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Our committees

Home About Our committees

Our governance structure has been established to address the evolving genomic landscape, and to reflect the broad portfolio of genomic technologies in health.

The governance model enables consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, from consumers and the community, through to industry, government, and international genomic endeavours.

Independent Advisory Board

Chaired by Prof Brian Schmidt, Vice Chancellor and President of The Australian National University, our Independent Advisory Board advises on Australian Genomics activity and facilitates the implementation and uptake of Australian Genomics outcomes in consideration of industry, healthcare, academia and government policy.

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  • Prof Brian Schmidt AC (Chair), Australian National University
  • John Brumby AO, La Trobe University
  • Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO, 25th Governor General of Australia
  • Prof Tom Calma AO, Poche Indigenous Health Network
  • Prof Ian Frazer AC, University of Queensland
  • Jane Halton AO PSM, COTA Australia
  • Penny Shakespeare, Department of Health and Aged Care
  • Peter Yates AM, AIA Australia Limited, Linfox Australia Pty Ltd

National Steering Committee

Our National Steering Committee is made up of the leads of our Grant Program, each applying their expertise across the research priorities of Australian Genomics. With shared national leadership, the committee monitors the progress of our work and drives the scientific strategy, engagement, coordination and coherence of Australian Genomics.

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  • Prof Kathryn North, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Chair)
  • Tiffany Boughtwood, Australian Genomics
  • A/Prof Yemima Berman, Royal North Shore Hospital / Human Genetics Society of Australasia
  • Prof Alex Brown, Australian National University / Telethon Kids Institute
  • Kathy Campbell, Industry Genomic Network Alliance
  • Prof John Christodoulou, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
  • Prof Sally Dunwoodie, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
  • Prof Clara Gaff, Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance
  • A/Prof Ilias Goranitis, University of Melbourne
  • Prof Oliver Hofmann, The University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research
  • Dorothy Keefe, Cancer Australia
  • Louise Lyons, Telethon Kids Institute
  • Prof Julie McGaughran, Genetic Health Queensland
  • Sean Murray, Mito Foundation
  • Prof Ainsley Newson, The University of Sydney
  • Dr Kristen Nowak, University of Western Australia / WA Health, Government of Western Australia
  • Prof Hamish Scott, SA Pathology
  • Prof Amanda Spurdle, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
  • Prof Zornitza Stark, Victorian Clinical Genetics Services
  • A/Prof Vanessa Tyrrell, Children’s Cancer Institute / Zero Children’s Cancer
  • Prof Robyn Ward, The University of Sydney

National Implementation Committee

The National Implementation Committee provides guidance to Australian Genomics on its 2024-2025 Grant Program. It brings together expert researchers, clinicians and service providers, Commonwealth, state and territory governments. It is a forum to support communication of genomic research outcomes; share government priorities to guide research strategy; and inform genomic health policy development and implementation. Australian Genomics shares its progress toward the objectives of its research program, and the committee deliberates about objectives that may be considered from a policy and prioritisation perspective by the Health Technology and Genomics Collaboration.

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  • Prof Kathryn North, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Chair)
  • Prof Christopher Barnett, SA Health
  • Clare Donovan, Department of Health and Aged Care
  • Marianne Griffin, Department of Health Victoria
  • Celia Halliburton, NSW Ministry of Health
  • Jodi Hallas, Queensland Health
  • Renaye Lucchese, Department of Health and Aged Care
  • Dimitrios Menouhos, NT Health
  • Dr Kristen Nowak, WA Health, Government of Western Australia
  • Dr Suthanthira Ramamoorthy, NT Health
  • Dr Jade Redfern, ACT Health
  • Penny Shakespeare, Department of Health and Aged Care
  • Dr Mathew Wallis, Tasmanian Health Service
  • Prof Robyn Ward, Medical Services Advisory Committee
  • Tiffany Boughtwood, Australian Genomics
  • Prof John Christodoulou, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
  • Mathilde Desselle, Queensland Health
  • Prof Clara Gaff, Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance
  • Prof Zornitza Stark, Victorian Clinical Genetics Services
  • Julie White, Queensland Health

International Advisors

The advisors bring international best practice to our work and provide opportunities for international collaboration. They include representatives of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), the GA4GH Genomics in Health Implementation Forum, the Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative (G2MC), Genomics England, GEM Japan, Broad Institute, Canadian Institute of Health Research and H3Africa Bionet.

Community Advisory Group

The Community Advisory Group brings together experienced patient advocates providing counsel on our research activity. The Group advises on the design and language of patient surveys, digital health and data management strategy, and ethical, legal and social analyses of genomics.

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  • Sean Murray, Mito Foundation (Chair)
  • Johanna Barclay, Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics
  • Jessica Bean, Patient advocate
  • Rachael Casella, Patient advocate
  • Christine Cockburn, Rare Cancers Australia
  • Kris Pierce, SCN2A Australia
  • Julie Rae, Breast Cancer Network of Australia
  • Robyn Smith, Inherited Cancers Australia
  • Spase Veljanovski, Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health
  • Tiffany Boughtwood, Australian Genomics
  • Prof John Christodoulou, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples genomic advisory group was formed by the Australian Government’s Department of Health. Committee members identify key issues impacting health access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and research in terms of the clinical application of genomics. The Group will provide Australian Genomics with advice on its research priorities and engagement of the community.

Industry Advisory Group

The Industry Genomics Network Alliance (InGeNA) was formed in late 2020 to strengthen collaboration, coordinate on key issues and realise opportunities for all Australians to benefit from precision healthcare. The companies who founded InGeNA under the auspices of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health will collaborate on programs to embed genomics across Australian healthcare. Companies representing pathology, technology and biopharma sectors, contributed funding to start InGeNA matched by MTPConnect’s Industry Growth Centre Project Fund Program.

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(03) 9936 6345
info@australiangenomics.org.au
50 Flemington Road, Parkville
Victoria 3052 Australia

In the spirit of reconciliation Australian Genomics acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

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Australian Genomics

Accessibility Statement

  • www.australiangenomics.org.au
  • May 21, 2025

Compliance status

We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

  1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

    These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

  2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.

    Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Disability profiles supported in our website

  • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
  • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
  • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
  • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
  • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
  • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

  1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
  2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
  3. Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
  4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
  5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
  6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
  7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

Browser and assistive technology compatibility

We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).

Notes, comments, and feedback

Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to