Our committees

The OTA has 3 types of committees that contribute to our governance:

statutory committees – required or established by law

advisory committees – composed of stakeholders who bring unique knowledge and skills to provide strategic direction, guide quality improvement, and assess our national DonateLife program effectiveness against our strategy

operational working groups – established to provide input into the overall operations of the DonateLife program. These groups may be ongoing or established as temporary working groups to achieve specified goals, information sharing and/or group discussions about a subject.

Statutory committees

The OTA has 3 statutory committees that are either required or established by law.

Audit and Risk Committee

The Audit and Risk Committee has been established by the accountable authority in compliance with section 45 of the PGPA Act and section 17 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) – Audit committee for Commonwealth entities.

The Audit and Risk Committee plays an essential role in the OTA’s corporate governance. It provides assessment and advice to the CEO on the OTA’s:

financial and performance reporting responsibilities

risk oversight and management

systems of internal control.

Our Audit and Risk Committee is chaired by an independent external member, Ms Gayle Ginnane.

The OTA CEO, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Australian National Audit Office and our internal assurance staff are invited to attend meetings as required. See the Audit and Risk Committee Charter for more information.

Committee members collectively have a broad range of skills and experience.

OTA Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is responsible for advising the CEO about the objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by the OTA in the performance of its functions and organ or tissue donation and transplantation matters. It is established under the OTA Act.

The Advisory Board comprises the chair and 5 members:

Dr Helen Szoke AO (Chair)

Professor Carol Pollock AO (Deputy Chair)

Mr Oren Klemich

Mr Nicholas Brown

Ms Margaret Kruger (1 July–31 December 2023)

Ms Shelly Park (1 July 2023–25 January 2024)

Ms Kelli Owen (from 2 February 2024)

Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin (from 2 February 2024).

The members bring a wealth of knowledge to the Advisory Board including experience in the clinical sector, business management and lived experience of the DonateLife program. Find out more about our Advisory Board members.

Vigilance and Surveillance Expert Advisory Committee

The Vigilance and Surveillance Expert Advisory Committee (VSEAC) monitors the performance of the Australian Vigilance and Surveillance System and provides advice on emerging risks identified in the organ donation and transplantation sectors. It is a statutory committee established by the OTA CEO under the OTA Act.

The committee is chaired by Professor Jeremy Chapman AC and its membership comprises the OTA National Medical Director and high-level technical specialists with relevant expertise from key clinical stakeholders and government.

VSEAC produces and publishes an annual report each year detailing its work in monitoring the vigilance and surveillance system established to safeguard and improve quality and safety in organ donation and transplantation and, importantly, to identify trends and avoid recurrences of serious adverse events and/or reactions (SAER).

In June 2024 VSEAC released the Australian Vigilance and Surveillance System for Organ Donation and Transplantation 2023 Report, covering SAER notifications received from 1 January to 31 December 2023. The report provides the Australian community with a clear view of vigilance and surveillance in the system and provides confidence to those who need a transplant that the sector is doing everything it can to make the process as safe as possible.

In addition to the annual report, VSEAC regularly dispatches clinical communiqués to raise awareness of current recommended clinical practices and convey new issues, risks and recommendations to enhance patient safety, donation and transplantation outcomes.

Advisory committees

Jurisdictional Advisory Group

The Jurisdictional Advisory Group is the key advisory committee for the DonateLife program. The group considers and makes recommendations to the OTA CEO about all aspects of the program, including strategic priorities, clinical and data governance, community engagement and program planning and resources for the DonateLife Network.. The Jurisdictional Advisory Group works to ensure the DonateLife program is consistent with state and territory legislation, policies and processes. Chaired by the OTA CEO, the group comprises jurisdictional and Commonwealth health department representatives, the OTA National Medical Director, the OTA Chief Operating Officer, DonateLife state medical directors and agency managers.

Clinical Governance Committee

The Clinical Governance Committee is the key clinical advisory committee for the DonateLife Network. It is chaired by the OTA National Medical Director and comprises the OTA CEO, the DonateLife state medical directors and clinical agency managers, and representatives of both the eye and tissue professional bodies. 

The committee provides a forum for sharing experiences and new initiatives and agrees on practices related to the implementation of the Clinical Practice Improvement Program in DonateLife hospitals. 

The committee makes recommendations relating to clinical aspects of the DonateLife program. Where there are policy or funding implications these are referred to by the Jurisdictional Advisory Group for consideration.

Eye and Tissue Advisory Committee

The Eye and Tissue Advisory Committee provides advice on matters relevant to eye and tissue donation and transplantation, with a key focus on donation coordination by the DonateLife Network.

This collaboration helps to improve systems and processes to increase the number of deceased eye and tissue donations for transplantation in Australia.

The committee is chaired by OTA National Manager Clinical Programs and its membership comprises representatives from Australian eye and tissue banks, as well as the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care and the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

OTA Transplant Advisory Group

The OTA Transplant Advisory Group facilitates engagement with the transplantation sector on matters relevant to the DonateLife program and provides advice on issues and emerging trends that have implications for transplantation matters more broadly. 

It is chaired by Professor Steve Chadban. Membership comprises the OTA National Medical Director, representatives from transplant, medical and nursing professional bodies and donation specialists, with Transplant Australia and Kidney Health Australia representing consumers. 

Community Engagement Group

The Community Engagement Group works collaboratively to inform communications and engagement activities undertaken as part of the national program. 

The group is chaired by OTA Advisory Board member, Mr Oren Klemich, a donor family member. Membership comprises representatives from a broad range of community organisations. These include organisations working to promote awareness of organ and tissue donation, including target audience groups such as First Nations people, and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. 

The group gives us a community perspective on relevant issues, emerging trends, and opportunities.

Purpose-specific working groups

We have a number of purpose-specific working groups established by the OTA CEO, including:

Data and Audit Working Group
Education Coordinators Network
Electronic Donor Record Working Group
Family Support Advisory Group
Paediatric Working Group
Clinical Data Working Group
OrganMatch Operational Governance Committee
Education Working Group
Australian Donor Risk Assessment Interview (AUS-DRAI) Review Working Group.