Executive Team

Ben is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Ben has broad experience in the health sector leading teams and in consulting roles in both the public and private sector. Ben was also the Chief Executive Officer of Ramsay Health Care’s Cairns facilities for many years. Ben is a purpose driven leader who is passionate about leading high performance teams, and delivering on strategies that ultimately lead to greater outcomes for the North Queensland community.

Ben strives for continued benefit for the entire North Queensland region and has provided leadership and support to various organisations in director and committee roles including with Cairns Regional Council, Cairns Bank, and the Cairns Catholic Diocese development fund, and with Regional Development Australia.

Prior to becoming NQPHN CEO, Ben held the roles of Chair, Deputy Chair, and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee.

With experience in primary health networks, aged care, interoperability, integration and digital infrastructure, Janine leads multidisciplinary teams to deliver innovative, patient-centred solutions to support commissioning. Her work spans enterprise architecture, systems integration, and population health needs assessments, with a strong focus on improving equity, data governance, and stakeholder engagement. Janine loves translating complex digital challenges into actionable strategies that support better health outcomes and smarter service design. She is also a passionate advocate for embedding digital capability and data-driven insights at every level of the healthcare system.

From running chronic disease teams in remote areas to disability therapy teams in metro areas, Matt has a long and varied career in some of Australia’s most challenging environments.  He has worked as the Regional Manager in Alice Springs for the Department of Health and Ageing and oversaw the rollout of the Primary Health Care Access Program in Central Australia and he also ran the Kimberley Division of General Practice for five years.

He is also a governance professional and has been a non-executive director on Arts, Research, and Workforce Boards as well as the Governance Committee of Amnesty International Australia.  He is a Chartered Secretary and has been a regular presenter with the Governance Institute of Australia.  Matt has a doctorate in public policy from Curtin University where he examined the promise of choice and control with the NDIS rollout.

Now residing in Cairns, Matt enjoys travelling with his family and reading books, cycling and swimming in his spare time.  Having spent many hours on the Ningaloo Reef, he now looks forward to snorkelling and diving over the Great Barrier Reef.

A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Richard is also a qualified Chartered Secretary and CPA. His career includes senior leadership roles in aged care, Primary Health Networks, government business enterprises, and consulting firms.

Richard brings deep expertise in business transformation, gained through both consulting and internal management roles. He has worked closely with support service teams in finance, procurement, information technology, and human resources to deliver strategic change.

Most recently, Richard served as Chief Financial Officer for an aged care organisation on the Sunshine Coast, where he developed a strong understanding of the health challenges facing rural and remote Queensland communities.

Richard is excited to return to the PHN sector and contribute to NQPHN’s mission of improving health outcomes across northern Queensland.

A Registered Mental Health Nurse by background, she trained in the UK’s National Health Service in the 1980s before completing a Master of Arts in Advanced Professional Practice in Health Care and holding senior leadership roles across multiple service environments.

Since moving to Australia in 2005, Gill has worked across North Queensland and the Northern Territory in state health, primary health, and community care. She was CEO of Northern Territory PHN for five years and previously served as NQPHN’s Executive Director of Clinical Governance and Performance.

Gillian has extensive experience engaging with governments, health providers, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and consumer and carer groups. Her strengths lie in building relationships, driving system reform, and translating ideas into action. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Based in North Queensland, Gillian has worked widely across rural, remote, and very remote communities, with a strong understanding of the social determinants of health and the unique challenges faced in these regions. She has recently returned to NQPHN as Executive Director of Health Commissioning.