Michael was appointed as the Administrator on 17 July 2018 for a five-year term. This was subsequently extended to include the period 11 September 2023 to 5 November 2023 pending the appointment of a new Administrator. Michael’s career has covered four broad areas: public sector policy and finance; investment banking; non‑executive director roles; and working in areas related to the health sector. Michael spent 17 years in a range of senior state government positions culminating in the role of NSW Treasury Secretary. Michael has also held non‑executive directorships within the health sector, including the NSW Northern Suburbs Area Health Board, the NSW Cancer Council and the Sax Institute, a not for profit organisation that seeks to align health research to health policy and programs in order to improve health outcomes. He has also held non-executive directorships in the finance, energy and not for profit sectors. Michael holds an Honours and Masters degree in Economics, a Masters in Philosophy and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
The year ahead
During the coming year, the Administrator and NHFB CEO will actively engage with all jurisdictional stakeholders, industry partners, and with other national bodies such as the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). Building on our achievements over the last three years, our future priorities include the following:
- work with the Mid-Term Review Team, Commonwealth, States and National Bodies on ways to further enhance public hospital funding arrangements both under the current Addendum and future Addendums
- work with IHACPA and Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) on incorporating additional safety and quality measures into public hospital funding
- work with IHACPA and States to further refine the approach to Private Patient Neutrality
- work with IHACPA to enhance the transparency of Block funding
- work with our stakeholders to further improve reconciliation processes and funding integrity measures.