Express an Interest

Targeting:
Females, People with Disabilities, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQI

Chair and Independent Members – AMC Nominations Committee

The Australian Medical Council is seeking expressions of interest for the inaugural Chair and Independent Member positions on its new Nominations Committee.

Note: Applications must be submitted using the AMC expression of interest form which can be found on the AMC Website Governance page > Council and Committees Vacancies > Chair and Independent Members for the AMC Nominations Committee: https://www.amc.org.au/about-the-amc/governance/

The Nominations Committee is a Committee of the AMC Board and is being established as part of the proposed new AMC governance model, subject to Member approval of the amended AMC Constitution at a Special General Meeting on 26 October 2026.

The Committee is an important safeguard in the new governance model and will support the Board to maintain a skilled, values-based, and effective Board through structured oversight of Director recruitment, selection, renewal, succession planning, and Board capability.

The Committee will not appoint Directors. It will oversee robust, transparent and culturally safe recruitment and assessment processes and make recommendations to the Board. The Board retains authority to appoint Directors.

Applications close 5.00pm AEST on Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Positions available

The Nominations Committee will comprise six members. Four will be independent members, and two will be AMC Directors. The Chair will be appointed by the Board from the independent members. The CEO is a contributor to the Committee.The AMC is seeking expressions of interest for four independent positions. Applicants may express interest in:

• Chair role only
• Independent Member role only
• Chair role or Independent Member role

Applicants selecting Chair only will only be considered for appointment as Chair. Applicants who wish also to be considered for an Independent Member position should select “Chair or Independent Member”.

At least one of the four independent members must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori. Across the Committee as a whole, at least two members must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori, and at least one of those members must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

The expression of interest form will invite applicants to identify where relevant to these Committee composition requirements. This information will be handled in accordance with the AMC privacy and confidentiality requirements and the agreed culturally safe appointment process.

The AMC is committed to establishing a Nominations Committee that operates in a culturally safe way and supports co-design and shared decision-making in its work. Cultural safety is a responsibility shared by all Committee members and will be embedded in the Committee’s ways of working and in the Director recruitment and appointment processes it oversees. The Committee will work closely with the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee and will seek to ensure that its processes do not place unreasonable cultural load on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori members, candidates or advisers.

Independent members are non-Director members who are expected to exercise independent judgement and contribute an independent governance perspective to the Committee’s work. Current AMC Members, Committee members and other contributors are eligible to apply and may continue to hold other AMC roles if appointed.

In making appointments, the Board will consider the overall composition and independence of the Committee, including the balance of internal and external perspectives and whether an applicant’s existing AMC roles, relationships or affiliations may give rise to actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.

Role of the Nominations Committee

The Nominations Committee will support the Board in relation to Director recruitment, selection, renewal, succession planning, and Board composition and capability.

The Committee will operate by consensus. Recommendations to the Board on Director appointments will require the unanimous support of Committee members participating in the decision.

Its responsibilities will include:

• reviewing and advising on Board skills, experience, diversity and capability needs
• undertaking or overseeing Board capability and gap assessments
• supporting Board renewal, continuity, and succession planning
• overseeing Director expression of interest and recruitment processes
• appointing and working with an external search or recruitment agency where required, within Board-approved expenditure limits
• assessing candidates against the Board Skills, Experience and Diversity Matrix
• overseeing shortlisting, interviews, referee checks, and due diligence
• working with the AMC’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee to support culturally safe appointment processes
• managing conflicts of interest, confidentiality, fairness, and probity recommending suitable Director candidates to the Board.

What we are looking for

The inaugural Committee needs to be credible, highly trustworthy, and able to give effect to the intent of the new AMC Governance model. Members will be expected to demonstrate:

• integrity, sound judgement and the ability to exercise independent judgement, including where existing roles, relationships or perspectives may be relevant commitment to transparent, fair, and defensible appointment processes
• ability to work constructively and collaboratively in a governance environment
• understanding of and commitment to cultural safety and anti-racism
• a demonstrated commitment to working in ways that support co-design and shared decision-making
• alignment with the AMC’s purpose and values
• capacity to manage sensitive and confidential information an understanding of the importance of identifying, declaring and appropriately managing actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest.

Appointments will be made having regard to the collective capability of the Committee. Applicants are not expected to demonstrate expertise across every area. Across the independent member cohort and the Committee more broadly, the AMC is seeking a complementary mix of skills and experience in:

• Board capability and succession planning
• recruitment and assessment
• cultural safety and anti-racism
• co-design and shared decision-making
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori governance perspectives
• governance and Director appointments in large health entities
• regulatory or not-for-profit governance
• medical education accreditation assessment or health sector governance probity, fairness, and conflict management.

For the inaugural Committee, an understanding of the intent and philosophy of the AMC governance model, or a demonstrated willingness to engage with and give effect to its intent and philosophy, will also be important.

The Board will consider the overall independence and balance of the Committee, including the mix of members with existing AMC knowledge and relationships and members bringing perspectives from outside the AMC.

Additional requirements for the Chair

Applicants seeking appointment as Chair should also demonstrate the capacity to:

• lead an independent governance or appointment body effectively
• facilitate rigorous, balanced, and culturally safe discussion
• build consensus across different perspectives
• manage sensitive appointment conflict and probity matters
• maintain the integrity and independence of Committee processes
• communicate effectively with the AMC Board

work closely with the Company Secretary to plan the Committee's work, meetings and decision processes.

Who may apply

Applications are welcomed from people within and outside the AMC contributor community.

For the purposes of the Nominations Committee, an Independent Member is a person who is not a current AMC Director and who is able to exercise independent judgement and contribute an independent governance perspective. Current AMC Members, Committee members and other contributors are eligible to apply and, if appointed, may continue in their existing AMC roles, subject to the effective identification and management of any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.

The Board will have regard to the overall composition of the Committee when making appointments, including the appropriate balance of AMC knowledge and experience, external perspectives and independence.

Independent members may include:

• current or former AMC Members, Committee members, or other contributors
• former AMC Directors where at least two years have elapsed since they ceased to be a Director
• governance, recruitment, regulatory, cultural safety, health, legal, risk or public interest experts
• other individuals with skills and experience relevant to Board recruitment, selection, governance, succession or capability assessment.

Term of appointment

Independent members may be appointed for a term of up to three years and may be reappointed subject to a maximum total service period of six years. Initial appointments will be staggered where practicable to support continuity of knowledge and avoid all independent member terms concluding at the same time.

The final term for each appointee will be determined by the Board.

Time commitment and transition workload

This is a newly established Committee, and the establishment period will involve a significant workload. The current transition plan anticipates that the inaugural Committee will establish the new appointment framework and run the first five Board appointments during the establishment phase from November 2026 to June 2027.

Committee members should expect several Committee meetings and a number of full or substantial interview days across two recruitment rounds during this period, including:

• Committee induction and establishment of ways of working
• review and implementation of the Director appointment framework
• Board capability and succession assessment
• recruitment round planning
• candidate shortlisting and assessment
• Director interviews and due diligence recommendations to the Board.

The Committee will meet as required to discharge its responsibilities. Meetings will generally be held by videoconference. Director candidate interviews are expected to be held in person in Canberra, where practicable. Reasonable travel and accommodation required for Committee business will be arranged or reimbursed in accordance with AMC policy.

The Governance Transition Plan will be made available with this expression of interest so applicants can understand the expected sequence and intensity of work during the establishment period.

Remuneration

Independent members will be remunerated in accordance with the AMC Payment of Fees to External Contributors Policy at the applicable Committee Chair or Committee member rate.

The AMC’s current sessional rate is $934.14 per day, applied pro rata for half-day and hourly work. Sessional rates will cover meetings, interviews, and candidate assessment time.

Application process

Applications must be submitted using the AMC expression of interest form which can be found on the AMC Website Governance page, under the Council and Committees Vacancies heading:https://www.amc.org.au/about-the-amc/governance/

Applicants will be asked to provide:

• contact details
• a current curriculum vitae
• a short statement outlining interest in the role
• responses addressing relevant capability requirements
• information about availability and potential conflicts of interest
• details of two referees.

Applicants seeking the Chair role will be asked to respond to additional questions about leadership and chairing capability.

Applications close at 5.00pm AEST on Wednesday 23 September 2026.

The following documents should be read with this expression of interest:

• Nominations Committee Terms of Reference
• Governance Model
• Governance Transition Plan
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Māori Policy Statement
• Strategic Plan 2022-2028
• Draft amended Constitution

For copies of these documents and any enquiries about the expression of interest process, please contact:

Angela Hagedorn (she/her)Company SecretaryAustralian Medical CouncilMbl: 0447 338 004E: nominationscommittee@amc.org.au

Appointment process

The indicative process for the inaugural appointments is:

28 August – 23 September 2026: Expressions of interest24 September – 30 September 2026: Assessment and shortlisting1 October – 16 October 2026: Interviews and due diligence21 October 2026: Board in-principle appointments26 October 2026: Appointments take effect subject to adoption and commencement of the amended Constitution

Applications will be assessed by an AMC Selection Panel comprising the Board Chair and the two Director nominees to the Committee, and the CEO. 

Shortlisted applicants who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori and are being considered for appointment will also participate in a culturally safe process involving the AMC Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee, or a subcommittee authorised by it.

The Panel will make recommendations to the Board. The Board will make in-principle appointments, including the appointment of the Chair, at its meeting on 21 October 2026. Appointments will be conditional on the adoption and commencement of the amended AMC Constitution at the Special General Meeting on 26 October 2026.

Acknowledgement of Country

The Australian Medical Council is an organisation whose work impacts across the lands of Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand).The Australian Medical Council acknowledges the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the original Australians and the Māori People as the tangata whenua (Indigenous) Peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

We recognise them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.We pay our respects to them and to their Elders, both past, present and emerging, and we recognise their enduring connection to the lands we live and work on, and honour their ongoing connection to those lands, its waters and sky.

Duty Statement: Application form and supporting attachments are located on the AMC Website Governance page, under the Council and Committees Vacancies heading - https://www.amc.org.au/about-the-amc/governance/