RACGP 50th Council
The RACGP was established in 1958 to maintain high standards of learning and conduct in General Practice. The Royal Australian College of GPs is governed by the RACGP Council comprising President, Censor in Chief, the chair of each state/territory faculty, Chair of the National Rural Faculty, a General Practice Registrar Representative, and if council so resolves, up to two co-opted members. Council meets monthly alternating with a teleconference and face to face meeting.
Vasantha Preetham MBBS FRACGP
President
Vasantha is a Perth-based general practitioner. She was elected RACGP
President in October 2006 and has served on the RACGP Council since
2002. Vasantha holds a number of Australian and international
appointments: she is the general practice advisor to the Chief Medical
Officer of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing; a
Director of the Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges; an
executive member of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA)
Asia/Pacific Region; is Chair of the RACGP Research Committee and the
RACGP Awards Committee and holds an Honorary Fellowship from the Academy
of Family Physicians of Malaysia. Vasantha was invited to contribute to
the discussion around developing a long term national health strategy at
the Prime Minister's Australia 2020 Summit in Canberra in April 2008.
She runs two busy general practices in Perth, Western Australia. Her
practices are accredited for undergraduate and postgraduate training and
she is a general practice supervisor. Vasantha is a champion for
grassroots general
practitioners and their practice teams.
Peter Mudge MBBS FRACGP FAFPHM
Chair
Peter is Chair of Council and the RACGP Tasmanian Faculty representative
on council. He is Chair of the RACGP National Research Awards Committee
and a member of the RACGP Research Foundation board. His previous
appointment was Foundation Clinical Dean in the North Queensland
Clinical School of the University of Queensland (now the James Cook
School of Medicine). He is also Emeritus Professor of General Practice
at the University of Queensland.
Christopher David Mitchell BMed DipRACOG FRACGP FAICD
Vice President
Chris is Chair of the RACGP National Rural Faculty. He is a member of
the RACGP National Expert Committee on Standards for General Practices
contributing to the successful and practical RACGP Standards for
general practices (3rd edition) and is also a member of the RACGP
Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee. Chris has been a rural
general practitioner in northern New South Wales for 20 years and has an
appointment at Ballina Hospital. He chairs North Coast General Practice
Training, a regional general practice training provider, and is a
general practice mentor, supervisor and examiner. He is also on the
boards of the New South Wales Rural Workforce Agency, the Rural Doctors
Network (RDN), and the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS), which
provides general practice training in Australia's remote communities.
Diana O'Halloran MBBS FRACGP MHPEd FAICD
Secretary
Diana is Chair of the RACGP New South Wales and Australian Capital
Territory Faculty (NSW/ACT) and is the NSW/ACT representative on
council. Diana has played a major role in the faculty review process and
RACGP policy development over many years, with a recent focus on health
system reform. She currently chairs the RACGP’s Constitutional Review
Working Party, convenes council’s Futures Planning Working Party and is
RACGP nominee to the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance. Diana also
chairs the NSW General Practice Advisory Council and is a member of the
NSW Health Care Advisory Council and the Chronic, Aged and Community
Care Health Priority Task Force. As an Adjunct Associate Professor of
General Practice at the Western Clinical School, University of Sydney, a
member of the WentWest Board and an adviser to the NSW
HealthOne project in Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Diana continues
her longstanding involvements in medical education, regionalisation,
quality improvement, health system change and developing new integrated
primary health care models at local level.
Jan Radford MBBS FRACGP MPM
Censor in chief
Jan is Associate Professor of General Practice at the University of
Tasmania based at the Launceston Clinical School. Her research interest
is in medical education. She has been involved in RACGP committees for
13 years, being censor for Tasmania in 2001–2006. She became RACGP
Censor in Chief in October 2006. She chairs the RACGP Board of Censors
and the RACGP Board of Examiners. Jan sits on the RACGP National
Standing Committee – Education and its Vocational Subcommittee and
Fellowship Subcommittee, and is a member of the RACGP Membership
Committee. She has been a partner in her clinical practice for 21 years
and has a clinical interest in mental health care.
Ruth Owens BBus MBA FCPA FAICD
Chair of Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee
Ruth is a Fellow of the Certified Practising Accountants of Australia
(CPA) and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She
is an active member of CPA Australia and is currently a member of the
Victorian CPA Women’s Network. Ruth is also a Director of the Victorian
Asthma Foundation, Dianella Community Health Centre, Dental Health
Services Victoria, International Women’s Development Agency, and sits as
an external member on the Audit Committee of the City of Yarra. She is
also actively involved with assisting refugees entering the workforce.
W Jane Smith MBBS FRACGP GDipFM MHS GAICD
Chair of Membership Committee
Jane Smith is Chair of the Queensland Faculty and its representative on
council. She has worked as a general practitioner in WA and Queensland
for more than 20 years. She has also been involved in general practice
education for many years as a general practice supervisor, lecturer and
examiner at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Currently in
addition to clinical general practice, she is an Associate Professor,
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University Medical
School, and also lectures at the Medical Schools of Griffith and
Queensland Universities. Her special interests include quality care,
preventive medicine, skin cancer, evidence based practice and research.
She is Chair of the RACGP Membership Committee, the RACGP Skin Cancer
Joint Consultative Committee and Vice Chair of the National Standing
Committee – Quality Care. She is a past and current member of the RACGP
Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice taskforce.
Philip Hegarty MBBS FRACGP BComm
Philip is Chair of the RACGP Victoria Faculty and a solo general
practitioner in Parkville, Melbourne. He has had long standing
involvement with the RACGP, divisions of general practice and general
practice accreditation. Philip was acting CEO of the RACGP in 2002–2003.
Previously he was Chair of the National Standing Committee – Workforce
and Financing. He is the RACGP nominee to the Boards of General Practice
Education and Training (GPET) and Australian Medicines Handbook Pty Ltd,
and is a member of the RACGP National Standing Committee – Education and
the RACGP Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee. His clinical
interests are in the areas of health promotion, illness prevention,
public health and indigenous health.
Rakesh Mohindra MBBS DCH FACPschMed
Rakesh is Chair of the RACGP South Australia and Northern Territory
(SA/NT) Faculty, the SA/NT representative on council and Chair of the
SA/NT Vocational Training Accreditation Standards Committee (VTASC).
Rakesh is an overseas trained medical graduate (1975) with 30 years
experience, including 10 years in hospital systems in Australia and
overseas. Currently he practises in north eastern outer metropolitan
Adelaide. Rakesh has been a trainer/supervisor for general practice
training for 10 years and is currently Chair of National VTASC. He has
been on the Management Board of the Adelaide North East Division of
General Practice for 4-5 years and has also served as treasurer. He is
Past President of the Asia Pacific Medical and Dental Association of SA.
He has a strong background of ensuring standards in general practice and
is involved with Australia General Practice Accreditation Ltd as a
principal surveyor. His special interests include paediatrics, mental
health, quality control and practice/business management.
Peter Maguire MBBS FRACGP DRANZCOG
Peter is Chair of the RACGP Western Australia Faculty and its
representative on council. He is in part time clinical practice and
works part time with regional training provider Western Australian
General Practice Education and Training. He has had extensive
involvement in medical education for many years as a general
practitioner supervisor, examiner and organiser of many postgraduate
education events, including convening the 2002 RACGP Annual Scientific
Convention in Perth. Peter will also be convening the 2009 RACGP Annual
Scientific Convention. He is currently a member of the RACGP National
Standing Committee – Education and Chair of the RACGP QA&CPD
Subcommittee.
Kelly Seach MBBS MPH
General Practice Registrar Representative 
Kelly is the General Practice Registrar Representative on council and is
a member of the RACGP Membership Committee, the RACGP Modular Assessment
Pathway Steering Committee, the Advisory Council of General Practice
Registrars Australia, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kelly has recently completed research into child obesity as part of her
Master of Public Health. She works part time as a registrar and VMO in
Maffra, Victoria. She also works as a forensic officer in the area of
adult sexual assault. Her interests include social determinants of
health, health policy, indigenous health and wellbeing, and obesity.
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