Rural Support Service Governance


RSS Governance

The Rural Support Service (RSS) is a business unit in SA Health that is responsible for providing flexible, responsive and innovative services to support the six  regional local health networks (LHNs) across South Australia.

The RSS is led by Debbie Martin, Executive Director. It comprises more than 260 staff spread across regional and metro SA operating in a client-centred model, providing leadership and expertise in digital health and innovation, regional health and wellbeing services, regional workforce planning and development, business services and statewide clinical services.

Advocating for the health priorities of regional South Australians, the RSS provides a diverse range of functions services centrally and combines skills and strengths in areas where scale and expertise benefits health care delivery. It is also responsible for delivering statewide services for and with all ten LHNs in South Australia.

For more information about the RSS, visit the Rural Support Service page.

RSS Governance Committee

At a workshop with the regional LHN CEOs and board chairs in November 2020, it was agreed that the RSS should become an independent entity in the future, and that an interim governance arrangement should be put in place until such time as an independent entity could be approved. This involved replacing the Management Oversight Committee with a committee of the Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN as the host entity, with the Regional LHN Chairs Committee continuing to provide a platform for collaborative strategic governance and oversight of the RSS.

The RSS Governance Committee has since been established as a committee of the Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN Governing Board, with the following members:

  • Rosey Batt, Independent Chair
  • Pru Blackwell, Board Member, Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN
  • Verity Paterson, CEO, Eyre and Far North LHN
  • Craig Packard, CEO, Flinders and Upper North LHN
  • Lindy Cook, Board Member, Limestone Coast LHN
  • Mel Ottaway, Board Member, Riverland Mallee Coorong LHN
  • John Voumard, Board Chair, Yorke and Northern LHN
  • James Blewit, Aboriginal health representative
  • Tahlia Lloyd, Aboriginal health representative

Official attendees at the meetings are:​

  • Rebecca Graham, CEO, Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN​
  • Debbie Martin, Executive Director, RSS.

The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations about the strategic direction and governance of the RSS, ensure the RSS is meeting the requirements of the six regional LHNs, and strengthen relationships between the RSS and the regional LHNs.

RSS Leadership Committee

The RSS Leadership Committee supports the Executive Director with operational decision-making for the RSS, monitor and support work across the various workstreams and report up to the RSS Governance committee.

The RSS Leadership Committee currently comprises:

  • ​​Debbie Martin, Executive Director, RSS
  • Robyn Anderson, Director, Projects and Partnerships
  • Stephen Cox, Director, Strategy and Engagement
  • Marie Lessing, A/Director, Digital Transformation and Technical Services
  • Wendy O'Callaghan, A/Director, Workforce, Safety and Culture
  • Julianne O'Connor, Chief Clinical Advisor, RSS
  • Andrew Towsty, Director, Business and Financial Services

​The RSS Leadership Committee meets before each RSS Governance Committee meeting.

Regional LHN Chairs Forum

The Regional LHN Chairs Forum comprises the chairperson of each of the regional LHN governing boards and is chaired by an independent chair, Rosey Batt.

Regional LHN CEOs Committee​

The Regional LHN CEOs Committee comprises the CEO of each of the regional LHNs and is chaired by the RSS Executive Director.

The role of the Regional LHN CEOs Committee is to consider and establish agreement on operational collaboration between the regional LHNs.