Who we are

Council members

The Council comprises 19 members, including 12 medical practitioners and 7 community members including a legal member.

Some Council members are nominated by specialist colleges (9), the Australian Medical Association (2), the Community Relations Commission (1) and the Universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Newcastle jointly (1). The NSW Minister for Health appoints a further 6 community members including a legal practitioner.

About our Council members

An interview with Council President Associate Professor Richard Walsh

With a long and successful career in medicine, Associate Professor Richard Walsh comes to the Medical Council of NSW with a distinguished record. We spoke with Dr Walsh about his career and his vision for the Council as its President. Read more>

Meet our Council members: Maria Cosmidis and Dr Geoffrey Brieger

Maria Cosmidis and Dr Geoff Brieger sat down with us to talk about their experience and role as Medical Council members. From their perspective as decision-makers, they share insights about steps doctors can take to avoid a complaint and what to do if they are the subject of a complaint to the Council. Read more>

Caption (from left, right): Dr Alix Magney, Dr Geoffrey Brieger, Ms Frances Taylor, Dr Stephen Buckley, Ms Maria Cosmidis, Mr Jason Masters, Dr Elizabeth Tompsett, Dr Roger Boyd (finished term in office 30 June 2019), Dr Ross Kerridge, Dr John Sammut (Deputy President), A/Professor Richard Walsh (President), Ms Caroline Lamb (Executive Officer), Dr Brian Morton, Professor Cameron Stewart, Dr Jennifer Kendrick, Dr Julian Parmegiani. Not in photo: Dr Merran Auland, Dr Claire Blizard

Current members Medical Council NSW
Member	Nominated by
Associate Professor Richard G Walsh (President )	Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
Dr John Sammut (Deputy President)	Australian College of Emergency Medicine
Dr Merran Auland	Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
Mr David Bell (community member)	NSW Minister for Health
Dr Claire Blizard	Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators
Dr Geoffrey Brieger	Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Dr Stephen Buckley	Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Ms Maria Cosmidis (community member)	NSW Minister for Health
Dr Jennifer Kendrick	Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Dr Ross Kerridge	Australian Medical Association
Dr Alix Magney (community member)	NSW Minister for Health
Mr Jason Masters (community member)	NSW Minister for Health
Dr Brian Morton	Australian Medical Association
Dr Julian Parmegiani	Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
Professor Cameron Stewart (legal member)	NSW Minister for Health
Ms Frances Taylor (community member)	NSW Minister for Health
Dr Elizabeth Tompsett	Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Our staff

Our Executive Officer is responsible, as the chief executive officer of the Council, for the management of the affairs of the Council, subject to the directions of the Council. The Council’s Medical Director is an experienced medical practitioner who plays a critical role in assessing risk to public health and safety posed by practitioners who are the subject of a complaint or notification.

Other staff provide administrative, legal, and clinical advice and services to support decision-making by the Council and its delegates in response to complaints and the management of doctors who are the subject of conditions imposed on their registration.

Role of the Health Professional Councils Authority

The Health Professional Councils Authority supports the Medical Council and the other 13 Health Professional Councils in NSW through the provision of shared finance, IT and other services.