News from our CEO: A new structure to support members and strengthen our future

  • News from our CEO: A new structure to support members and strengthen our future image
    PHA CEO, Sarah Corcoran

At the heart of Plant Health Australia (PHA) are our people and our Members, and with our biosecurity system under growing pressure from complex, evolving challenges, it is more important than ever for us to maintain and augment the services you have come to know and trust. We are focused on enhancing organisational capability to explore new areas of business development, to further support and strengthen an integrated national plant biosecurity system. To meet these priorities and continue providing exceptional support to our Members, PHA has undertaken an  organisational redesign to ensure we have key functional areas of the business aligned and resourced to continue delivering on our Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027.

This proactive and transformational initiative strengthens our capabilities, aligns resources and skills, and enhances efficiencies. Key updates include redefining our senior leadership roles of General Manager, Partnerships and Innovation, and General Manager, Emergency Response, as well as aligning areas of the business to ensure we’re well-positioned to navigate the changing biosecurity landscape and deliver meaningful results. These changes are now reflected in the following roles and functions:

  • General Manager, Resilience and Innovation is being led by Dr Lucy Tran-Nguyen. The role reflects a broader and more strategic focus, integrating both preparedness and emergency response to strengthen overall biosecurity resilience. Our Digital Systems projects have also transitioned to the Innovation portfolio to streamline and enhance innovation-driven initiatives.
  • General Manager, Partnerships is being led by Jonathan Terlich in an acting capacity for the next 12 months. The role covers Member engagement, training and the  delivery of surveillance, diagnostics and professional development through our networks and national protocols. The role will also have an increased emphasis on business development opportunities to support the organisation’s sustainability and strategic growth. The Training area has also transitioned to the Partnerships portfolio and is expanding its offering across the entire biosecurity spectrum, leveraging PHA’s subject matter expertise.
  • General Manager, Corporate Services incorporating Finance, Governance, Marketing and Communications continues to be led by Amanda Yong, delivering enhancements to our overall governance framework, Board secretariat services as well as new initiatives that provide business improvement while expanding our marketing and communications services to align with our internal expertise for national biosecurity campaigns.

These changes are now in effect and we appreciate your support during the initial transition period as well as the potential changes you may experience in points of contact. Should  you have any questions or require advice please don’t hesitate to reach out to me scorcoran@phau.com.au.

We are a dynamic organisation that undertakes regular review, refinement and continuous improvement and I’m confident our redesign positions PHA for long-term success and enables us to better serve you, our Members.