The national Doctors’ Health Alliance emerged in 2022 with the mission of improving the health of the medical profession for the good of the Australian community.
Doctors’ Health Alliance Ltd Board
This Alliance was created by the Australasian Doctors’ Health Network (ADHN) who had collaborated for over 25 years as the key forum for doctors’ health programs across Australia and New Zealand to share resources, research and programs.
The Doctors’ Health Alliance is an independent not-for-profit company with charitable and DGR status. It is overseen by a skills-based board and governance structure that includes a national doctors’ health expert panel to advise on clinical service delivery, training, education and research.
The Alliance will offer enhanced national coordination of the existing doctors’ health programs and expand partnerships with individuals and organisations who are aligned to the mission.
The Alliance is working with every state and territory doctors’ health program to source new inputs, expand clinical networks, and to provide training, education and clinical services to isolated doctors. It will continue to strengthen local and national partnerships with organisations such as the AMA, medical colleges, regulators, universities, indemnity providers and government.
The Alliance recognises that healthy doctors practice better medicine and acknowledges the universality and benefit of the mission - to have healthy well-supported doctors with a stable and fulfilling home life coming to work and practicing safe, high-quality medicine on a community with good health outcomes.
We invite you to join us in pursuing this most important mission.
The Board
Dr Margaret Kay AM, Chair
MBBS(Hons) PhD FRACGP DipRACOG GAICD
Margaret is a Director of Doctors’ Health Alliance. She is a general practitioner with extensive expertise in doctors’ health, as both clinician and researcher.
Dedicated to working in this field for over 20 years, she is a strong advocate for doctors’ health and wellbeing. Dr Kay brings to her role significant experience in clinical and corporate governance to the Board and chairs DHA’s Research Subcommittee. She was the inaugural Medical Director for the Qld Doctors’ Health Programme and was on the Management Committee of the Doctors’ Health Advisory Service Qld for many years.
Margaret holds an academic title as Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Medicine, UQ. In 2013, she completed her PhD in Physician Health focussing on how doctors access health care for themselves. She has over 40 peer-reviewed publications, many in doctors’ health. She has extensive experience in leading doctors’ health research and training doctors and medical students to support their self-care to deliver quality care and support to their colleagues. She is currently Medical Director with the Rural Doctors Foundation focused on establishing their ‘GPs4RuralDocs’ Program. She is deeply committed to supporting rural doctors. She enjoys working with her medical colleagues, nationally and internationally, to identify pragmatic solutions designed to improve doctors’ health and wellbeing into the future. Dr Kay has expertise in multicultural and refugee health.
In 2022, Margaret was awarded an Order of Australia for significant service to medicine, to medical education, and to migrant health.
Dr Jill Benson AM, Director
MBBS DCH MPH PhD FACPsychMEd FACRRM FARGP AFRACMA
Jill is a Director of Doctors' Health Alliance and chairs the Education Subcommittee. Dr Benson has been a general practitioner for over 40 years, mostly working as a GP for other doctors in Doctors’ Health SA and NT. She has worked in remote Aboriginal communities in the Australian desert , with refugees, as a medical educator and as a volunteer medical educator in the Pacific Islands. She has presented and published nationally and internationally about medical education, doctors’ health, Aboriginal health and mental health.
She currently works for the RACGP and the Australian Medical Council and is the Medical Director for Doctors' Health NT.
Ms Kiara Cannizzaro, Director
DBBM
Kiara brings extensive and diverse experience in business management, health marketing, and governance, with a strong background as both a board and committee member, including service as a company secretary.
With over 35 years in the health sector, Kiara has managed a wide range of areas including marketing and communications, stakeholder engagement, event management, strategic business initiatives, and team leadership. For more than 13 years, she has led the development and implementation of doctors’ health and wellbeing programs across South Australia, the Northern Territory, and nationally.
Recognised for leadership and public relations excellence, Kiara has a proven track record in successfully implementing innovative and high-impact health programs. She is passionate about member engagement, relationship management, and building collaborative partnerships that deliver meaningful outcomes. Kiara currently works at The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) in the rural programs team.
Kiara holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from the University of South Australia, where she received the Chancellor’s Commendation and the HSBC Holdings PLC Prize for developing a national marketing plan for a health insurance organisation.
Dr Simon Woods, Executive Director
MB BS FRACS FCSHK MBA CHM AFACHSM
Simon is an experienced, senior health care executive with an extensive clinical and leadership background. He has practiced as a surgeon in Australia, Scotland and Hong Kong. He has worked in public and private settings and diverse hospitals including academic, quaternary level facilities, private hospitals and regional centres.
He was clinical head of a major service at The Alfred and Clinical Dean / Clinical Associate Professor, coordinating teaching at The Alfred and Cabrini Health.
He led major organizational change at a number of organisations and has expertise in clinical governance, clinical research and publication, as well as teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Whilst working as a clinician, he was appointed as Medical Director and then Executive Director of Medical Services for Cabrini Health. He transitioned out of clinical practice and acquired an Executive MBA with distinction.
He led the development of the first Clinical Services Plan for Cabrini Health, which transitioned into a Facilities Masterplan, as well as development of a range of flagship clinical services. He was involved with the design and implementation of major Clinical IT systems.
He has a commitment to safety and quality in healthcare and has knowledge and experience of clinical governance, data analysis, adverse event review methodology and reporting. He is a member of the Safer Care Victoria Academy, contributing to Safety System Reviews, Adverse Event Review Training and the Governing Board Clinical Governance Education program.
He has worked in a variety of interim executive roles, providing medical leadership and overseeing projects and organisational change management. This has included challenging environments with organisations in crisis. From 2020 - 2022 he was Chief Medical Officer of Barwon Health, overseeing the medical workforce, Research, Quality and Safety Team and Pharmacy. With the advent of Covid, he led the creation of the new Barwon South West Public Health Unit, which transitioned into the new Public Health and Health Partnership Directorate. This service oversaw the regional Covid response, including testing, contact tracing, monitoring and vaccination.
Simon has a strong belief that patient safety and high-quality clinical outcomes are reliant on a positive, engaged, collegiate medical workforce.
Our Team
Dr Simon Woods, Executive Director
MB BS FRACS FCSHK MBA CHM AFACHSM
See biography above.
Elspeth McConaghy, Company Secretary
LLB (Hons) BA
Elspeth is a lawyer with 10 years post-admission experience, who specialises in financial services regulation. Elspeth has a background in corporate and commercial litigation, policy and law reform, and is experienced in providing strategic advice to senior executives.
Elspeth has previously been a board member and chair of Student Community Television Inc, an ACNC registered not-for-profit organisation providing platform and training services for students across the television industry.
Doctors' Health Alliance 2026-2027 Strategic Plan can be found here.