The South Western Sydney PHN is governed by a Board of nine directors with a broad range of skills in primary health, health policy and administration, business and law.

Our Board is our governing body committed to working towards our company mission of enhancing and connecting primary healthcare so residents and patients achieve better health outcomes by accessing the right care, at the right time, by the right people, at the right location.

The Board includes local GPs and high-level integration with the South Western Sydney Local Health District Board.

Current Board

Chair
Dr. Matthew Gray OAM
B.Med (Newcastle), B.Ec, FRACGP, FAICD, GradCertClinEd

Associate Professor Matthew Gray is General Practitioner at Schwarz Family Practice in Elderslie and as well as SWSPHN Chair, is also Deputy Chair of the South Western Sydney Local Health District Board.

A/Prof Gray was recognised for his long-term and ongoing contribution to community health with a Medal of the Order of Australia on Australia Day in 2022, a fitting recognition of his passion and commitment to the health of local residents.

He also dedicates his time to working with the African AIDS Foundation along with his wife and family.

 

Prof. Jennifer Reath
MBBS (UQ) MMed (U Syd) PhD (WSU) FRACGP GAICD

Professor Jenny Reath is the Foundation Peter Brennan Chair of General Practice at Western Sydney University School of Medicine. She is passionate about Aboriginal Health, having worked for 30 years in rural and urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. She works part-time as a GP at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation.

Professor Reath is a member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty.

Western Sydney University staff profile

Ms. Karen Edwards
BA Hons (Psych) M Clin Psych Grad Cert Adult Ed Cert Governance Practice

Karen Edwards is the Clinical Director at Gidget Foundation Australia, with previous public and private sector roles in allied health management and clinical psychology.

Karen is a member of MAPS (Australian Psychological Society), GAICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors), and AACHSM (Australian College of Health Service Managers).

Gidget Foundation team profile

Dr. Kenneth McCroary
BSc(Med), MBBS, FRACGP

Dr Ken McCroary is the owner, Director and Principal at Macarthur General Practice, member of the Council of General Practice of the Australian Medical Association (NSW) and regional representative for South Western Sydney on the NSW & ACT Faculty Board of Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

He is a member of RACGP Expert Committee for Quality Care, Chair of Sydney South West GP Link, Conjoint Lecturer, School of Medicine at Western Sydney University and Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of NSW.

Dr. Andrew McDonald
MB BS (Hons) – University of Sydney, DCH, FRCP, FRCPCH, FRACP

Dr Andrew McDonald has been a paediatrician in Campbelltown since 1990, after training in both Australia and the UK.

He works in a GP-based practice one day per week at Tharawal Aboriginal Health service and is hospital-based the rest of the week. As well as a busy clinical practice, he teaches medical students at both WSU and UNSW, teaches Advanced Paediatric life support courses, and is an examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

He is a former NSW state MP for Macquarie Fields (2007 to 2015) and served as Parliamentary Secretary for Health (2008-2011) and Shadow Health Minister (2011 – 2014).

His main interest is working to reduce health inequalities and to ensure local patients have fair access to appropriate care.

Mr. John Adam
B.Comm/LLB

John Adam is a solicitor and managing partner at Marsden’s Law Group specialising in commercial and property law.
Mr Adam is an active member of Liverpool Rotary Club, President of the Macarthur Law Society, secretary of the Macarthur Club, and member and immediate past Chair of the Mater Dei School Board.

Mr Adam played first grade rugby league for the North Sydney Bears between 1976 and 1984, captaining the team from 1981 to 1983. He was a selector and member of the North Sydney Bears Board between 1995 and 2001 and has been President of the Rugby League Players Association.

He is married with 4 lovely daughters lives locally and is passionate about the growth and opportunities available in South West Sydney.

Marsden’s Law Group Partners profile

Sonia Marshall
MBA, Grad Dip PA, Bsc (Nursing)

Sonia has over 30 years nursing and midwifery experience, with 17 of these being in senior management positions at both site and district level. Sonia holds an MBA, Graduate Diploma of Public Service Administration, Graduate Certificate in Intensive Care Nursing and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Western Sydney University and Honorary Fellow at University of Wollongong.

Sonia is currently the Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Performance for SWSLHD, providing leadership to the nursing and midwifery professions across the district.  Sonia is responsible for developing and implementing a framework to ensure the quality of service and practice, high standards of care and encouraging excellence in clinical practice and innovation.

Sonia is also responsible for leading the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a strategic approach to operational performance across the LHD.  This is to ensure that the community can access timely care in the most appropriate place. 

Sonia is passionate about ensuring nurses and midwives understand the key role they play in the healthcare team and health outcomes of communities.  Sonia is a mother of two and enjoys entertaining, music and reading.

Dr Michael Tam
BSc(Med) MBBS MMH(GP) FRACGP

Dr Michael Tam is a Specialist General Practitioner, and Director of the Primary and Integrated Care Unit in South Western Sydney LHD (SWSLHD), combining provision of family medicine, research, health services development, and governance. Michael’s clinical interest is in the whole-person primary care of people living with mental illness. He is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer of the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales where he teaches and supervises both clinical and research students in South Western Sydney.

Michael is a member of the RACGP Expert Committee-Quality Care and is the Co-Chair of the RACGP First Do No Harm: a guide to choosing wisely in general practice project. Michael has completed directorship training at the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and he is a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of Sydney South West GP Link Ltd. He is an alumnus of the RACGP Future Leaders Program and was the recipient of the 2022 RACGP Future Leaders President’s Medal.

Our Executive team

Chief Executive Officer
Dr Keith McDonald

Keith McDonald has been CEO since 2017, previously working at the PHN as Clinical Director. Keith is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (FCHSM) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and has more than 20 years’ experience in health service management across the primary and acute care sectors, plus a further 10 years clinical experience as a registered Physiotherapist in public hospitals and private practice across both metropolitan and rural settings.

He is on the Advisory Board of the Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), University of Wollongong, is a Board member of the Australian Health & Hospitals Association (AHHA), and a Lay representative on the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) National Research Ethics & Evaluation Committee.

Keith has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), from the Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong; Master of Health Service Management (with Distinction), from Charles Sturt University; Bachelor of Applied Science – Physiotherapy (with Distinction) from Cumberland College of Health Sciences; and Diploma of Teaching from Catholic College of Education Sydney.

Director Planning and Performance
Ms. Amy Prince

Amy Prince has 12 years’ experience in health care management at various levels from frontline to executive roles. She has served as Director of Planning and Performance since 2017.

Amy holds a Master of Public Health and a Master of Management, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is qualified in training and assessment.

Amy’s key skills lay in the intersection of strategy and delivery, having developed a framework for population health needs assessment from inception to execution and leading Needs Assessment analysis over multiple years. She was also key in setting up SWSPHN as a commissioning agent and has extensive community and stakeholder consultation experience.

Growing up in the local region, Amy has a passion for serving the communities of South Western Sydney and is committed to addressing local health needs and gaps.

Director Partnerships and Innovation
Ms. Kristen Short

Kristen Short has close to 25 years’ experience in leadership roles across a range of industries including health, financial services and technology. These roles have spanned project and portfolio management and data.

Kristen was appointed Director of Innovation and Partnerships at SWSPHN in early 2018, leading the Service Support, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement and Digital and Data teams.

Kristen specialises in strategic planning, driving data-driven outcomes, steering general practice transformation and quality improvement through innovation, process improvement and the adoption of technology.

She has a Master of Business and Technology, is a Member of the Institute of Company Directors.

Director Corporate Services
Michelle Caruso

Michelle Caruso joined SWSPHN in 2023, and brings experience in leadership, general management, operations, finance, governance, human resources, CX and stakeholder engagement.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing and is currently Deputy Chair and Board Member of South West Sydney Academy of Sport and Member of Liverpool City Council Tourism and CBD Committee.

As an experienced senior executive providing services to many industries including not-for-profit, government and private enterprises both large and small, Michelle brings a passion for the health sector and community to her role of Director for Corporate Services, overseeing our core business support functions which include IT, finance, communications, human resources and administration.

Important documents

Committees and Councils supporting our work

South Western Sydney PHN is committed to improving the coordination of care for local patients and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services.

In delivering a strong primary healthcare system across the region we are supported by local community and clinical voices in the Community Advisory Committee and Clinical Council, our two advisory groups reporting to the SWSPHN Board.

We are also supported by a strong network of steering committees and working groups concentrating on our key priorities and focus areas including Aged Care, Population Health, Workforce, Mental Health and Aboriginal Health.

Requirements of members

All SWSPHN committee members are required to abide by the Code of Meeting Practice. The Code of Meeting Practice can be found here:

  • Code of meeting practice
    View PDF
    (135 kb)

Organisational structure

Organisational structure showing SWSPHN is headed by a CEO, with three main departments being Corporate Services, Innovation and Partnerships, and Planning and Performance. The teams within Corporate Services are Communications and Engagement, Finance, Information Technology, and Quality. The teams within Innovations and Partnerships are Service Support, and Digital Health and Data, and Workforce. The Teams within Planning and Performance are Commissioning, Integration and Priority Populations, and lastly Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs.