September 2024

The Board Council Strategy Day

The Board had a combined strategy meeting with the College Council on Thursday, 19 September 2024 at 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney. It was led by Deputy Chairs, Dr Hashim Abdeen and Professor Tony Rahman, with my support as President, as well as the RACP Secretariat.

The College Council is our member voice. It reports directly to the Board and represents 47 Specialty Societies, as well as the Divisions, Faculties, and Chapters.

The key areas of focus were:

• governance reform that will improve efficiency but still ensure that all member groups are heard and represented
• the commitment of Council members to good governance behaviours including consistent attendance, clear and open communication
• the most beneficial way of dealing with the 34 committees currently reporting to the Board, some of which are duplications.

The College Council’s feedback will be an important part of the work of the Board/Council Governance Advisory Group, which began its work on 23 September. The results of their work will be communicated to all members through this process.

In addition, there were several other key internal and external to RACP issues discussed including:

• priorities of regional, rural and remote access to specialist care
• implementation of the Indigenous Strategic Framework
• the physician workforce.

The meeting discussed reasons for closing the ROC, whether members wanted an alternative, and what this would look like.

Members voiced significant concern on how a few members dominated this platform, and how some of the behaviour was not deemed to be professionally acceptable. Member groups in the RACP using their own social media groups and not wanting a College-led replacement was also discussed. However, new member-focused tools were discussed, and further consultation will take place on these.

Executive General Manager of Education Learning and Assessment, Professor Inam Haq FRACP, updated us on our positive AMC Accreditation Report, which will be made public in November 2024. The College Dean, Associate Professor Kudzai Kanhutu FRACP, presented on our workforce and health reform advocacy and took feedback from members to enhance the RACP position. She plans to use the member survey data on Physician Associates. Interestingly, about 50 per cent of attendees thought there was a role for Physician Associates in the future.

Lastly, an update on work to improve the RACP’s operational efficiency was provided. This included options to diversify our income sources to be less dependent on member fees as the sole source of income to run the College. We noted our constraints with our charitable status and will ensure we are careful to preserve this status while exploring alternative revenue sources.

The September 2024 Board meeting

The Board met on Friday, 20 September in Sydney.

The previous day’s strategic discussions were recapped, and guidance provided to management on priorities and timelines. It was agreed that the proposed Constitutional changes would go to members for consultation and the final changes to members for voting on at the AGM, which will be held on 30 May 2025.

The legal and membership teams provided an overview of their preparation for the constitutional review aimed at enhancing College governance.

The Board also set its risk tolerance to ‘enhanced’ for the five risk areas; finance, diversity and inclusion, research, public advocacy and international relations that required further consultation after the August 2024 Board meeting. 

The Board noted the quarterly report by Morgan Stanley Risk Management and the Internal Audit Status Report and agreed on an investment strategy meeting to consider the RACP investment portfolio, asset class and other options reflecting the Board’s new risk profile.

The Board accepted the Fellowship Committee’s advice to cancel Congress in May 2025. Management is tasked with developing a half-day event in Sydney including the AGM on key issues affecting and of interest to the members. More details will be communicated after consultation with key member groups.

The Board approved its 2025 Board meeting calendar and is pleased to note that from 27 Board meetings in 2023, it had 16 meetings in 2024. It is planning to schedule eight meetings in 2025, excluding strategic meetings. This has created more space for College staff to focus on other work and provides the Board with a focus on strategic items.

 Finally, the Board resolved to accept the Management Reports for year-to-date 31 July 2024:

• a net surplus of $5.3million ($3.6million deficit in 2023)
• a net asset position of $106million ($104.7million in 2023)
• the College has sufficient cash and other assets to pay its debts as and when they fall due.

The College expenditure is as expected for the last quarter of the year.

The next Board meeting is on 18 October 2024 and will be held via Zoom.

Kind regards,

Professor Jennifer Martin
Chair of the RACP Board and RACP President