Our people are our greatest strength and we are committed to ensuring that AIHW’s workplace continues to attract, develop and retain the right people with the right skills. The AIHW is headed by its CEO and comprises 11 groups. Each group is led by a senior executive who is responsible for leading a number of units (Figure 5.1). Each unit is led by an APS Executive Level 2 officer or equivalent.

A new organisational structure came into effect on 4 November 2019, which saw the reorganisation of units into new work groups, to better align skills with our work program.

Figure 5.1: Organisation structure as at 30 June 2020

Chief Executive Officer

Barry Sandison BBusMgt, FANZSG

Mr Sandison was appointed as the AIHW’s CEO in May 2016 and oversights its day-to-day operations. He has extensive public sector experience, with previous roles in both policy and service delivery. Most recently, he was the deputy secretary, health and information, in the Department of Human Services where he was responsible for the administration and delivery of a range of programs in the health, government and business areas.

Before this, Mr Sandison was a deputy chief executive at Centrelink and held senior executive roles in FaHCSIA and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Matthew James PSM BEc (Hons)

Mr James is the AIHW’s Deputy CEO and leads the Deputy CEO Group. He previously led the Housing and Specialised Services Group from November 2016 to November 2019. Before joining the AIHW, he held leadership roles in performance, information and evaluation as assistant secretary, Indigenous Affairs Group in PM&C, and as a branch manager within FaHCSIA. Mr James was also a branch manager in the former Department of Education, Employment and Training, where he worked on employment policy and implementation as well as workplace relations policy and analysis. From 2002 to 2004, he was counsellor—Employment, Education, Science and Training in the Australian delegation to the OECD in Paris. Mr James was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2016.

Deputy CEO Group

This group produces the biennial flagship series, Australia's health and Australia's welfare, which are required by the AIHW Act. The group also leads our work in data and information on mental health, suicide and self-harm monitoring, and palliative care which have been a strong focus of government, especially since the emergence of COVID-19.

The Deputy CEO also chairs 4 AIHW committees:

• Web Program Board
• Statistical Leadership Committee
• Data Governance Committee
• Integrated Data Services Committee.

Business and Communications Group

This group provides services and advice to enable optimal use of our financial and human resources to achieve the following business objectives:

• strategic management of parliamentary, internal and external relationships
• preparation of key planning and reporting documents, including annual reports and corporate plans
• pricing and contract advice, business analysis and preparation of financial statements
• risk management and internal audit
• strategic external communications, including stakeholder engagement, and print and online services
• recruitment, learning and development, workforce planning, performance management support, workplace health and safety, facilities and accommodation.

Senior Executive, Business and Communications Group

Andrew Kettle MA (Hons), CA

Mr Kettle has held a senior executive position since 2006. Mr Kettle qualified as a chartered accountant in the United Kingdom. He worked as a professional accountant for Coopers and Lybrand in Canada and Australia and was chief financial officer at the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. Mr Kettle acted as director of the AIHW for 6 months in 2015–16

Community Services Group

This group develops, maintains and analyses national data to support monitoring and reporting of:

• the health and welfare of key subpopulations, including children and youth, older Australians, people with disability, and victims and perpetrators of family, domestic and sexual violence
• use of services within a range of health and welfare sectors, including community- based services focused on aged care, child protection, juvenile justice and disability
• pathways and outcomes for the general population, key subpopulations and health and welfare service users, including the role of education and income support.

Senior Executive, Community Services Group

Louise York BEc, BSc, GradDipPopHealth

Ms York has led this group since January 2017. Ms York has over 20 years’ experience at the AIHW, including leadership positions in both health and welfare areas, and one year at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.

Data Governance Group

This group works to protect the confidentiality and privacy of our data holdings, through provision of data governance leadership, and supports the work of the AIHW Ethics Committee. It also works to build and enhance national data and information governance infrastructure, and leads our engagement with AHMAC on national health data and information strategic directions. The group provides expert assistance for national health and welfare metadata and manages METeOR, our online national metadata repository. It also provides leadership with national and international work on health classifications, supporting our role as the Australian Collaborating Centre for the WHO-FIC.

Senior Executive, Data Governance Group

Jenny Hargreaves BSc (Hons), GradDipPopHealth, GAICD

Ms Hargreaves has led this group since July 2018. Ms Hargreaves has served on the AIHW senior executive team since 2006 and was previously responsible for the AIHW’s work to develop, analyse and disseminate policy-relevant statistical information about hospitals, human and financial resources in the health and welfare sectors, health sector performance and injury.

Data Strategies and Integration Group

This group works with Australian Government agencies, state and territory governments and other key stakeholders to promote access to health and welfare data for policy and research. The group aims to increase the information value of existing data assets through data integration (linkage) work and data-sharing arrangements—for the AIHW and external researchers—that support innovative analyses. Examples of work supported in this way include patient and client pathways analysis and movements of people between health and welfare services. The group provides methodological and technical data support across the AIHW, including through its statistical, analytics, geospatial and quality advisers. It undertakes data architecture design and infrastructure development for data integration.

Senior Executive, Data Strategies and Integration Group

Geoff Neideck BBusStudies, GradCertMgt

Mr Neideck has led this group since its creation in November 2019. Before that, Mr Neideck also had responsibility for the AIHW’s ICT and the former Housing and Specialist Services Group. Before joining the AIHW, Mr Neideck managed large national social and economic statistics programs at the ABS and Statistics Canada, where he gained experience in data design and statistical infrastructure projects.

Health Group

This group develops, maintains and enhances national data to support monitoring and reporting on the health of Australians, covering:

• chronic diseases, both as a group and in relation to some key diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, musculoskeletal conditions and respiratory conditions
• population health issues such as health inequalities and broader determinants such as social and environmental, international health comparisons, mortality and burden of disease
• specific population groups, such as men and women and people living in rural areas.

Senior Executive, Health Group

Richard Juckes BA (Hons)

Mr Juckes has led this group since April 2019. He joined the AIHW in 2018. Mr Juckes has been working in health policy and health data roles for over 20 years, primarily in the Department of Health.

Health Systems Group

This group creates authoritative and accessible information relating to the activity, performance, quality and financing of the Australian health system. This includes the hospital, non-hospital and primary health systems. The national hospitals databases, Australian hospital statistics reports and MyHospitals website information are major products, as are the national health expenditure database and Health expenditure Australia reports. The group is responsible for implementing the AHPF, the creation and management of the NIHSI AA and our relationship with the National Injury Surveillance Unit—our collaborating centre.

Senior Executive, Health Systems Group

Adrian Webster BA (Hons), BSc, PhD

Dr Webster has headed the Health Systems Group since July 2018. Dr Webster is a sociologist with more than 20 years’ experience in the health and welfare sectors in Australia and overseas and joined the AIHW in 2009. His experience includes leading evaluation and research in an international aid organisation, consulting services to government agencies in Australia, such as Medicare Australia, and reporting on hospital performance at ACT Health.

Housing and Specialised Services Group

This group produces statistics, analysis and information on homelessness, community housing, housing assistance, and drug use and treatment services, including tobacco and alcohol. The group is responsible for the administration, data analysis and reporting of 2 national surveys:

• the National Drug Strategy Household Survey—a large triennial survey that collects information on alcohol and tobacco consumption, illicit drug use and attitudes and perceptions relating to tobacco, alcohol and other drug use
• the National Social Housing Survey—a biennial survey of tenants in selected housing programs, designed to collect information for national reporting about tenant satisfaction with housing amenities, facilities and services.

Senior Executive, Housing and Specialised Services Group

Gabrielle Phillips BSc, MURP, PhD

Dr Phillips has led the Housing and Specialised Services Group since joining the AIHW in November 2019. She holds a PhD in Housing Policy and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Sydney. Dr Phillips has experience across Australian, state and local government roles related to housing policy, income support and family assistance policy, education and early childhood evidence and analysis roles.

Indigenous Group

This group leads the development, monitoring and reporting of information and statistics in 2 main areas: the health and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and maternal and perinatal health. The work of this group includes:

• analysing and reporting on performance measures based on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, at the national and jurisdictional levels, in collaboration with PM&C and state and territory governments
• working with Indigenous primary health- care services and other service providers to improve the quality and usefulness of their data to support better outcomes for clients
• modelling geographical variation in access to services relative to need, with a particular focus on identifying areas where Indigenous Australians experience service gaps.

Senior Executive, Indigenous Group

Fadwa Al-Yaman PSM BSc, MA, PhD

Dr Al-Yaman has headed this group since 2008. She holds a PhD in Immunology from the John Curtin School of Medical Research and a Masters of Population Studies from the Australian National University. Dr Al-Yaman was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1990 and the Australian Public Service Medal in 2008.

Information and Communication Technology Group

This group provides enabling services that assist the AIHW to deliver its core goals and objectives. It strives to achieve its goals through strong internal and external partnerships—providing a better user experience for all stakeholders—and being responsive to changing environments.

The group provides key services that cover:

• service management and support
• applications architecture and integration
• infrastructure and security.

Senior Executive, Information and Communication Technology Group

Glenn Ashe DipHRDev, DipMilSatEng, DipElecEng, AFAIM, GAICD

Mr Ashe joined the AIHW in October 2018 and is our Chief Technology Officer. He has headed this group since it was created in November 2019. Mr Ashe has over 20 years’ experience in the APS in executive and senior executive positions, the last 7 as chief information officer. His experience has spanned corporate, technology and diplomatic services, with responsibility for complex, diverse and global ICT systems. He has held positions in Geoscience Australia, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and the Attorney General’s Department.

Primary and Maternal Health and Veterans Group

This group manages a work program to enhance the AIHW’s capabilities in digital health. It provides PHNs with data to meet their performance frameworks. It leads a drive for improvements in primary care data and developing the My Health Record data for research purposes. The group partnered with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to develop a repository of data and quality statistical reporting about the health and welfare of Australia’s veteran population. It analyses and reports on national data about pregnancy and childbirth of mothers, and the characteristics and outcomes of their babies.

Senior Executive, Primary and Maternal Health and Veterans Group

Michael Frost BEc (SocSci) (Hons), GradDipPubAdmin

Mr Frost transferred to the AIHW in April 2016 from his position as executive director, strategic initiatives, in the former National Health Performance Authority. Mr Frost has led this group since July 2018. His experience in policy advice, performance reporting and administrative roles spans more than 20 years in Australian and state governments, including as the deputy head, Secretariat for the COAG Reform Council.