New Appointments to the PBAC

Page last updated: 1 June 2017

The Minister for Health has made nine appointments (five new appointments and four re-appointments) to the PBAC. The new appointments are Professor Clara Chow (cardiologist); Ms Bel Harper (consumer nominee); Professor Catherine Hill (rheumatologist and epidemiologist); Professor Kirsten Howard (health economist); and Dr Meena Okera (oncologist). The reappointments are Professor Christopher Etherton-Beer (clinical pharmacologist); Dr David Newby (community pharmacist); Dr Rashmi Sharma (general medical practitioner); and Ms Jo Watson (consumer nominee). 

These new appointments increase the total PBAC membership to 19, enhancing the capacity of the Committee to deal with a growing number of increasingly complex submissions. 

The new appointments follow the Australian Government’s commitment to enlarge the PBAC membership to 21 under the PBS Access and Sustainability Package of reforms announced in May 2015. Further appointments to the Committee will follow. For further information about the new and re-appointed members, please refer to the PBAC membership website. 

The PBAC Executive

The PBAC Executive, created as a result of the PBS Access and Sustainability Package announced in May 2015, is now in operation and will triage and consider certain applications to improve the capacity, efficiency, flexibility and operations of the PBAC.

The PBAC Executive includes the Chairs of the PBAC and its supporting sub-committees and a consumer nominee. The Executive demonstrates the Australian Government’s commitment to streamline the Committee’s processes to improve patient access to important treatments on the PBS.