New AMA Queensland CEO eyes innovation and diversity

Former Army medic and corporate leader Dr Brett Dale has commenced as Chief Executive Officer
at AMA Queensland.

Though new to the AMA, Dr Dale has spent decades working in health and advocacy, with
extensive experience leading health, education, training and membership organisations.

Dr Dale said he was keen to grow AMA Queensland by putting members front and centre.

“This has been an extraordinary and challenging year across the health sector but we now have
policymakers at all levels with a serious regard for the impact of health policy,” Dr Dale said.

His experience includes postings with the Army School of Health in Victoria and deployments to
Bougainville and Iraq.

“During my time in Defence, I worked in all levels of health care - emergency, primary care and
hospital level health facilities. It was a really good chance to get a whole health ecosystem
understanding,” he explained.

“I was in Bougainville in a clinical role. We were part of a combined multinational health element
trying to support health services across Bougainville after the crisis in the 90s.”

In Iraq, Dr Dale was part of the mission to rebuild local defence capacity by setting up the Iraqi
Support Service Institute.

He said in many ways the Defence family was similar to the health fraternity.

“Defence is really amazing at team building; it has great capability of having a strategic, collective
focus. I believe the health fraternity is like that as well, with the wellbeing of people uppermost in
their minds,” he said.

“Every time I talk about going back into the health sector, it has much to do with purpose. There's
no greater purpose than changing health outcomes for Australians.”

In 2012, Dr Dale was appointed CEO of Northern Territory General Practice Education, where he
was responsible for GP training and GP registrar workforce distribution across the Top End.

In 2016, Dr Dale returned to Brisbane to lead Queensland’s Motor Trades Association, where he
ran one of the largest education and training providers in the state, the MTA Institute.

Dr Dale said his approach to consensus building and government relations was centred around
constructive relationships.

“You need an exceptionally good, trusted relationship with government and that will be my key
focus - opening doors, giving confidence about our position, being a very reasonable but certainly
very forceful voice that can articulate the needs of the profession,” he said.

“It would be a huge risk to ignore the expertise of doctors when considering any health policy.”

MEDIA CONTACTS: Bronwyn Fardon, AMA Queensland – 0419 735 641 or Barbara Cox,
Sequel PR - 0403 090 913