Home » Structure and Governance

The Australian Society of Anaesthetists is a not-for-profit member organisation governed by a Board comprising of members who volunteer their time.

The Head Office of the Society is headed up by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Strategic Direction: to read the ASA’s updated Strategic Direction for 2021-2023 please click here.

ASA Board of Directors

The ASA Board of Directors comprises of the President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Honorary Federal Treasurer, Executive Councillor, two ASA Council elected members and one Independent Director. The Board meets seven times a year.

ASA Board Members

Dr Andrew Miller

ASA President

MBBS LLB(Hons) FANZCA FACLM FAICD

As a specialist anaesthetist in private practice Andrew spends a lot of time in direct clinical care.

In addition, Andrew has a legal education which has led to involvement in governance and strategy for national 'not-for-profits'. These organisations operate in the areas of medical indemnity, policy and advocacy for the medical profession.

He is also a director of several commercial enterprises and a Graduate and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr Nicole Fairweather

ASA Executive Councillor

MBBS Hons 1 FANZCA M Clin US GAICD

Dr Nicole Fairweather is an anaesthetist who currently works solely in Private Practice. She completed Medical School at the University of Queensland, achieving a University Medal. After residency and training in South-Eastern Queensland she undertook a Fellowship in Thoracic Anaesthesia at Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto. She was awarded her FANZCA in 2004, achieving a Merit Certificate.

She returned to Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) where she spent 10 years as a Staff Specialist and Senior Staff Specialist. She served on the Queensland Regional Committee for ANZCA for a period, spent 3 years as the Rotational Coordinator for the Southern rotation of the Anaesthetic Training Scheme, and also as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Queensland Committee of Management for the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) since 2009. She is currently Executive Councillor on the Board of Directors for the ASA.

During her time at PAH she had an interest in, and was published in the field of Patient Safety. She provided anaesthesia services for cardiac and thoracic surgery, liver transplant and resection surgery, as well as Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for intra-abdominal tumours.

She continues her interest in private practice in the areas of thoracic and colorectal surgery, and percutaneous cardiology procedures.

In her spare time she enjoys nature photography, travelling to far flung locations and patchwork quilting.

Dr Suzi Nou

ASA Immediate Past President

MBBS BMedSci FANZCA MPH MAICD

Suzi Nou is a Specialist Anaesthetist who studied and trained in Melbourne. After completing a paediatric fellowship, she moved to Fiji as the Senior Lecturer at the Fiji School Medicine and became Head of the Department of Anaesthesia and ICU at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva. She then moved to Cambodia and worked as an anaesthetist and intensivist at the Angkor Hospital for Children. She returned to Australia via Darwin, became a commissioned officer in the RAAF and completed a Masters of Public Health with a focus on global health and health systems strengthening.

Suzi has served as Executive Councillor, NT Representative on the ASA SANT Committee of Management (COM) and member of the Melbourne 2016 NSC Organising Committee, ASA Victorian COM, ASA Overseas Development and Education Committee (ODEC), and ANZCA/ASA/NZSA Welfare SIG Executive. During her training, she was Chair of the Victorian ANZCA Trainee Committee and Deputy Chair of the ANZCA Training Committee. External to the ASA, she sits on the Victorian State Trauma Case Review Group and VIC DHHS Health Worker Infection Prevention and Wellbeing Taskforce.

Suzi is a Course Director for Paediatric BASIC, Primary Trauma Care (PTC), Senior EMST Instructor and ALS instructor. She has been involved with establishing or teaching courses in Cambodia, Laos, China, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. She continues to be actively involved with the anaesthesia society and the development of paediatric anaesthesia and critical care services in Cambodia.

Feel free to follow her on Twitter @snouzin

Dr Mark Sinclair

Vice President

Mark is in private practice with the Wakefield Anaesthetic Group in Adelaide and also spent 20 years as a VMO at the Flinders Medical Centre. He initially worked in General Practice but later switched to anaesthesia, and completed his training in Adelaide, and in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mark has been a member of the SA and NT Committee of Management of the ASA since 2001 (Chair, 2006-2008) and was the Convenor of the 68th ASA National Scientific Congress in Darwin, 2009. He has served on the Economics Advisory Committee since 2003 (Chair, 2010-2021). While in this role he served as a Council-elected Board member from 2016 to 2021. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mark has been Vice President of the ASA since October 2021.

Dr Mark Suss

Honorary Federal Treasurer

MBBS (Melb), FANZCA, GDipClinEpi, PGDipEcho, LLB

Mark Suss is a specialist anaesthetist who studied and trained in Melbourne and Geelong. After completing a cardiac anaesthesia fellowship he worked in mixed public and private practice for ten years, and is now a full-time private practitioner in Melbourne across a wide range of specialties.

He has previously served as national ASA TMG - then known as GASACT - chair, and Victorian State ASA chair, as well as contributing to the ASA Communications Committee for several years. With many years of experience co-convening Third Part trainees’ courses he has a longstanding interest in workplace and workforce challenges faced by new Fellows.

Mark is a law graduate who was admitted to legal practice in Victoria in 2021. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr Peter Waterhouse

Board Elected Director

Peter is a consultant anaesthetist practicing in Brisbane.

A graduate of the University of Queensland, Peter undertook training in England, Queensland and Victoria, specialising in the care of children.

He is a Senior Visiting Medical Oﬃcer at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. In private practice, he treats both children and adults.

Liaison with ANZCA is an important part of his role and he represents the ASA on several ANZCA committees. Peter also represents our society on the Council of Procedural Specialists.

Dr Vida Viliunas OAM

Board Elected Director

Dr Vida Viliunas is an anaesthetist who has worked in public + private practice in the ACT since the last century.

Vida has had a long association with the ASA and has served as Executive Councillor, ACT Chair, NSC organising committee (2000 and 2013), Education Officer and most recently Chair of the Education Committee. Together with other members of the Education Committee, she was involved in the launch of ASAEd. The on-line education service for members was very well-timed in 2020-2021 for consultant anaesthetists and trainee members who needed access to web-based resources for CPD, keeping up with industrial developments and help with exam preparation during the lean COVID years.

Apart from the ASA, Vida is a company director of the ACT-based John James Foundation and Advanced Professional Education Pty Ltd.

More at www.doctorvida.com.au

Dr Matthew Fisher

ASA Chief Executive Officer

PhD DHlthSt (honoris causa)

Matthew is an experienced CEO in healthcare associations and is also an appointed director of Exercise & Sports Science Australia. Matthew has also worked in the public and private health sectors in Victoria and NSW.

He completed his PhD at Deakin University and was awarded a Doctor of Health Studies (honoris causa) by Charles Sturt University for his work in regional and rural areas.

Matthew has attended both Harvard Business School and London Business School for executive education and has a particular interest in leadership development.

ASA Council

The Council comprises of the President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Honorary Federal Treasurer, Executive Councillor, State and Territory Representatives and senior ASA Committee Chairs. The Council meet four times a year.

ASA Council Members

Dr Andrew Miller

ASA President

Dr Nicole Fairweather

ASA Executive Councillor

Dr Nicole Fairweather is an anaesthetist who currently works solely in Private Practice. She completed Medical School at the University of Queensland, achieving a University Medal. After residency and training in South-Eastern Queensland she undertook a Fellowship in Thoracic Anaesthesia at Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto. She was awarded her FANZCA in 2004, achieving a Merit Certificate.

She returned to Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) where she spent 10 years as a Staff Specialist and Senior Staff Specialist. She served on the Queensland Regional Committee for ANZCA for a period, spent 3 years as the Rotational Coordinator for the Southern rotation of the Anaesthetic Training Scheme, and also as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Queensland Committee of Management for the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) since 2009. She is currently Executive Councillor on the Board of Directors for the ASA.

During her time at PAH she had an interest in, and was published in the field of Patient Safety. She provided anaesthesia services for cardiac and thoracic surgery, liver transplant and resection surgery, as well as Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for intra-abdominal tumours.

She continues her interest in private practice in the areas of thoracic and colorectal surgery, and percutaneous cardiology procedures.

In her spare time she enjoys nature photography, travelling to far flung locations and patchwork quilting.

Dr Suzi Nou

ASA Immediate Past President

Dr Mark Sinclair

Vice President

Dr Mark Suss

Honorary Federal Treasurer

Dr Peter Waterhouse

Chair, Professional Issues Advisory Committee

Dr. Michael Lumsden-Steel

Chair, Economics Advisory Committee

B.Med Sci 1998, MBBS (hons) 2000 UTAS, FANZCA 2014

Michael is a Graduate of University of Tasmania Medical School, who went on to complete periods of Fulltime and Reserve Medical Service with the Royal Australian Air Force. returned to Tasmania with his family to undertake and complete 5 years of anaesthetic training within the Tasmanian Health System. He attained his Fellowship in Anaesthetics with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists in April 2014. He worked in Hobart and Launceston as a specialist anaesthetist whilst also being a full-time Air Force Anaesthetist between 2014 and 2017.

Michael is registered to work in all the private hospitals in Hobart and is actively involved with the Australian Society of Anaesthetists and the Australian Medical Association. Michael is a specialist anaesthetist with subspecialty interests including regional anaesthesia, obstetric anaesthesia and trauma anaesthesia. Outside the profession, Dr Lumsden-Steel enjoys spending time with his family, exploring the outdoors, cycling, and the occasional game of golf.

Dr Graham P. Mapp

Chair, Queensland Committee of Management

MBBS (Qld) FANZCA

I graduated from the University of Queensland (MBBS) in 1990, and was admitted to the Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists in 2000.

Since 2000, I have worked as a specialist anaesthetist, predominantly in private practice in Brisbane, and I’m a visiting medical officer to the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

I became a member of the ASA as a registrar in 1997 and the society has assisted me professionally throughout my career. I became a member of the Queensland Committee of Management of the ASA in 2009, and I became a member of the Economics Advisory Committee in 2011 and continue to serve in these roles.

Over the years, I’ve participated in several hospital advisory committees, and I have a keen interest in paediatric anaesthetic services in these facilities. I’m also interested in Welfare, Obstetrics, History, and General Surgery.

Outside of work, I’m a keen musician, and enjoy golf, tennis, and skiing.

Dr Vida Viliunas OAM

Chair, Australian Capital Territory Committee of Management

Dr Simon Martel

Chair, New South Wales Committee of Management

I graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2002, and undertook training on the Westemad Rotational Scheme, being admitted to the Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists in 2011. Since 2012 I have worked as a VMO anaesthetist in public and private practice in Sydney, as well as monthly lists in Inverell and Narrabri. I am also a prehospital and retrieval medicine specialist with CareFlight.

I have worked extensively across the ASA, ANZCA and the AMA in representative roles. I am currently both an ASA and AMA NSW Councillor, as well as a member of the ASA Economics Advisory Committee, and AMA NSW's Hospital Practice Committee. Previous roles have included Co-Chair of the ANZCA Trainee Committee and the New Fellow representative on the ANZCA NSW Regional Committee.

I have a strong commitment to education. I am a member of NSW Anaesthesia Continuing Education Committee, and the founding organiser of the NSW Registrar Scientific Prize, which I started in 2012. I have previously been a member of several ANZCA education committees, as well as working with the Australian Medical Council, as part of several accreditation teams, to accredit various medical colleges.

Dr Michelle Horne

Chair, Victorian Committee of Management

Dr Michelle Horne is an anaesthetist in both public and private practice. She has worked at many departments around Melbourne during her consultant and training years and is passionate about providing opportunities for the anaesthetic community to see themselves as a community and fostering networks and opportunities to support each other as well as the patients.

Dr Sophia Bermingham

Chair, South Australia and Northern Territory Committee of Management

I graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2007, and undertook anaesthesia training through Alfred Health in Melbourne. I gained my FANZCA in 2018 after completing fellowships in obstetrics and cardiothoracic anaesthesia in Adelaide.

My current practice is a mix of public at Southern Adelaide Local Health Network and private through the Pulse Anaesthetics group. I enjoy a wide range of clinical anaesthesia across both sectors, with particular interests in healthcare leadership and wellbeing.

My current roles include being the SA representative on the ANZCA Wellbeing SIG Executive Committee and the ASA Wellbeing Advocate Subcommittee. In 2023 I was selected to attend the Stanford University Chief Wellness Officer Course in California.

In 2021 I became a Company Directors Course Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors and in 2020 completed the Oxford Executive Leadership Program. I started as Vice-Chair of the SA/NT Committee in 2018 and have been appointed as Chair of this committee in 2023.

Dr David Kingsbury

Chair, West Australian Committee of Management

After growing up in Malaysia, I completed my medical degree at the University of Western Australia, and went on to spend my resident years working in Perth and Sydney. My early career was spent in hospital and pre-hospital critical care fields. I was involved with setting up the medical trauma team which travels with the national on and off road motorcycle racing championships, and it is still going strong today.

Starting Anaesthetic training here in Perth, what was initially a one year provisional fellowship studying anaesthesia for liver transplantation in Hong Kong, turned into a 10 year stretch of living, working and raising my family in Hong Kong. I was involved in both the public and private systems, and had various medical administration roles, including helping Ramsay Health Care set up the first day surgery facility in the city, and teaching with the University of Hong Kong.

Returning to Perth full time in 2020, I now split my professional time equally between the WA Public Hospital system (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital) and my private practice.

I am passionate about fighting to preserve this fantastic healthcare system we have in Australia, and to do everything possible to prevent the introduction of schemes such as managed care and vertical integration of healthcare services, which has led to the demise of many previously great healthcare systems.

Dr Simon Morphett

Chair, Tasmanian Committee of Management

I have been a Specialist Anaesthetist for 21 years and over that time have worked in both the public and private sector in varying proportions and for much of that time within Tasmania. Currently I hold a 0.75 FTE position at the Royal Hobart Hospital and have reduced my private working hours. I do believe passionately that Australia must continue to have both the public and private healthcare sector functioning effectively and efficiently to adequately meet the growing healthcare needs of all Australians. In this respect, the Australian Society of Anaesthetists provides powerful advocacy and supports and represents all Anaesthetists in their provision of care, regardless of their professional situation. For this reason, I am very pleased to take on the role of Acting Chair of the Tasmanian State Committee of Management.
My areas of professional interest include paediatric anaesthesia and education.