The NBA Board was created under the National Blood Authority Act 2003 (Cth)(NBA Act)(Opens in a new tab/window). It considers and advises the Chief Executive on key strategic issues in relation to the NBA and the blood sector.
The board does not make decisions or have a direct role in the NBA's governance or day-to-day management.
The board's functions are to:
- consult with the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Aged Care (the minister) about appointing the NBA's Chief Executive
- advise the Chief Executive about how the NBA is performing its role
- liaise with governments, suppliers and others about the NBA’s work
- complete other tasks given by the minister.
Board members also engage with stakeholders to strengthen relationships and promote the role of the NBA, and some may sit on other NBA committees to give their expertise on specific issues.
The minister appoints NBA Board members for a 4-year term.
The Board includes members from:
- Australian and state and territory governments
- experts in public health relating to human blood
- finance and commercial sectors
- the community.
The board usually meets quarterly.
Current NBA Board members
As of July 2023, the NBA Board members are:
- Dr Amanda Rischbieth AM – Chair
- Ms Penny Shakespeare – Australian Government representative
- Professor Lyn Beazley AO – state and territory representative (small jurisdiction)
- Dr John Rowell – state and territory representative (large jurisdiction)
- Mr Geoffrey Bartle – community representative
- Professor Nicola Spurrier PSM – public health expert
Board profiles
Dr Amanda Rischbieth AM – Chair
In 2017, Dr Amanda Rischbieth AM was selected as one of 40 global leaders, and the only Australian, to be a Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow. Following this, she was a Visiting Scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2017 to 2022.
In 2023, she received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) award for her services to public health and governance. She has over 24 years of directorship experience and was CEO of a leading health organisation for 6 years.
Dr Rischbieth's roles include:
- advisory board member for Circular Energy Group
- Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Adelaide
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
- former finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Award
- member of Chief Executive Women
- member of the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts Technical and Research Committee
- non-executive director of Duxton Farms
- non-executive director of the International Women’s Forum Australia.
Dr Rischbieth received her PhD, which focused on intensive care decision-support systems, in 2007 from the University of Adelaide. Earlier in her career, she established and co-led a private intensive care unit for 10 years. In 2018, she joined the Hands-On group going to Sri Lanka, fitting 247 prosthetic hands to landmine victims.
Dr Rischbieth was reappointed Chair of the NBA Board in June 2023.
Ms Penny Shakespeare – Australian Government representative
Ms Penny Shakespeare is Deputy Secretary for Health Resourcing in the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Health). She is responsible for the Australian Government’s investments in:
- COVID-19 vaccine delivery
- digital health policy
- health workforce
- Medicare Benefits Schedule
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- private health insurance.
Since joining Health in 2006, Ms Shakespeare has held a number of senior leadership positions. Before joining Health, she was an industrial relations lawyer in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. She has also worked in regulatory policy roles, including as head of the Australian Capital Territory’s Office of Industrial Relations.
Ms Shakespeare has a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of International Law. She is admitted as a barrister and solicitor.
Ms Shakespeare was reappointed to the NBA Board in June 2023.
Professor Lyn Beazley AO – state and territory representative (small jurisdiction)
Professor Lyn Beazley AO is a graduate of Oxford and Edinburgh universities. As Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia, she built an internationally renowned research team in neuroscience that focused on recovery from brain damage. Currently, Professor Beazley is Adjunct Professor of Science at Murdoch University.
Professor Beazley was the Chief Scientist of Western Australia from 2006 to 2013, advising the WA Government on science, innovation and technology. Professor Beazley currently chairs the board of the Northwest Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program and the Strategic Economic Advisory Group of the City of Mandurah. She also serves on other boards, including:
- Council of the Australian Academy of Science
- Royal Institution of Australia
- WA Australia–Israel Chamber of Commerce.
Professor Beazley was a Trustee of the Western Australian Museum from 1999 to 2006 and is patron of many educational, environmental, social and health-related organisations. She is Vice Patron of the Royal Society of Western Australia, the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, and the Gingin Gravity Discovery Centre.
In 2009, Professor Beazley was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). In that year, she was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. In 2019, she became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2011, Professor Beazley was inducted into the inaugural Western Australian Women’s Hall of Fame and was elected a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and a Companion of Engineers Australia. In 2015, she was inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame and was announced as the WA Australian of the Year. She received the President’s Medal of the WA chapter of the Australian Medical Association in 2023.
Professor Beazley was reappointed to the NBA Board in November 2020.
Dr John Rowell – state and territory representative (large jurisdiction)
Dr John Rowell graduated in medicine from Monash University and underwent further training in haematology at the Geelong, Alfred and Royal Prince Alfred hospitals. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.
Dr Rowell was appointed as a haematologist at the Royal Brisbane Hospital in 1984. He later became Director of Haematology at Pathology Queensland and Director of the Haemophilia Centre at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Dr Rowell has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Queensland, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr Rowell’s major interests are in haemophilia and other bleeding disorders, genetic diagnosis and transfusion. He has been a member of the Council of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion, Chairman of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Transfusion Quality Assurance Program, and an examiner in haematology for the RCPA.
Dr Rowell was awarded the Ruth Sanger medal by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion in 2008.
Dr Rowell was appointed to the NBA Board in June 2023.
Mr Geoffrey Bartle – community representative
Mr Geoffrey Bartle is a retired management consultant. He has more than 15 years experience as a consumer representative in diverse state and national roles. He is passionate about delivering better health outcomes for the community through a consumer-centric healthcare approach.
Mr Bartle currently holds several other community representative roles, including:
- member, National Blood Authority – Haemovigilance Advisory Committee
- consumer adviser, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- member, Consumer Health Forum.
Mr Bartle's experience covers a broad range of industries and includes:
- benefits management
- business and system analysis
- business architecture
- business continuity and disaster recovery
- business process improvement
- change management
- design of technology-enabled solutions to optimise business outcomes
- governance
- organisational transformation
- procurement
- program design
- strategic business cases
- strategy.
Mr Bartle was reappointed to the NBA Board as the community representative in November 2021.
Professor Nicola Spurrier PSM – public health expert
Professor Nicola Spurrier PSM is the Chief Public Health Officer for the South Australian Department for Health and Wellbeing, appointed in 2019. The Chief Public Health Officer is responsible for statewide preventive health activities, including the identification and management of communicable diseases. Professor Spurrier’s role includes advising the minister and the Chief Executive of SA Health about proposed legislative or administrative changes in relation to population health.
Professor Spurrier specialises in developing and implementing policies and programs across child health, obesity prevention and Aboriginal health. She also has extensive experience in health protection and promotion, public health partnership and health diplomacy activities.
Professor Spurrier is a dual-qualified medical specialist, public health physician and paediatrician, with 32 years experience within SA Health, including 13 years in the Department for Health and Wellbeing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Spurrier was instrumental in South Australia’s effective virus response. She continues to take a personal interest in the health and wellbeing of every South Australian.
Professor Spurrier was appointed to the NBA Board in June 2023.
Last updated: 27 Mar 2024