October 2024
The Board met on Friday 18th October 2024 on Zoom for a half day Board meeting, preceded by cyber security training undertaken by Board Directors, as recommended by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. This training and the upcoming cyber drills will help us prepare for cyber breaches – now regular events in Australasia.
The Board and Council are continuing to consult around structures that will support future high performance of our organisation, in response to the governance work from the ACNC investigation in 2019 and other governance issues. Governance change options were discussed at the combined Board/Council meeting in September 2024, with 47 Council members and College staff. This advice was also considered by the RACP Board Council Governance Advisory group, which consists of internal and external legal and governance experts and physicians in both countries with a diversity of physician background and demographics. The combined recommendations from the member group, governance advisory group and Council feedback were presented to the Board for decision. The Board supported a reduction in Council members from 47 people to 12, transfer of some of the 30+ Board committees to report to Council, increasing both agility of the RACP operations and ability to bring the physician voice to the Board.
It also agreed on four areas for Constitutional change which will be further discussed at at a half day Board meeting in November 2024.The Board resolved to approve the development of an implementation plan to support these amendments for referral to the February 2025 Board meeting.
The draft budget and 2026-2030 forecasts were discussed, and the Board resolved to approve a member fee increase of four per cent for all fees and charges for the 2025 financial year. There were a number of years prior and during COVID where fees did not increase and this fee raise with CPI has been reinstated.
The CEO report, from Steffen Faurby, provided updates on quarterly operating plan, member satisfaction action, strategic risks and key operational matters.
The Board also heard a summary of the organisation’s significant operational activity over the last month, including significant progression of the psychosocial work, the clinical assistant consultation and College position, the Specialist International Medical Graduate pathway and Member Support Centre.
An EOI was received for the Aotearoa New Zealand President-elect position, and the Board approved the appointment of Dr de Zoysa.
The Board also discussed the Nomination and Election Process By-law and a revised Board position description, aiming to protect the integrity of the election process and ensure that proposed directors running for the Board understand the skills and time required, and necessary alignment with the current Board skills matrix. We approved amendments to the Candidate Code of Conduct By-law and to the Nomination election form. Establishing a nominations committee is under consideration to address potential skills gaps on the Board.
Also presented was the Chief Financial Officer’s Report together with the update on the Specialist Training Program. David Bough, Chief Information Officer noted the Technology Blueprint Phase 1 Discovery (now called TRELLIS) has commenced. It was noted that the Training Management Platform (TMP) is amber but remains on track to go live on 2 December 2024.
The Board noted the update provided regarding nine Training Providers currently under Accreditation Active Management.
The Board noted the quarterly update of the initiatives undertaken by the Lead Fellow Māori, and the Māori Health Registrars since the commencement of their employment.
The Board next meets for its half day planning day to confirm the timeline and options for consultation with members on the proposed Constitutional changes in November, and its Maori Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committees and Board meeting is in Te Whanganui-e-Tara, Aoteoroa New Zealand on 21 November 2024.
Kind regards,
Professor Jennifer Martin
Chair of the RACP Board and RACP President