Message from the Board – recent media coverage

Dear members,

Many of you will have seen the recent article run in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald titled ‘Toxic, beset with bullying’: calls for independent probe into physician college’. Like many of you, we are disappointed that these allegations would be raised at a time when the College is focusing on the future and implementation of governance and cultural changes.

The Board wishes to reaffirm its commitment to improving the governance of the College, the way the College supports its members and, ultimately, the society we serve.

The matters raised in the article appear to be historical in nature, dating back a number of years. The Board does not wish to comment on these past matters, believing that its focus must be to the future. Furthermore, we are unable to comment on any matters which are the subject of whistle-blower complaints due to protections afforded to whistle-blowers that may apply.

One claim from the article does warrant comment – the call to conduct another independent review of the College. The College has been working with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and an independent governance consultancy, Effective Governance, on a major governance review. That review has only recently been completed having been accepted by the Board in December 2019, at which time it was made available to the ACNC and all College members. A copy of that report is available on the RACP website – you will need your MIN to access it. The ACNC has endorsed the findings of the review and looks forward to their appropriate implementation.

It is time to move forward and to focus on improving the College. The Board has asked its Chief Executive Officer to consider how best to implement the 178 recommendations from the Effective Governance review and he will be reporting back to the Board in March with a plan to deliver the report’s recommendations. We will update the membership regularly on progress. If members have specific concerns or feedback please contact us at communications@racp.edu.au.

There is much to be done by the College for the benefit of the profession and of our communities. It is time to put aside past grievances and to commit to working together on the challenges we collectively face. Your Board is resolute in its commitment to achieving this and asks for your support.

Kind regards,

RACP Board