The RACGP cordially invites you to a governance review

It might not be the social ticket of the century, but the royal college wants members to participate in reshaping the board.

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The RACGP will move forward with a board restructure in 2026, but college leadership insists that the organisation is not in trouble.

“The board needs to reflect on its governance models and if it is still fit for purpose and set up to drive strategy and meet the needs of the organisation for the next decade,” immediate past board chair Dr Lara Roeske told delegates at the RACGP conference on Friday.

“This is in the spirit of continuous improvement.

“Are there ways we can enhance our overall effectiveness, and what changes could we consider to ensure the board stays agile and adapts to changing circumstances?

“What can we do to make sure we build a stronger college that’s ready to support our members for future challenges?”

It comes as the number of people employed by the college increased from 880 in 2022 to 1324 following the transition to college-led training in 2023.

“The Board is committed to co-designing our future governance structures with our members and taking them on this journey,” Dr Roeske said.

“We will be launching an EOI process for members to join a Future Governance project team in coming weeks.”

While the board tends to operate in the background, it came under heavy scrutiny in December last year when it fired then-CEO Paul Wappett, an action which it has never explained to members.

The 15-member RACGP board operates on a representative model, meaning it is primarily made up of ordinary fellows who are voted into representational positions like president or faculty chair.

While there tends to be two co-opted board members with accountancy and business management background, there are no requirements for the ordinary fellows to have experience in company management or similar.

All members of the current iteration of the board have completed courses with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, but this is not a hard requirement.

“There are growing compliance obligations on boards and directors, and we need to ensure our practices comply with relevant laws and regulations,” Dr Roeske said.

“For example, even over the past two years, there is a growing need for directors to be across issues like cyber security, data governance and protection and environmental sustainability, just to name a few.”

The former chair told members that the board had not committed to a specific structure and that she hoped members would engage with the college to help determine what it will look like.

This is not the RACGP’s first governance review rodeo.

In 2016 a three-tiered governance and communication structure was proposed, which would have consisted of a senate responsible for member engagement, a council responsible for clinical and professional decisions and a board that was solely responsible for fiduciary, regulatory and oversight obligations.

Members knocked back this proposal.

Dr Roeske said the reason the board had chosen 2026 as the year for another governance review wasn’t because the college is in a crisis, but because it isn’t. 

“We’re coming from a position of stability and strength, not a position of crisis, but we’re wanting to prepare for the future and to do that in a diligent, considered way,” she said.

“We’re not actually suggesting we must do this or we must do that.

“What we would like to do is present options and talk through it [with members].”

Following the college annual general meeting last week, South Australian chair Dr Siân Goodson has been appointed chair of the RACGP.

Dr Michael Wright officially began his role as college president, with WA chair Dr Ramya Raman elected vice-president.

Former vice-president Associate Professor Michael Clements remains in his substantive role as chair of RACGP rural.

GP24 was held at the Perth Convention Centre between 21 and 23 November.