My name is Shannon White and I am the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NHFB. With the support of my professional, agile and innovative team, I am responsible for the effective delivery of the NHFB’s outputs to support the Administrator to fulfil his functions.

Prior to my appointment as the NHFB CEO, I was the Assistant Secretary of the Health System Financing and Evaluation Branch within the Commonwealth Department of Health.

In this role, I worked extensively on national health reform issues and represented the Department in various national and international committees. These included health system fiscal sustainability as well as the negotiations on public hospital funding under the Addendum to the NHR Agreement.

I also have 26 years experience in the Australian Public Service across executive positions at Health, Immigration and Border Protection, and Defence with a strong focus on financial management and strategic advice on budget related policy and operational matters.

These roles have provided me with a broad blend of experience across national security, economic and social policy environments.

2018–19 Achievements

2018–19 was a record year for the amount of public hospital funding paid into the Pool, with $50 billion in funding. To achieve this record result, we processed 4,137 banking transactions and prepared 1,833 financial reports.

We also strengthened the Commonwealth Contribution Model (CCM), enhanced our funding integrity capabilities, launched a new website and continued important work on the payments system modernisation project.

The year ahead

I have worked with my colleagues to develop and release a new Strategic Direction, Corporate Plan and Risk Tolerance Statement for 2019–20. These documents set our direction for the next four years to 2022–23 and outline the approach we will take to achieve our objectives.

Embracing digital transformation

In 2019–20 we will continue to operate as a high performing organisation, that is professional, innovative and technology enabled. We are committed to making it easier for our stakeholders to access our core technology platforms to better support their business operations.

We will be focused on delivering a new payments system to create a more integrated financial system with improved efficiency and effectiveness of processes between our systems, the Reserve Bank of Australia and, States and Territories. In addition we will continue to improve the transparency of public hospital funding by enhancing our reporting capabilities and website functionality. We are working closely with all of our stakeholders and industry partners to ensure a seamless implementation and transition.

Together with my professional, agile and innovative team, we are committed to improving the transparency of public hospital funding in Australia.