Community Child Health
The curriculum for Advanced Training in Community Child Health has been redesigned, and implementation planning is underway.

The Community Child Health curriculum was redesigned through a five-stage process.
The new curriculum has been widely consulted on and approved by the College Education Committee. Implementation is planned for first year trainees enrolling in the program in 2026. We’ll provide formal notice and more information before any changes take effect.
The new curriculum
Curriculum standards (PDF) – outline what trainees need to learn.
Learning, teaching, and assessment programs (PDF) – outline how trainees are going to demonstrate their learning.
Subject matter experts
Curriculum Review Group
The Curriculum Review Group reviewed and refined the draft curriculum in preparation for broad consultation and finalised the draft for endorsement and approval.
Read the Community Child Health Curriculum Review Group Terms of Reference (PDF).
Members
Dr Brad Jongeling FRACP | Chair
Dr Brad Jongeling has been a Consultant Paediatrician in Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrics at the Child Development Service Western Australia since 2000, Medical Head of Department CDS since 2011, Consultant Paediatrician at Joondalup Health Campus Department of Paediatrics (since 2002) and works in private practice as a general and developmental paediatrician.
Dr Jongeling graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1990 from the University of Western Australia. He was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physician (Paediatrics) in 2000. He has a strong interest in developmental paediatrics, including ADHD, Autism, developmental disabilities, and the interface with mental health, and use of technology in medicine.
Dr Paul Hotton FRACP | Deputy Chair
Paul is the Chair of the Chapter of Community Child Health (CCCHC) Committee, RACP and the Acting Chair of the RACP Advance Trainee Committee in CCH. He is also the Deputy Chair of the PDEC. Paul is a specialist Paediatrician in CCH and has worked in a variety of positions in developmental, neurodevelopment, behavioural issues, child population health, and child protection. Currently, Paul works as a Staff Specialist in the Child Protection Unit at Sydney Children's Hospital Network (Westmead Campus) and is the Paediatric Clinical Lead for Prevention & Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect at North Sydney Local Health District.
Paul has both a master’s in public health and a master’s in clinical forensic medicine. He is currently studying a master’s in criminology and medical Law. Paul has a strong research and advocacy interest in children in the care and protection system, with work focusing on improving those children’s health and wellbeing needs through a public health framework.
Dr Tom Clemens FRACP
Tom is a general and community paediatrician based in beautiful lutruwita/Tasmania. He runs clinics in children's continence, child development and behaviour at Royal Hobart Hospital and on outreach visits to the Aboriginal Health Service, Hobart, and in rural locations. Tom supervises and teaches advanced trainees in community child health, registrars, junior doctors and medical students. He is passionate about supporting the wellbeing of vulnerable children and ensuring the sustainability of health services for current and future generations.
Dr Elise D’abaco FRACP
Dr Elise D'Abaco is currently working as Senior Fellow with the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. She undertook her medical training at the University of Melbourne and is completing Advanced Training in General Paediatrics and Community Child Health.
Elise has been actively involved in health services research, and currently holds leadership positions with the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatric Society of Australasia, as Trainee Board Director and Representative.
Professor John Eastwood FRACP, FAFPHM
For the last 40 years, Professor Eastwood has worked as a Senior Health Executive, Public Health Physician, International Development Advisor, and Population Child and Adolescent Health Specialist. Professor Eastwood has provided national-level policy advice on public health matters, general practice and primary care, maternity services, health system reform, legislative reform, nutrition and food administration, health promotion, injury prevention, cancer control, crime prevention, screening, and immunisation.
He has undertaken international development work for AusAID, UNFPA and NZODA, which included primary healthcare, reproductive health, health system institutional strengthening, and maternal, child and youth programme delivery in China and the Pacific. Professor Eastwood is currently providing technical advice to WHO in relation to Child and Adolescent Health and well-being. Professor Eastwood’s current research interests are well-child and adolescent health and integrated care. He currently heads the National Health and Medical Research Council-funded Centre of Research Excellence for Integrated Health and Social Care.
Dr Danielle Hewitt FRACP
Biography unavailable
Dr Alyce Horstman FRACP
Dr Alyce Horstman is an Advanced Trainee in General Paediatrics and Community Child Health nearing the completion of her training. Alyce has an interest in forensic paediatrics and currently works as a Fellow with the Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service. Alyce is a PhD candidate at Monash University exploring the roles of paediatricians testifying in court in cases of child maltreatment and the impacts this experience has. She has a Master of Public Health and is currently working toward a Master of Forensic Medicine. Alyce’s long-term goal is to continue working in the field of forensic and community paediatrics and to help shape policies and practices that promote the health and well-being of children.
Dr Aaron Ooi FRACP
Aaron is a general paediatrician with an interest in developmental/behavioural paediatrics based in Rotorua, New Zealand. He is currently in his final year of Community Child Health training, having completed an integrated fellowship at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, to bridge the traditional silos between General Paediatrics, Developmental Paediatrics and Child and Youth Mental Health. Aaron is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland and has strong interests in medical education, research and quality improvement, with his work recognised through several awards at a local, national and international level. Aaron’s most recent passions centre around strategies to foster an educational culture within the clinical environment, and in qualitative research methodologies to amplify the voices of patients and whānau to promote holistic, equitable and trauma-informed care for children with neurodiversity.
Dr Jenny Sohn
Jenny is an Advanced Trainee in Community Child Health with a keen interest in community paediatrics and medical education. The majority of her paediatric training to date has been completed through Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick. She is currently undertaking a Master of Public Health and hopes to become a well-rounded community paediatrician in the public sector one day.
Dr Paul Trani FRACP
Paul enjoys the responsibility and gift of providing the best health care that he can for all children. He has made it his career goal to exceed the expectations of his patients for their medical home. He has specialised interests in the fields of behavioural-developmental medicine, paediatric psychiatry, child abuse medicine, adolescent medicine, school health, and immigration medicine. He is proud to be a community paediatrician and he strives to raise the visibility of his specialty via his practice and professional advocacy. He also enjoys teaching and nurturing medical students, paediatric residents, and allied health students in small group and large lecture environments.
Helping to influence new health professionals has become a rewarding part of his career, and to that end, he has begun postgraduate studies into how medical education could be improved. He has significant experience in coordinating complex medical care, motivating communities to improve health, leading medical teams, medical simulation, and mentoring future health professionals. He’s an expatriate American who is proud to be a full-fledged citizen of Aotearoa, his home for the past decade. He has a lovely Kiwi partner and two small Kiwis of his own, and he’s regularly pinching himself to see if he’ll awake. Kia ora.
Dr Sinthu Vivekanandarajah FRACP
Dr Sinthu Vivekanandarajah is a Staff Specialist Developmental and Community Paediatrician working in The Child Developmental Assessment Service (Department of Community Paediatrics) in South West Sydney. She is passionate about making a positive difference to children and their families by taking a holistic and family centered approach to diagnostic assessment and feedback. Sinthu also strives to instil confidence and passion for Developmental Paediatrics in trainees and was instrumental in establishing the Griffiths III training course at Liverpool. She is also involved in a number of research projects and regularly contributes on committees and working groups to improve health care processes.