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The Victorian Rural Health Awards are back for the 20th year, and it’s time to nominate and celebrate outstanding rural health professionals.
Since 2005, RWAV, with the support of the Victorian Department of Health, has proudly hosted the annual Victorian Rural Health Awards to recognise the outstanding contributions made by health professionals working in rural communities. The Awards honour exceptional medical professionals, nurses, allied health professionals, Aboriginal health workers, and practice managers working across rural Victoria.
Do you know an outstanding rural health professional who should be recognised for their contribution to your community?
* MMM refers to Monash Modified Model. The model was developed to better target health workforce programs to attract health professionals to more remote and smaller communities. The MMM classifies metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas according to geographical remoteness, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and town size. You can find your MMM location here.
The exception for nominations are ACCOs (Aboriginal Community Controlled Organizations), who can nominate in areas 1-7.
To Nominate a candidate for VRHA, please provide the following supporting information whilst filling out the nomination form below.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural GP or Rural Generalist award recognises a rural doctor who has shown ongoing commitment to providing exceptional care to meet the current and future healthcare needs of their community.
Nominees for this award must be providing comprehensive general practice and emergency care, as well as required components of other medical specialist care in hospital and/or community settings to meet community needs. Eligible other care includes anaesthetics, obstetrics, emergency medicine, surgery, paediatrics, palliative care, internal medicine, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation or patient nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
3. Must have been working in a rural location for longer than two years.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Medical Specialist award recognises a rural non-GP specialist who has shown ongoing commitment to providing exceptional care to the community.
Nominees for this award must be providing medical specialist care in a hospital and/or community setting.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation or patient nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
3. Must have been working in a rural location for longer than two years.
The Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health award recognises a health professional, team or organisation that has made significant contributions in providing care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.
The award recognises both medical and non-medical workers and includes specialists, counsellors, health workers, nurses and many others.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation, patient or community member nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Health Consumer Advocate award recognises the contribution of a consumer, carer or community member from rural Victoria that has made a significant contribution to healthcare. They need to demonstrate how they have used their lived experience to engage with health professionals or health services to improve the quality, accessibility or safety of healthcare. It also recognises an exceptional contribution by a consumer advocate to strengthen the consumer voice in decision making and program planning for the delivery of health services in rural Victoria.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Must have been involved in consumer advocacy activities relating to rural health in the last 12 months
2. Must be peer, organisation, patient or community member nominated.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Multidisciplinary Health Team award recognises an exceptional team contribution to create a positive difference in the delivery of health care in rural Victoria.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
2. Must be a Multidisciplinary team (comprised of medical, nursing and/or allied health workers from 3 or more disciplines, from the same or different organisations/services) contribution to health care delivery, providing excellence in service delivery and improved client outcomes
3.Peer, organisation, patient or community member nominated.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Mentor or Supervisor award recognises the exceptional efforts and dedication of mentors and supervisors. The award acknowledges the enormous value of mentoring and supervising, and inspirational contribution that would encourage health professionals to take up these roles. The award will contribute to the overall growth and sustainability of the Victorian rural health workforce.
The award recognises the vital role of mentors and supervisors in providing support, knowledge, skills, inspiration and encouragement. Nominations would be submitted by mentees and supervisees and assessed on the answers given. Nominees require a professional health background but do not need to currently be practicing. The award recognises medical, allied health and nursing.
Eligibility Criteria for the Award:
To be eligible for the ‘Outstanding Contribution by a Health Workforce Mentor or Supervisor’ award, the nominees must:
• Be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
• Be providing supervision or mentor services to students or health care professionals currently working in a hospital and/or community setting.
• Have actively participated as a mentor or supervisor for a minimum of six months.
• Show demonstrated commitment to the professional development and success of their mentee or supervisee.
• Showcase tangible outcomes or success stories resulting from being a Mentor or Supervisor.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Primary Care Nurse or Midwife award recognises an exceptional rural nurse or midwife who has delivered outstanding patient care, positive outcomes and who performs above the expectations of their role.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation or patient nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
3. Must have been working in a rural location for longer than two years.
The Outstanding Contribution to Rural Allied Health award recognises an allied health professional who has shown professional and personal commitment to regional and rural communities, and has gone above the expectations of their role to provide services to the community.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation or patient nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location
3. Must have been working in a rural location for longer than two years.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Healthcare Practice Management award recognises a practice manager who has gone above the expectations of their role shown professional and personal commitment to regional and rural communities through their leadership, mentoring and innovation.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation or community member nominated
2. Must be currently employed as a practice manager at a rural Victorian practice (MMM 2–7 location)
3. Must have been working in a rural location for longer than two years.
The Outstanding Contribution to Rural Healthcare Outreach Provision award recognises a health professional, team or organisation that has made significant contributions in providing outreach services to rural and regional communities. The award recognises medical, nursing, allied health, and includes specialists, counsellors, health workers and others.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Peer, organisation, patient or community member nominated
2. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location. If MMM1 location is identified, the service is delivered in an Aboriginal Medical Service or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
The Rising Star Award celebrates the future of rural health care. Each year we recognise a junior health professional who has shown a true passion for rural health and is intent on dedicating their career to rural communities.
Eligibility criteria:
1. Supervisor or organisation nominated
2. Open to all health professionals
3. Must be currently practising in a rural Victorian MMM 2–7 location;
4. Has been practising for less than four years.
The RWAV Student Ambassador Award celebrates the outstanding contributions of RWAV Rural Ambassadors who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to supporting rural and regional healthcare in Victoria. This award recognises a current Victorian tertiary health student or recent graduate who has actively engaged in initiatives that promote rural health, advocate for regional communities, and inspire future healthcare professionals.
Eligibility Criteria:
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P: +61 3 9349 7800
F: +61 3 9820 0401
Wurundjeri Country
Level 6, Tower 4, World Trade Centre
18 – 38 Siddeley Street
Docklands Vic 3008
Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) is a not-for-profit government funded organisation improving health care for rural, regional and Aboriginal communities in Victoria.
RWAV provides a range of activities and support to improve the recruitment and retention of health professionals to rural and regional Victoria.
RWAV acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
For nearly 30 years, Catherine has worked as a consultant, senior executive, adviser and government relations specialist with a particular focus on health, social services, social policy and industry development. Catherine is currently Partner and Co-founder of Evaluate, an economics consulting company, where she is engaged in the evaluation and development of efficient and cost-effective services and policies, principally in relation to health and lifesciences. Prior to this, Catherine worked in the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries with responsibilities for government relations, stakeholder engagement, policy development, regulatory affairs and communication in Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. Catherine is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a past board member of Marriott Support Services, Melbourne City Mission and Victoria Legal Aid.
BAppSci, GradDipBus, MBus, GAICD, FIML
John is an experienced CEO and senior executive who has held many roles in various hospitals, in government (Health Department), and in professional associations related to healthcare. Until recently, John was the CEO of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), where he had major involvement in various sustainability in healthcare initiatives, Indigenous health and ‘Building Respect’ cultural improvement strategies.
John’s expertise encompasses leadership, strategic policy development, professional standards and government relations. At RACS, he led the college through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the digitisation of a range of member offerings, including aspects of training. He remains a key advocate for good corporate governance and the need for leaner and competent skills-based boards.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Strategy, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Committee Member
• People and Culture Committee Member
BBus(HRM)
Lauren commenced in the role of Manager People and Culture in August 2018 and is responsible for leading the implementation of RWAV’s People and Culture strategy, policies, processes, functions and team.
Lauren’s team is committed to implementing activities and initiatives to support the achievement of RWAV’s strategies and strengthen RWAV’s position as an ‘Employer of Choice’.
Lauren is an experienced Manager and HR professional, with a career spanning the professional services, automotive, defence, and not-for-profit sectors.
CPA
Albert Giorgini is the Senior Advisor to CEO at RWAV.
As an experienced finance executive, with an extensive career in public transport and in the automotive and industrial gas sectors, Albert has honed his skills in driving financial performance improvements with a commercial and business transformation focus.
Through his strategic financial skills, Albert has demonstrated an exceptional capacity to lead and develop large teams in complex and changing environments to achieve the financial and regulatory requirements of the business. His extensive experience has given him a deep understanding of the industry and its challenges, equipping him with the expertise to drive impactful change.
Albert has highly developed communication and stakeholder management skills to support his strong planning, analytical and financial performance improvement acumen, always striving to create innovative solutions that drive growth and success.
BMed, MMedSci, FRACGP, FARGP, FACRRM, DipPractDerm, DipMedHyp, DipFP, DipBusAdmin, GAICD
Morton is an experienced GP and medical educator. He is currently in clinical general practice in suburban Melbourne and previously practised in rural Victoria for 10 years. Morton is Chair of the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaborative and a past Chair of the Mental Health Professionals Association and is a board member of the Mental Health Professionals Network. He is also the Medical Director of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Victoria. He is a member of the RACGP Victoria Council.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Board Director
• Governance Committee Member
• Strategy, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Committee Member
LLB, BSc, MMgt (Strategic Foresight), GAICD
As a lawyer and business consultant, Jane has worked for many years with company boards and executives across a range of areas including IP commercialisation, SaaS businesses, healthcare products/services, privacy compliance and data/IT security. Jane is General Counsel for ID Consulting. She has served as a Director of BreastScreen Victoria, Ballarat Health Services and chairs RWAV’s Governance Committee.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Chair of the Governance Committee
• Audit and Risk Committee Member
BMBS, MBA, FRACP, FRACMA, FAICD
Grant is a retired physician and gastroenterologist whose specialist
clinical practice was in regional and rural Victoria. In the latter part of his career, Grant moved into management and leadership roles at organisational and system level, with a focus on clinical quality and clinical engagement.
Having worked for government in several jurisdictions, through this, Grant has held leadership roles in the national safety and quality agenda, and has also held major professional level roles including a 2-year period as President of the Adult Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians from 2016–18.
Grant teaches clinical governance with a focus on helping healthcare boards and executive teams understand this critical aspect of their work, and consults to organisations on their clinical governance and nclinical leadership.
Grant is an experienced and qualified board director, having attained
Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2018,
and currently chairs a major sporting organisation.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Board Chair
• Chair of the Strategy, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Committee
• Nominations and Remuneration Committee Member
BA (Hons), BEc, Grad Dip Bus, MBA, FGIA, FAICD
Roger is an experienced CEO, Chair, non-executive director, board consultant and course/workshop facilitator, with experience in the health, human services, law enforcement, regional economics, disaster relief, education, transport and environmental industries. He has sat on and chaired numerous private company, public sector and not-for-profit boards and audit and risk committees. Roger has also consulted with numerous boards, published numerous articles and conducted webinars on corporate governance, risk and strategy. He brings strong governance experience, commercial acumen, risk management and strategy skills combined with a passion for innovation and business development.
Currently, Roger chairs the Victorian Emergency Relief and Recovery Foundation, is a director and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for Melba Support Services, and is an independent member of the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Roger is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed their Boardroom Mastery program, and is also a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. Roger is currently a facilitator, assessor and writer for the Australian Institute of Company Directors and teaches their Company Directors Course,
as well as numerous other short courses.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
BSci(Hons), DipLang, MD, FRACGP, FACRRM, DRANZCOG(Adv), GAICD
Louise is a rural GP obstetrician practising in a number of locations across Central Victoria where she delivers general practice, obstetric and sexual health services. After growing up in a small town, she has lived experience of the difficulties of accessing healthcare in rural and regional areas, and is dedicated to advocating for equitable health outcomes, regardless of geography. In addition to her clinical duties, she undertakes consulting, medical education and advocacy work. She is also a non-executive director and the current President Elect of the RDAV. Louise recently returned to study in 2024 and is undertaking a Masters of Public Health through The University of Melbourne.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Strategy, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Committee Member
• Audit and Risk Committee Member
Snezana is a Human Resources leader with more than 15 years of experience in management, playing a pivotal role in driving team transformations across diverse industries, including FMCG, automotive, government, and non-profit sectors.
With a curiosity for business and its associated complexities, Snezana fosters collaborative partnerships to cultivate a highly motivated workforce that effectively executes strategic plans.
BCom, MPP, EdD, DipEd, Claritas/CFA Investment Certificate, MAICD
Rosemary has had a varied career as an academic teaching economics, public policy and industrial relations, and as a consultant, advocate, health union official and as a director. She brings strong governance and strategic skills to the Board, as well as knowledge and depth of experience in health policy, economics and investment.
Rosemary is currently a member of the Investment Committee of Cbus, a major Australian superannuation fund.
She was the Secretary of the Victorian Psychologists Association Inc for 20 years and was Assistant Secretary and Secretary of the Medical Scientists’ Association of Victoria, which counts dietitians and audiologists among its members.
Rosemary knows first-hand the difficulties in attracting and retaining health professionals in rural and regional Victoria.
Rosemary is a member of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, and a committee member of Quit Nukes.
RWAV special responsibilities:
• Chair of the People and Culture Committee
• Governance Committee Member
With a rich background of consulting and in-house people and culture roles with the corporate, government and community sectors, Andrea is responsible for leading the implementation of RWAV’s People and Culture strategy, policies, processes, functions and team.
Andrea has significant experience in leading teams across culture, capability, diversity, equity, leadership, organisational development and learning programs as well as core human resources partnering.
With a strong focus on building and maintaining psychologically safe organisations, Andrea’s team is dedicated to ensuring that RWAV is a place where people can work well and be well at work.
Martin is a governance professional and lawyer with experience in private practice and in-house legal roles. He has been a company secretary for public and private sector organisations across a range of industries including VicTrack, Regis Healthcare Limited and Dairy Australia Limited. He holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from the University of Melbourne, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute of Australia (GIA) and is a fellow of the GIA.
Social Work (BA Hons), DipSW
With a background in social work and a proven record in recruitment, project management, and business development, Jo brings strategic leadership and a wealth of experience in driving positive outcomes within the health, human services, and State Government sectors.
Jo specialises in managing health professional recruitment and outreach programs, including the More Doctors for Rural Australia and 3GA programs. Her focus is on implementing innovative workforce strategies and clinical governance to bolster RWAV’s mission of enhancing healthcare accessibility in rural and regional Victoria.
Having previously excelled at RWAV, Jo spearheaded successful internal change initiatives while fostering strong relationships with external stakeholders. Her efforts consistently align with RWAV’s strategic direction, ensuring a cohesive approach to driving impactful change.
Beyond her professional expertise, Jo’s passion lies in uniting communities and championing positive transformations in rural healthcare in Victoria.
RN, GradDip(Health Promotion), PRINCE2, Mini MBA
Kate is a Registered Nurse highly experienced in health promotion and project management. Her people and program management skills enable her to be agile and adaptable while maintaining an outcomes focus on improving quality access to primary healthcare.
Kate’s extensive experience working with all levels of government, the community and stakeholders across the sector have provided her with insights into the challenges rural communities and health professionals face. Kate has led the design and delivery of many innovative and strategic health promotion and grants programs, supporting better access to health services, health information and activities across communities. Whilst at RWAV, Kate has led the transformation of the RWAV grants program, enhanced the administration of a number of programs and developed the RWAV allied health portfolio. She has also led the development of the RWAV research program of activities.
Having worked at RWAV since 2020, Kate will continue positively influencing the rural healthcare workforce and access to services.
Msc (Fin), FCCA, FGIA, CA
Shay brings over 20 years of financial
management experience in commercial and not-for-profit organizations. He has a
rich and varied experience in multiple finance and leadership roles in the
United Kingdom and Australia, including CFO, GM Finance & IT, Commercial
Manager Operations, Finance Manager and Accountant.
His extensive leadership experience is
augmented by an FGIA, FCCA, CA, a Masters in Finance and an undergraduate degree in
accounting and finance.
Chief Executive Officer
BHlthSci(Hons) MPH PostGradDipMgt GAICD AFCHSM
Lauren Cordwell is the Chief Executive Officer at RWAV. Lauren has been an integral part of the RWAV team since 2018, demonstrating a remarkable strategic vision to improve access to health care in rural Victoria. As an experienced senior executive and health policy analyst, she is committed to finding practical solutions to address the challenges preventing communities in rural Australia from accessing affordable and safe healthcare. For over 20 years, Lauren has designed and implemented innovative programs with communities, health professionals and government agencies that continue to have a lasting benefit. Many of these programs relate to primary healthcare, general practice, workforce, First People’s health and community engagement.
