FPM Board meeting update - October 2026

Governance

FPM Board casual vacancies and election

The FPM Board acknowledged the resignations of Dr Leinani Aiono-Le-Tagaloa and Associate Professor Susie Lord from the board and thanked them for their contributions. After considering the timing of the 2027 election cycle, the board determined not to fill the current casual vacancies, with board renewal to occur through the established election process. 

Following the call for nominations that was held between 23 September 2026 and 14 October 2026, the faculty has received nine nominations, for four elected vacancies on the 2027 FPM Board. As the number of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies, the faculty will proceed to an election, to be held from Saturday 23 January to Sunday 7 February 2027 via electronic ballot.

FPM by-laws

The board has supported amendments to the following by-laws:

By-law 21.3, Faculty of Pain Medicine Prize will be retired in 2027. A review of the current model suggests that it is no longer the most effective mechanism to raise the profile of pain medicine at participating universities. Instead, the faculty will focus on more direct medical student and junior doctor engagement. The aim is to build awareness of pain medicine and its training pathway through direct, sustained career engagement. The proposed amendments to by-law 21.3 will be submitted to ANZCA Council for approval. 

FPM Board review

Following the independent governance review undertaken by Culture on Purpose, the board endorsed an implementation framework  providing a clear pathway for progressing the recommendations. Priorities include:

1. Strategic governance and oversight;
2. Embedding governance practices and documents that have been developed;
3. Succession planning for board renewal;
4. Board capability and development;
5. Fellowship engagement and external influence

Clearer oversight of procedures in pain medicine

From 2027, the FPM Procedures in Pain Medicine Committee will report to the FPM Training and Assessment Executive Committee. This change strengthens accountability for curriculum, supervision, assessment, educational quality and risk, while retaining strategic professional and clinical standards input through the FPM Professional Affairs Executive Committee. The effectiveness of the revised model will be reviewed after 12 months.

Strategy

Five-Year Sustainability Plan

The board noted progress in implementing the FPM Five-Year Sustainability Plan (2026—2031). The 2026—2027 Strategic Implementation Roadmap will sequence priority work, clarify governance and support regular monitoring. Consultation with regional and national committees is underway, and feedback will inform implementation and any material changes presented to the board.

This approach is intended to maintain focus on the faculty’s long-term sustainability while ensuring that delivery remains responsive to fellows, trainees, communities and the wider health system.

The roadmap will support disciplined implementation by sequencing priorities, clarifying accountability and enabling the board to monitor outcomes, dependencies and emerging risks. Consultation with regional and national committees will help ensure implementation remains relevant to fellows, trainees and the communities they serve.

Rural Pain Capability Project

The Australian Government Specialist Training Program (STP) funded Rural Pain Capability Project is progressing nationally. It will identify capability gaps and inform an education and training model for rural and regional medical specialists and trainees. Early stakeholder engagement is supporting recruitment across training networks, funded training sites and relevant medical specialties, including anaesthesia and emergency medicine. 

Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education

The inaugural National Pain Education Summit brought together more than 160 participants from across the health education sector. The faculty is now considering options to maintain momentum and support the next phase of implementing the Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education, subject to future funding.

First Nations and Māori equity

The faculty continues to support work to embed cultural safety in anaesthesia and pain medicine education. The appointment of a Senior Māori Equity and Cultural Safety Advisor in New Zealand will further support this work and strengthen the college’s approach to Māori health equity and cultural safety.

New Zealand

The board discussed work underway in New Zealand to strengthen the sustainability and visibility of specialist pain medicine. Priorities include development of a minimum dataset for chronic pain, work on the scope of practice for specialist pain medicine physicians, and advocacy relating to access to multidisciplinary pain services and appropriate treatment options.

Advocacy

The faculty continues to strengthen its influence across policy, education, research and workforce development. Key priorities include contributing to discussions on the future of outcomes collection and data governance following ePPOC and preparing a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Women’s Health. 

As well as broadening partnerships with organisations such as General Practice Registrars Australia and Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (AIDA), and building momentum following the National Pain Education Summit and launch of the Pain Education Standards Network. These initiatives support the sustainability plan objective of strengthening FPM’s external influence and improving access to high-quality, evidence-based pain care.

Professional affairs

Professional documents

PS17(PM): Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary care in specialist pain services and specialised pain units and its background paper have been approved for a 6-month pilot period.

The Director of Professional Affairs, Professional Affairs, FPM has responded to a number of requests for consultations and submissions, including the federal government's enquiry into women's health, fee transparency and item numbers. There are increasing concerns with regards to professionalism and the lack of fee transparency.

There is continued progress on several key professional documents, including: 

Work continues, to explore a sustainable future model for Acute Pain Management: Scientific Evidence. This includes testing how emerging technologies, with clinical expert oversight, may support evidence surveillance and content review, alongside market research to better understand priority audiences, user needs and delivery options.

Scientific Meetings

The 2026 FPM Spring Meeting held from 2—3 October in Melbourne was well attended and received positive feedback. The board noted interest in a shorter future format, which will be considered by the FPM Scientific Meetings Committee.

Planning for the 2027 FPM Symposium and ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) is progressing, with the scientific program nearing completion and international speakers confirmed. The 2027 FPM Spring Meeting will be held in Sydney from 10—12 September. Together, these meetings support continuing professional development, fellowship engagement and the exchange of contemporary evidence and practice across pain medicine.

2027 Emerging Leaders Conference (ELC)

Applications for the 2027 ELC will close on Friday 23 October 2026. The ELC brings together new fellows from a diverse range of backgrounds and offers three days of dynamic content presented by anaesthesia and pain medicine leaders. 

FPM Webinars

With the success of previous FPM webinars in the “Beyond the Clinic” series, a further webinar, "Understanding and surviving the complaints process" was held on Tuesday 20 October 2026 to focus on welfare issues surrounding patient complaints. The webinar was run by Dr Liz Crowe.

Education and training 

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) implementation

The transition to Entrustable Professional Activities has moved into trial and implementation preparation. A two-activity trial is underway across selected training sites, supervisor workshops have commenced, and guidance and communications are being released. Feedback from the trial and workshops will inform final implementation decisions, with further activities planned for staged introduction during 2027 and 2028.

Accreditation and curriculum renewal

The Australian Medical Council has approved the faculty-specific pain medicine accreditation standard. Reflecting the move from accrediting individual units to broader training settings, the former Training Unit Accreditation Committee (TUAC) will now be known as the FPM Training Accreditation Committee (FPM TAC). Updated accreditation documentation has been approved and communicated to training sites.

A comprehensive review of the pain medicine curriculum is also about to commence. Consultation will include fellows, external colleges and consumer organisations, with the aim of aligning the curriculum with graduate outcomes and establishing a more responsive cycle of ongoing review.

FPM new fellows admitted to fellowship (as of 9 October 2026)

The following new fellows were admitted to fellowship since the last board meeting update:

Dr Lam Chi Cheung, FFPMANZCA, FHKCA (Anaesthesiology), HK

Dr Craig Albert Kennedy, FFPMANZCA, FRACGP, QLD