“Rob has been integral to our COVID response regionally as a public health physician specialist in our Grampians Public Health Unit since 2021, and now we’ll be putting his strategic public health experience to use as he joins Grampians Health as our Chief Strategy and Regions Officer,” Mr Fraser said. “Rob’s extensive experience in government, not-for-profit and private sectors, and his personal connection to the Grampians region makes him the ideal leader to foster innovation and collaboration across our organisation and ensure a whole-of-service approach to meet the needs of our community.”  

Rob will be a strong voice for regional healthcare, and says his passion for access to quality healthcare in rural communities is central to the role.  

“Grampians Health will provide much-needed delivery of key services at each of our campuses, based on our community’s needs,” Rob said. “The role of Chief Strategy and Regions Officer presents an opportunity to create and introduce innovative systems to healthcare across our region, and to improve overall equity and access.   

“My priority coming into this new organisation is to work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure we have a whole-of-service approach to healthcare and the services we provide. Key to this is ensuring our staff and community understand that we are a regional organisation; we will not be focusing or centralising our work to one particular area but ensuring that people in the Grampians region have equitable access to health no matter which of our locations they attend.”  

Rob was successful in applying for the position following a robust recruitment process, facilitated by a third-party specialising in healthcare sector recruitment.  

Rob grew up in the Grampians region, and will be based in Horsham. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and a Master of Public Health (MPH), and is a Fellow of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FAFPHM). Rob was previously Director of Health and Biosecurity at CSIRO, National Director of Cardiovascular Health at the Heart Foundation, and Senior Medical Advisor at the Department of Health Victoria.