Our AGPAL Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring our commitment to quality and delivery of a simple and effective accreditation and certification program, consistent with international best practice is maintained.
Since AGPAL was established in 1997, general practice accreditation has grown significantly, with AGPAL now providing accreditation services to the majority of general practices accredited within the Australian market. Board members are either nominated by or elected by the membership and meet four times per annum.
Mr Gary Smith AM
Position
Chair
Qualifications
AM, JP, CPM FAAPM, FAICD, HonDLitt
Member Organisation
Independent
Year Joined
2006
Current Appointments and Memberships:
- Director, Quality Innovation Performance Limited (QIP)
- Board Chair, Quality Innovation Performance Consulting Pty Ltd (QIP Consulting)
- Board Member, QIP International
- Board Member, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District
- Director, General Practice Workforce Tasmania
- Fellow and Life Member, Australian Association of Practice Management (AAPM)
- Member, Medicare Australia Stakeholders Consultation Group
- Member, Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review General Practice & Primary Care Clinical Committee
- Academic Director and Lecturer, University of New England Partnerships
- Surveyor, International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua)
Biography
Mr Gary Smith AM is the Chair of Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL). He was the Chair of QIP from 2011 to 2025 and is currently the Chair of QIP Consulting and QIP International Boards. Gary joined the Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL) Board in December 2006. He has more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare management.
Gary was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of New England (UNE) in recognition of his distinguished service to UNE Partnerships and to the professionalisation of the field of medical practice management for the past 30 years. In 2023 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Ms Jo Watson
Position
Director
Qualifications
BA Soci.Sci, MPH; FAICD
Member Organisation
Consumers Health Forum
Year Joined
2012
Current Appointments and Memberships
- Chair, Quality Innovation Performance Limited (QIP)
- Deputy Chair, Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), Australian Government
- Chair, HTA Consumer Consultative Committee, Commonwealth Department of Health)
- Adjunct Associate Professor, the University of Sydney
Biography
Ms Jo Watson joined the AGPAL Board in 2012, and the Board of QIP in 2017. In 2025, she was appointed Chair of QIP. Jo is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.
Jo was appointed to the Board of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia in 2012 and served as Deputy Chair from 2014 to 2024. From 1998 to 2014, she was the Executive Director of the National Association of People Living with HIV Australia (NAPWHA). Over several decades, Jo has been a respected community advocate with a focus on health policy, access to medicines, and the delivery of effective public health interventions.
She was the consumer nominee on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Pricing Authority (PBPA) from 2002 to 2012 and subsequently appointed to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), where in 2017 she became the first Deputy Chair. Jo also chairs the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Consumer Consultative Committee, established by the Department of Health in 2016.
Dr Ross Hetherington
Position
Director
Qualifications
MBBS, DRANZCOG, FAICD, FACRRM
Member Organisation
Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA)
Year Joined
2019
Other Current Appointments or Memberships:
- Elected Director and President, RHealth Limited
- Board Chair, Rural Health Workforce Australia
- Board Member, Darling Downs Hospital Board
- Board Member, Health Workforce Queensland
- Member, Medical Experts Committee, Avant Insurance
Biography
Dr Hetherington has been a practicing rural GP for over 30 years in Western Queensland, first as Medical Superintendents with Right of Private Practice (MRRPP) at Winton and Boulia, and has been based in Warwick since 1996. Dr Hetherington is also a Design Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME), certified Diving Medical Examiner and Medical Examiner for the Belgium Government.
Dr Suzanne Harrison OAM
Position
Director
Qualifications
OAM, MBBS, DA, FACRRM, MSportMed, GradG HPE
Member Organisation
Independent
Year Joined
2023
Other Current Appointments or Memberships:
- Murray City Country Coast RTO - Board Member and Current Chair
- Rural Doctors Association of Victoria - Board Member and past President
- DoH Aged Care Clinical Advisory Committee
- DHHS Medical Workforce Planning Advisory Group
Biography
Dr Sue Harrison has been a rural generalist/GPA in Echuca in Northern Victoria for almost 40 years. Dr Harrison has been a practice owner of a large general practice in Echuca and is currently undertaking clinical work in ED in Swan Hill and Echuca.
Dr Harrison has been involved in education and supervision, currently for the University of Melbourne, but also in practice supervision of interns, registrars and IMGs. Sue’s governance experience includes time on the boards of Echuca District Hospital, Rural Doctors Association of Victoria (current), Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Rural Workforce Agency of Victoria, and Murray City Country Coast GP Training (until June 2023).
Dr Harrison is interested in Quality and Safety and currently sits on a number of Clinical Working Groups for the Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, the Quality and Safety Committee of ACRRM.
In 2024 she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Dr Umberto Russo
Position
Director
Qualifications
MBBS, FRACGP, MBA & GAICD
Member Organisation
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
- Medical Insurance Company (MIGA)
- Registered as General Practitioner (General, Specialist) with AHPRA
- Australian Institute of Company Directors
Year Joined
2022
Other current appointments or memberships
- National Home Doctor Service – After hours deputising doctor
- Medical Director of Flinders Clinic general practice responsible for clinical governance
- Member of the General Practice round table (GPRT)
- President and Chief Medical Officer NAMDS
- Medical Advisor to Bupa
- Chief Medical Officer 24-7 Healthcare
Mr David Osman
Position
Director
Qualifications
JP, CPM MAAPM, AICD, AdvDip Bus Mgt
Member Organisation
Australian Association of Practice Management (AAPM)
Year Joined
2024
Other Current Appointments or Memberships:
- Director, Australian Association of Practice Management
- Company Secretary, Australian Association of Practice Management
- Surveyor, Australian General Practice Association Limited (AGPAL)
Biography:
David is a practice owner, practice manager, accreditation surveyor, healthcare trainer and has been working actively in General Practice, community health, specialist practice in both small and large organisations.
He is an AAPM certified practice manager and been actively involved healthcare practice management for several years.
Currently he manages General Practice, as well as urgent and ambulatory care supporting major hospital emergency departments.
An experienced director and company secretary, he has participated in boards, committees, and representative groups.
Ms Julianne Badenoch
Position
Director
Qualifications
RN, RM, BNP, GAICD, GAICG
Member Organisation
Australian Primary Healthcare Nurses Association (APNA)
Year Joined
2024
Other Current Appointments or Memberships:
- Director, National Asthma Council Australia (NAC)
- Chair Governance Committee NAC
- Director, Yorke and Northern Local Health Network (YNLHN), SA Government
- Chair, Clinical Governance Board Committee YNLHN
Biography:
Julianne is a Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife with over 40 years’ rural health experience including working clinically in general practice in rural SA.
Julianne is immediate past president of APNA and has over 20 years national health governance and health policy experience including previously as a Clinical Reference Lead for the Australian Digital Health Agency.
Julianne is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Clinical Governance and has extensive experience and keen interest in contemporary clinical and corporate governance.
Dr Costa Boyages
Position
Director
Qualifications
MBBS, LLB, BA, GDLP, FRACGP, DCH, GAICD
Member Organisation
Australian Medical Association (AMA)
Year Joined
2025
Other Current Appointments or Memberships:
- Director, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Board
- Director, Medical Indemnity Group of Australia (MIGA)
- Director, Cancer Institute NSW Board
- Fellow, Australian Medical Association (AMA)
- Fellow, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
Biography:
Dr Costa Boyages is a practising rural general practitioner based on the NSW South Coast, where he provides comprehensive primary care alongside his work as a Visiting Medical Officer in palliative care at David Berry Hospital.
Dr Boyages brings a broad background in both clinical and governance roles across metropolitan and regional settings. He currently serves as a director on the boards of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, the Medical Indemnity Group of Australia, and the Cancer Institute NSW. His previous governance roles have included appointments to the Medical Board of Australia, the Australian Medical Association (NSW), and the NSW Rural Doctors Network.
In addition to clinical practice, Dr Boyages is actively involved in medical education. He holds an academic appointment with the University of Wollongong and supervises general practice registrars and medical students, with a focus on promoting quality improvement in primary care.
Prior to his medical career, Dr Boyages worked as an international lawyer and diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Dr Boyages is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and is committed to ethical governance, system-level improvement and strengthening access to safe, high-quality care in rural and regional communities.
Mr Henry Williams
Position
Company Secretary
Qualifications
ACA, BBus, AICD
Member Organisation
Independent
Year Joined
2004
Other current appointments or memberships
- Company Secretary, Quality Innovation Performance Limited (QIP)
- Director, Attune Hearing Pty Ltd
- CEO, Fort Knox Storage Group
- Principal, H N Williams Pty Ltd
- Board Member, Alzheimer’s Association of Queensland Inc.
- Associate Member, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- Fellow Member, Institute of Company Directors in Australia
- Registered Tax Agent