PRESIDENT'S REPORT

The President’s

Report

Dear ADAWA family, In this report, I will provide an update on our interactions with health funds, our insurance provider, the Australian Dental Council, and the Dental School, as well as exciting developments within our Association. Working with our CEO Trevor Lovelle, we continue, on behalf of our members, to advocate to various health funds the importance of the WA dental profession and the vital role it plays in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our community. Over the last few weeks, we have hosted our insurance claims management representatives DPLA (Dental Protection Limited Australia) and our insurance provider MDA National in Perth to strengthen these relationships to ensure the continued provision of products that benefit our members. Cost effective and reliable indemnity insurance is critical to the viability and sustainability of our members and we will continue to work in these spaces to ensure that the best possible outcomes are delivered for our highly-valued members. ADAWA continues to support the UWA Dental School on various fronts to enhance the future of our profession. Recognising that graduating student members will soon be transitioning to the workplace, ADAWA has arranged a series of information sessions about dental practitioner contracts, utilising the expertise of our longstanding Employee Relations partner. However, our support doesn’t end with students. ADAWA attended the recent Australian Dental Council (ADC) roundtable conference, which discussed academic workforce shortages in dental schools around Australia. The highlight of this conference was the reaffirmation for me that when all the stakeholders come together and work collaboratively, positive change is more likely to occur. At the Council level, I am looking forward to some exciting times ahead, as our CEO moves forward with a planned governance review over the next few weeks. As many of you are aware, our organisation has grown and to ensure your peak body continues to be effective and efficient, it is imperative that our governance structure reflects contemporary practice, including providing strategic leadership. In this regard and under the stewardship of our CEO, we will be undertaking a strategic planning process for the organisation that importantly will include input from our membership. Therefore, continue to stay tuned as you lead ADAWA into its next phase.

As I have repeatedly said to many who have asked me over this last year, I am humbled to serve the membership and I am very grateful for all the membership support. A further special thanks go to the ADAWA Councillors, Executive team members, ADAWA staff, and all the other volunteers who have tirelessly stepped up at every stage, working behind the scenes, to help your Association provide the best for its membership.

The highlight of this conference was the reaffirmation for me that when all the stakeholders come together and work collaboratively, positive change is more likely to occur.