Committee.
Mr David Brennan
David is currently the Chairman of the Doctors Health Service Limited (DrHS) and the Australiasian College of Sport & Excercise Physicians. He is also the Director (Development) at UCA Funds Management and Non-Executive Director of the Bendigo Community Bank® Network, Australian Literary Studies (ANU) and the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation.
David brings to the team a strong financial management, marketing and governance background to the Board having previously held roles at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Dimensional Fund Advisers and Macquarie Bank. He was the Founding Chairman of the Dry July Foundation, the Australian Corporate Ambassador to UNICEF and an advisory board member at the ATO representing the not-for-profit sector.
David is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Financial Services and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. David holds degrees in Finance and Business Law from ESC Rouen, France and the University of Technology, Sydney along with post-graduate studies in Strategic Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
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Ms Ingrid Williams
Ingrid has been a GPRA Board Director since September 2013 and is a member and current chair of the Nominations and Remunerations Committee. She is an advisory consultant within the aged care sector having recently sold her own aged care business. Ingrid has 30 years' experience in the health and aged care sector. Ingrid holds a Bachelor of Educational Studies, a Master in Health Administration and is a Fellow of the Williamson Community Leadership Program. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ingrid sits on the board of Road Trauma Support Services Victoria, is the chairman of Wellness and Lifestyles and is a member of the CEO Institute.
Dr Eranthi Hettiarachchi
Eranthi is a GP Registrar in Queensland with GMT after spending four years in the hospital system including a year of locum work. Born in Sri Lanka and growing up on Pacific Islands, Eranthi completed her medical training in Australia and went on to work in regional and rural areas. Eranthi is passionate about addressing the issues that face future cohorts of trainees and considers the importance of GPs being viewed as an integral part of the health care system, recognising members’ training pathways with consideration to their well-being, exam preparation, remuneration and individual life experiences. Eranthi has a background in Psychology and Executive Leadership and her clinical special interest is in Paediatrics.
Dr Rebekah Hoffman
Rebekah is a new fellow of the RACGP, and works clinically in Mittagong, NSW, where she has special interests in dermatology, women's health and children's health. Rebekah also works as a clinical tutor and lecturer at the University of Wollongong. Rebekah has a keen academic focus, recently presenting and publishing her research from her academic year, looking at Junior doctor burnout. She is undertaking a PhD at the University of Wollongong, looking at the experiences of barriers and supports to women who juggle the dual roles of being a mother and a doctor. Rebekah is also the Chair of the NSW New Fellows Committee, and sits on the NSW RACGP Faculty. She is the co-host of the popular podcast, “Just a GP”, alongside faculty members Dr Ashlea Broomfield and A/Prof Charlotte Hespe. Previously, Rebekah was a GP Registrar and Registrar Liaison Officer with GP Synergy.
The GPRA Advisory Council reports to the Board. The committees within the Board for governance are: audit, finance, succession planning, director and senior management evaluation and remuneration, risk management and strategic planning.
GPRA is governed by the GPRA constitution.
GPRA executive leadership
Dr Andrew Gosbell
Chief Executive Officer
Andrew is responsible for the overall working of the organisation and works closely with the GPRA Board, key stakeholders and government providing overall direction and management to GPRA to ensure the organisation delivers on its objectives and remains a strong voice for the next generation of general practitioners.
Andrew represents GPRA and its policies and issues at various external stakeholder meetings, and works collaboratively with key stakeholders to advance the GP training environment. Andrew also oversees GPRA's registrar programs including management of the Indigenous General Practice Registrars Network (IGPRN), policy development and member advocacy and support services.
GPRA network patron
Professor Michael Kidd
From 2013-2016 Michael was President of the World Organization of Family Doctors. He is currently Professor of Global Primary Care at Flinders University. Michael is a past president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, a Council Member of the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council , and a board member of several health organisations, including beyondblue. He is the Patron of GPRA and GPSN.