Our strategic relations

ANZCA is one of Australasia's largest specialist medical colleges, and the region's preeminent authority on anaesthesia, pain, and perioperative medicine.

We're solely responsible for training, examining and setting continuing professional development standards of anaesthetists and specialist pain medicine physicians in Australia and New Zealand, as well as setting the standards of clinical practice in each country.

And we're driving the development of an effective, integrated and collaborative perioperative care model that is likely to change the way core healthcare services are delivered in Australia and New Zealand.

So fostering positive, productive partnerships and respectful, responsive relations within our wider medical communities is critical.

At an international level, we're widely considered to be a global leader in anaesthesia education and training, and enjoy solid strategic relations with anaesthesia colleges and societies on every continent. Our Faculty of Pain Medicine was the first of its kind, and continues to lead the field internationally in that specialty. And our Clinical Trials Network is one of the largest and most successful multi-centre medical research collaborations in the world. 

Explore some of the ways we're working with our communities of interest in Australia, New Zealand, and further afield.

In Australia and New Zealand

Through the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges and the New Zealand Council of Medical Colleges, we work closely with other specialist medical colleges on a range of inter-specialty issues and interests, including: 


We work in similar ways with the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) and the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA), the most significant example being the tripartite Anaesthesia Continuing Education (ACE) and the 17 special interest groups it's helped establish.

Our Faculty of Pain Medicine has significant historic ties to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS); the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP); and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and its Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM), whose collaboration with ANZCA led to the creation of the world's first multidisciplinary pain medicine faculty.

The faculty also works closely with the Australian Pain Society, New Zealand Pain Societypainaustralia and other consumer groups focused on supporting patients experiencing pain.

Our formal roles and responsibilities require us to work closely with a range of national and state government agencies, as well as peak bodies such as the Medical Board of Australia, the Medical Council of New Zealand, and the Australian Medical Council.

We're also highly active "on the ground", fostering effective, practical working relations with hundreds of accredited training sites, particularly through the supervisory role holders and heads of department.

International relations

ANZCA fellows, often in collaboration with our surgical colleagues, undertake significant outreach activities throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including education and capacity development, and expert clinical service provision. We work with the ASA, NZSA, and organisations such as Interplast, a part of a co-ordinated approach to supporting and advocating for global health initiatives. Our Global Development Committee is an important part of this. 

As part of our role in advocacy, we recently submitted a joint paper to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to call for our government to increase support for our nearest neighbours to ensure that ongoing education and training would result in a sustainable health workforce. 

There is a tremendous unmet need for effective pain management in both acute and chronic pain in most countries but especially in low and middle-income countries. One of our most wide-ranging initiatives is the Essential Pain Management program which provides a resource for education and practice of pain management in 53 countries to date. 

In Asia we have close ties with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. Although training for specialist anaesthetists ended in 2018 in these regions, we are working to ensure that we still retain strong links and collaborations which reflect our common goals and interests. We continue to train specialist pain medicine physicians in the first two jurisdictions, with Hong Kong expanding as a training centre for pain.

We're one of three colleges in the Tri-nationsAlliance. We meet regularly the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland to discuss joint interests and share educational and policy resources. And we're developing relationships with the anaesthesiology societies in China, Great Britain and Ireland, and Europe. 

ANZCA is proud to be a member of the International Academy of Colleges of Anaesthesiology (IACA) and to join with the international colleges of the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong and Canada in this initiative.

Representation on other councils, committees, and boards

Many of our fellows represent the college on the boards, committees and working groups of external organisations. The main bodies and their representatives are indicated below.


 

Organisation

Committee Name

Representative

Reporting Committee

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Conjoint Committee of Pre-hospital and Retrieval Medicine Dr Geoffrey Healy
Dr Dean Bunbury
EEMC

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine

Rural and Remote Digital Innovation Group

Dr Brian Spain

PAEC

Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS)

Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS)

Dr Nayana Vootakuru

Safety and Quality Committee

ANZCA and Australian Diabetes Society (ADS)

ANZCA and Australian Diabetes Society (ADS) Working Group

Dr Roger Traill

Dr Judith Killen

PAEC

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

National Maternal Mortality Advisory Committee for the National Maternity Data Development Project

Prof Alicia Dennis

Safety and Quality Committee

Australian Red Cross  Australian Red Cross Lifeblod Advisory Committee Dr Lachlan Miles Safety and Quality Committee

Australian Society of Anaesthetists

Council of Australian Society of Anaesthetists

President

Council

Australian Society of Anaesthetist

Professional Issues Advisory Committee (PIAC)

Dr Chris Cokis

Council

Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (Australia)

Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (Australia)

President

Council

College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand

Board of College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand

President

Council

College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand

Education Committee

Dr Ian Graham

EEMC

National Blood Authority (Australia)

CRG - Module 1: Critical Bleeding/Massive Transfusion

Dr Michael Parr

Safety and Quality Committee

National Blood Authority (Australia)

Jurisdictional Blood Committee (JBC) Working Group

Dr Michael Parr

Dr Kerry Gunn

A/Prof Bernd Froessler

Dr Daniel Faulke

Dr Hamish Mace

Safety and Quality Committee

Ministry of Health Disaster Response Preparedness (NZ)

Ministry of Health Disaster Response Preparedness (NZ)

Dr Maurice Lee

NZNC

National Rural Health Alliance

Council

Dr Brian Spain

PAEC

New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians Society

New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians Society

Dr Rachel Dempsey

NZNC

New Zealand Resuscitation Council

New Zealand Resuscitation Council

Dr Malcolm Stuart

NZNC

Patient Safety Movement Foundation

Post-operative delirium working group

Prof David A Scott

Safety and Quality Committee

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP) Committee

Dr Mark Edwards

Safety and Quality Committee

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Council of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

President

Council

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

National Trauma Committee

Dr Kenneth Harrison

Executive

Royal Australiasian College of Surgeons Rural Health Equity Steering Committee A/Prof Deborah Wilson PAEC
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality Dr Simon Jenkins S&Q Committee
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Trauma Care Verification Committee Dr Adam Mahoney S&Q Committee

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Endometriosis Expert Working Group

Dr Karin Jones

FPM Board

Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA)  Specialist Rural Stakeholder Committee A/Prof Deb Wilson
Mr Lincoln Hoye
CPMC

Australian Resuscitation Council

Australian Resuscitation Council

Dr Christopher Scarff

Dr Michael Parr

Safety and Quality Committee

Society for Paediatric Anaesthesia in New Zealand and Australia (SPANZA)

Executive Committee

Dr Maryan Turner

Safety and Quality Committee

Standards Australia

IEC TC 62D Electromedical Equipment

Dr Christopher Thompson

Safety and Quality Committee

Standards Australia

IT-014-02 (Health Concept Representation of Standards)

Dr Christopher Thompson

Safety and Quality Committee

Standards Australia

HE-017  Anaesthetic and Respiratory Care Equipment

Dr Phoebe-Anne Maitland

Safety and Quality Committee

Standards Australia

HE-028 (Quality Management and Corresponding General Aspects for Medical Devices)

Dr Phoebe-Anne Mainland

Safety and Quality Committee

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

Advisory Committee on Medical Devices

Prof Guy Ludbrook

Safety and Quality Committee

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

Ventilator Expert Working Group

Dr Michael McManus

Dr Godfrey Wright

Dr Christopher Thompson

Safety and Quality Committee

ANZCA, ASA, NZSA Interplast and Lifebox Global

- Lifebox Australia & NZ committee

Dr Michael Cooper

Overseas Aid Committee

International Academy of Colleges of Anaesthesiologists

ANZCA is a founding member of IACA; a collaboration between ANZCA, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the College of Anaesthesiologists Ireland, the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Find out more
Last updated 11:48 9.10.2024