Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

In the past 12 months, I have updated a number of Medibank’s standard form operational contracts with hospitals and other medical providers to be self-executing upon signature by the relevant counterparty. This has resulted in reduced administrative workload in relation to contract execution, including time spent by the legal team responding to queries regarding contract execution. 

I also rolled out training programs and produced multiple guidance documents for the purpose of enabling the business to identify the appropriate point in time to engage with the legal team on a specific and emerging risk. The guidance has been widely adopted by relevant teams within the business and has enabled our team to gain visibility of potential issues before they become actual issues and to advise on a pre-emptive rather than reactive basis. 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

My role supports Medibank in developing, implementing, and managing arrangements between it and healthcare providers in relation to the funding of health services obtained by Medibank’s private health insurance customers.  

In the past 12 months, I have provided legal and strategic support on the periodic renewal of Medibank’s funding arrangements with a number of Australia’s largest hospital and healthcare providers. In a climate of rising costs faced by hospitals and cost of living pressures faced by health fund members, this work has required me to engage closely with my commercial stakeholders to develop and document new and innovative funding mechanisms which seek to balance these competing demands, whilst ensuring that such mechanisms are compliant with relevant laws and regulations and are practically capable of implementation commercially and operationally. 

I have also advised in on the ongoing development of private health insurance funding models which seek to remove or minimise out of pocket charges experienced by Medibank’s private health insurance customers.  

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?  

Having experienced burnout earlier in my career, I am passionate about sustainable work practices and the role that management and senior level employees can play in embedding these within the organisational fabric. 

I am grateful to work for an organisation that places a genuine priority on employee wellbeing, and I am proud to have adopted and encouraged others to adopt mindful practices in areas such as email communications and meeting scheduling and participation, with a view to improving productivity whilst also reducing barriers to being able to focus effectively.