The Board:

1. ensures the proper, efficient and effective performance of the Agency’s functions, and
2. determines objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by the Agency.

Board membership is determined by the responsible Commonwealth Government Minister in consultation with the states and territories.

As part of good corporate governance, the Board undertakes a review of itself and its committees each year. This includes an annual review of the Board committee charters to ensure correct alignment of committee functions in supporting the Board’s responsibility as Accountable Authority of the Agency, and a review of committee memberships, which resulted in changes to committee membership to optimise operations. Board performance is also reviewed annually in accordance with the Board Charter and this year the performance review was undertaken by an external consultant. While COVID–19 posed a challenge to Board processes, the Board remained agile and adjusted its operating patterns to include videoconference meetings.

4.2.1 Directors

Dr Helen Nugent AO (Chairman)

Helen Nugent is an experienced Chairman and Non–Executive Director (NED), with a background in insurance, banking and energy. She gives back to the community in the arts, education and health.

She is currently a NED of IAG, TPG Telecom and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and is Chairman of Ausgrid and the National Portrait Gallery. Previously, she was Chairman of Swiss Re (Australia); Chancellor of Bond University; and President of Cranbrook School; and a NED of Macquarie Group and Origin Energy.

Qualifications: MBA (Distinction) from Harvard Business School; PhD and a BA (Hons) from Queensland University; and Honorary Doctorates from Bond and Queensland Universities.

Member: Sustainability Committee; Risk Committee; People and Remuneration Committee; ICT and Digital Committee

Attends: Audit Committee

Ms Sandra Birkensleigh

Sandra Birkensleigh is an experienced Non–Executive Director, bringing extensive experience in financial service and insurance industries to the Agency. She currently holds board positions with MLC Insurance Ltd, Auswide Bank Limited, Horizon Oil Limited, 7–11 Holdings Limited (and its subsidiaries) and Sunshine Coast Children’s Therapy Centre. She chairs the Audit Committee for each of these organisations.

She is a member of the Council for the University of the Sunshine Coast and an independent member of the Audit Committee of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Public Trustee of Queensland. Previously, she was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, including its governance, risk and compliance practice.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales; Chartered Accountant

Chair: Audit Committee

Member: People and Remuneration Committee

Attends: Risk Committee

Jane Burns has extensive experience advising government, industry, university and the social enterprise sectors. She is Chair of Open Arms, Veterans Families Counselling Service; STREAT; and the Centre for Mental Health at Swinburne University. She is also the Mental Health and Wellbeing Innovator at Bupa and Professor of Innovation and Chair of the Centre for Mental Health at Swinburne University.

She is the Founder and Non–Executive Director of InnoWell and a Non–Executive Director with the Applied Positive Psychology Learning Institute and Mind Medicines Australia. She was a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy at the University of California; a VicHealth Fellow in Health Promotion at Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health and an NHMRC Fellow in Suicide Prevention at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

She won the category of Social Enterprise for the 2015 Australian Financial Review and Westpac Group 100 Women of Influence for her achievements in entrepreneurship and was a Victorian Finalist in the 2017 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

Qualifications: PhD in Medicine from the University of Adelaide

Member: ICT and Digital Committee

Glenn Keys has been a member of the NDIS Board since inception. He has been involved in efforts to improve the lives of people with disability through involvement in the Special Olympics, the Down Syndrome Association and the disability housing sector. He has a health sector background as co–founder and co–executive Chairman of Aspen Medical, and founder and Chairman of Project Independence, an initiative offering home ownership to people with disability. He was awarded an Officer in the General Division (AO) in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for distinguished service to disability, business and commerce and as an advocate for corporate social responsibility. He was named 2015 ACT Australian of the Year and was a board member of the organising committee for the Australian Invictus Games 2018. He has a child with an intellectual disability.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of New South Wales

Member: ICT and Digital Committee; People and Remuneration Committee

Robyn Kruk has extensive experience as Chief Executive of national and state policy, regulatory and service delivery agencies, including NSW Health and Premier and Cabinet. She established and served as inaugural CEO/Commissioner of the National Mental Health Commission. She is currently Chair, Board Director or member of international, national and state statutory, non–government and private entities in healthcare and emergency services, quality and safety, governance and mental health.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science, Psychology (Hons) from the University of New South Wales; Master of Administration; Advanced Management Program from the Harvard Business School

Chair: People and Remuneration Committee

Member: Risk Committee

Principal Member: Independent Advisory Council from 1 July 2020.

John Langoulant has extensive experience across many areas of public policy development and implementation from being the Western Australian Under Treasurer, Chairman of a number of government statutory authorities and from leading several government inquiries. He also chairs several private and not–for–profit organisations.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Western Australia

Member: Audit Committee; Risk Committee; Sustainability Committee

Martin Laverty is Secretary General of the Australian Medical Association. He is Deputy Chair of the Australian Charities and Not–for–Profit Commission Advisory Board, a Board Director of Caritas Ltd, and a member of the Charity, Not–for–profit, and Philanthropy Advisory Committee to the National COVID–19 Coordination Commission. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia’s Not-for-Profit Initiative and a former CEO of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and Catholic Health Australia. He is also a former Board Chair of two disability service organisations, Sunshine and Challenge Southern Highlands, and is a former Director of the NSW Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Qualifications: LLB; PhD in Board Governance

A lawyer by training with a doctorate in board governance, he was a member of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee until he retired from the Board on 30 June 2020.

Jim Minto is Chair of Swiss Re Life & Health Australia Ltd and of Swiss Re Asia Pte. Ltd, Chair of NZ life insurer Partners Life Limited, Deputy Chair of Equity Trustees Ltd and Director of Dai–ichi Life Asia Pacific. He retired as Group Managing Director of life insurer TAL in March 2015 holding that role since 2006, and prior to that was Group CEO of the Trans-Tasman TOWER Limited Group. He had 26 years senior executive experience in the financial services sector. He was previously Chair of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and a panel member of the Australian Government’s Review of Natural Disasters Insurance in 2011.

Qualifications: Chartered Accountant from Massey University

Chair: Risk Committee

Member: Sustainability Committee

Paul O’Sullivan has been Chairman of Optus since October 2014 and is a member of the Board of Commissioners of Telkomsel— Indonesia’s largest mobile communications company. He is a Director of ANZ, Coca–Cola Amatil Limited and St Vincent’s Health Australia. He is also a Board Member of the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation and is Chairman of the Western Sydney Airport Corporation (WSA Co).

Qualifications: Bachelor of Economics from Trinity College; Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School

Chair: Information Communication Technology and Digital Committee

Member: Risk Committee; People and Remuneration Committee

Estelle Pearson has extensive experience in the insurance and injury compensation sector having worked as an actuary and consultant in this sector since 1989. She is currently a Director of Finity Consulting Pty Limited, and was previously on the Council of the Actuaries Institute, including a term as President in 2015.

Qualifications: BA Hons (Mathematics) from the University of Oxford; FIAA

Chair: Sustainability Committee

Member: Audit Committee

John Walsh is one of Australia’s leading actuaries. He is a retired Partner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where he worked for over 20 years in the areas of social policy and funding across accident compensation, health and disability. He has personal experience of disability, having lived with quadriplegia following a rugby league accident in his early–twenties. He has resigned from the Board effective 31 August 2020.

Qualifications: FIAA

Member: Sustainability Committee; ICT and Digital Committee

Principal Member: Independent Advisory Council until 30 June 2020

Andrea Staines OAM is a Non–Executive Director with 13 years’ experience on listed, private, government and for–purpose boards in retail service and transport areas. Specifically in the area of care, Ms Staines is on the Board of UnitingCare Queensland, and was previously on the boards of Goodstart Early Learning and Early Learning Services. Ms Staines’ term on the Board concluded on 31 December 2019.

Qualifications: MBA focused on finance from the University of Michigan, Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland. Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a Member of Chief Executive Women (CEW).

4.2.2 Board committees

A number of committees, councils and groups are in place to support the Board in ensuring the Agency meets its statutory requirements and manages risk. The following table provides the title and role of each committee and its members as at 30 June 2020.

Table 4.2.3A: Board committees and members as at 30 June 2020

The Audit Committee Charter can be found at Appendix 5.2.

4.2.3 Board committee attendance

Table 4.2.4A: Number of meetings attended by Board members in 2019–20

Board Directors may attend any Board committee meeting in their capacity as a Director. “Eligible” refers to the number of committee meetings attended by a Director as a formal member of the Committee. “Attended” column includes all attendance at committee meetings, regardless of membership status.

4.2.4 Board membership changes

On 13 December 2019, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, Minister for the NDIS, announced the Board of the NDIA from 1 January 2020, with nine reappointments and one new member. Dr Helen Nugent was reappointed for a two–year term as Chair of the Board. Mr Paul O’Sullivan, Ms Robyn Kruk AO, Mr John Langoulant AO, Ms Estelle Pearson, Ms Sandra Birkensleigh, Mr James Minto, Mr Glenn Keys AO and Mr John Walsh AM were also reappointed to the Board for terms of up to two years. Professor Jane Burns was newly appointed to the Board for two years.

Ms Andrea Staines concluded her term as a Director on 31 December 2019, and Dr Martin Laverty concluded his term as a Director on 30 June 2020. Membership of Board committees changed over the course of the financial year. Current membership is shown at 4.2.2.