Consumer representatives on advisory groups

Michael Cousins (Chair)

Michael is a health consumer advocate with extensive experience in public health, including in health promotion, quality use of medicines, and accreditation and quality improvement.

Michael has extensive experience in consumer and community engagement. He has served as Chief Executive at the Health Consumers Alliance of SA, Assistant Director of Community Engagement at the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and as Consumer Engagement Manager at Carers SA.

Tim Benson

After being diagnosed with a chronic health condition 23 years ago, Tim has worked tirelessly as a consumer health consumer representative/ advocate.

Tim was a director of Lab Tests Online Australia and continues to be a member of the WA Health Diagnostic Imaging Pathways [project Steering and Editorial Committees. He is also a past Board member and Chairman of Health Consumers Council of WA, as well as a member of the Governing Committee of Consumers Health Forum of Australia. He is currently a member of the WA Primary Health Alliance Community Advisory Council, and the WA Health Research Translation Network Community Involvement Program, as well as being a member of Ethics Committees for RANZCO, Audiology Australia, and RACP.

Karin Calford

Karin has a special interest in health literacy and health promotion, as well as unwarranted variation in health care. She has worked on developing a range of educational resources for clinicians and consumers on hereditary haemochromatosis; and continues to be an advocate for Haemochromatosis Australia. She is currently a Consumer Representative to the Community Health Literacy Steering Group, with Health Care Consumer Association (HCCA). Recently she has been appointed to her local hospital Choosing Wisely Steering Group.

Debra Letica

Debra is passionate about reducing health disparities, especially for vulnerable people living with disabilities, their carers and support workers. She is a member of several clinical safety & quality committees for Metro South Health Service in Western Australia and a member of the Choosing Wisely Implementation Group at Fiona Stanley Hospital.

She is the consumer representative on The Executive Committee, Clinical Governance Committee and Education & Training Committee at Rockingham Peel Health Campus and the current Chair of the Consumer Advisory Council at Rockingham General Hospital. Debra was a finalist in the 2018 Health Consumer’s Council Consumer Excellence Awards.

Colleen Papadopoulos

Colleen’s career has largely been devoted to understanding and addressing complex social and organisational issues in the public health and community services sector, with a focus on the disability and aged care. Colleen has a Master of Public Health and a lived experience managing a disabling chronic condition.

Colleen has been a consumer representative on multiple committees for Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and has experience working with regional and rural communities while working for local government in NSW and Executive Director at Australian Rural Health Research Institute.

John Stubbs

John is a committed and passionate advocate for people affected by cancer and chronic disease. He has held Board and CEO positions with a range of consumer groups at both State and Federal level and is a regular speaker at medical conferences in Australia and internationally about health policy, advocacy and the benefits of consumer involvement.

John is a Board member of the Cancer Institute NSW, and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District; and a committee member for the Therapeutic Goods Administration - Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling, various Medical Benefits Scheme Review groups and on the Consumer Advisory Committee for the NHMRC.

He was awarded an Honorary Associate of the University of Sydney – School of Medicine in 2009 for his work in promoting Research and Clinical Trials in Australia and a Recognition Award from the Federal Department of Health in 2011.

Jahin Tanvir

Jahin Tanvir is a 21-year-old keynote and TEDx speaker, author, and multicultural youth advocate. With a penchant for being multifaceted, Jahin has been involved at several youth-led multicultural organisations to champion diversity, inclusion and to eradicate racism.

Jahin was recently a 2022 Young Australian of the Year finalist. In 2021, Jahin received the 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year in Individual Community Service as well as recognition in the 7NEWs Young Achiever awards for NSW/ACT in the category of community service. Jahin also received the Zest Awards Outstanding Youth Leader of the year for 2021 for his work in assisting multicultural communities in Western Sydney.

Diane Walsh

Diane Walsh is an experienced health consumer and community representative at an NT and national level, with a background in teaching and 18 years of governance experience in health organisations. She is a Senior Notifications Officer at the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Diane is a member of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and serves in many consumer health roles including as consumer representative on the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Expert Committee on Standards for General Practice and as a member of the Primary Care Committee of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care