Board Directors

PhD, BAppSc, MEd, FACN, FACMHN, GAICD.

Professor Wendy Cross is the Executive Director of WMC Consulting Pty Ltd. Until December 2023, she was the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic at Federation University, Australia. In 2017, she was appointed as a National Mental Health Commissioner in Australia for a two-year term. Wendy has many years’ experience as clinician, academic and applied researcher (and Principal Investigator) with a focus on mental health, health services evaluation and workforce. She has developed clinical best practices and workplace training extensively focused on public health services. She has received more than $11 million in teaching and research grants, has more than 200 publications across all domains, has supervised multiple research candidates to successful completions and is regularly sought after for thesis examination. She reviews for a variety of health-related peer reviewed journals. Wendy is a long-standing academic and has held senior appointments across Australia and holds a number of honorary professorial appointments. Currently she is a TEQSA expert; Chair of the Australian Osteopathic Accreditation Council (AOAC), Board director on the Box Hill Institute of TAFE and the Harrow Institute; Chair of the Mater Christi College. She has held numerous board director positions as well as participated on multiple national and international committees in health and education.

PGDip (Osteo Sports Care), BSc (Hons Osteo Med), BSc (Hons Biochem & Physiol)

Steven is an experienced osteopath, who has worked across most aspects of healthcare in Australia and the UK. He currently divides his time being Course Convenor and Lecturer at Griffith University, teaching Anatomy and Physiology to first years in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, as well as working osteopathically in private practice, and providing management consultancy to private and public entities in the health sector. As well as education, Steven is passionate about digital health and represents Osteopathy Australia as their Digital Health Lead in the current national Sparked program. He has been working in digital health for over 10 years in both the UK and Australia, for both public and private systems and is a member of the Australian Institute of Digital Health. Having held roles in management, digital health transformation, interoperability, public procurement, and university lecturing, Steven is passionate about improving patient safety and outcomes through better data. Steven has been the Executive Director of a dental group, co-owned a multidisciplinary medical practice in the UK, worked as a senior osteopathic lecturer and clinical supervisor in the UK, been a member of educational and industry committees and is the trustee of a UK charity.

BSc (Clin Sci), MHSci (Osteo)

Obtaining a Masters in Health Science, Osteopathy, Ms Grbin completed a dual qualification from Victoria University in Australia in 2002. Concurrently progressing into both private practice and education across many allied health disciplines, including osteopathy. In 2010, Ms Grbin was elected to the professional association Osteopathy Australia, as the South Australian State President until a subsequent Ministerial appointment to the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency, the national regulatory body set up to administer registration for health practitioners in Australia, as a member of the Osteopathy Board of Australia in 2012. Ms Grbin assumed the role of Chair of the Osteopathy Board of Australia in 2014, a position which was held for the maximum statutory term. In that time, Ms Grbin also Chaired the Registration and Notifications Committee and was closely involved with many working groups across a plethora of important policy areas in regulation, including governmental liaison, the Forum of Chairs, the WHO Western Pacific regulatory working group, the Accreditation Liaison Group and Inter-Professional Education and Clinical Practice group. Most recently Ms Grbin was appointed to the Australian Osteopathic Accreditation Council in 2024, responsible for accrediting programs of study that lead to graduates being able to attain a qualification to register and practice as an osteopath in Australia. Additionally in 2024, Ms Grbin was also appointed to the Osteopathic International Alliance, the global organisation responsible for advancing coherence and unity of the osteopathic profession through regulation, education, accreditation and research.

PhD, M(Osteo), BAppSci (Comp Med), Registered Osteopath.

Danielle Baxter is a registered osteopath with over a decade of clinical experience in private practice. Danielle has worked at RMIT University as an academic since 2014 with extensive experience in program curriculum design and implementation, and course coordination. She recently completed her PhD evaluating the feasibility of implementing adjunctive manual therapy for COPD within a metropolitan hospital. Danielle has also served on the AOAC Accreditation Committee since 2016, and is the current Chair of the Accreditation Committee. Additionally, in 2019, Danielle was contracted by the AOAC Qualification and Skills Assessment Committee to develop the written examination for the second stage of the Standard Pathway Assessment for registration to be an osteopath in Australia.

BSc (Clin Sci), MHSc (Osteo), GradCert (Tert Ed), Registered Osteopath

Melanie has been a registered Osteopath for over 20 years with extensive experience in Osteopathic clinical practice, education, training, accreditation, and assessment. She currently practices part-time as an osteopath and is an Approved Panel Member for Ahpra. Melanie was a member of the Qualifications and Skills Assessment Committee (QSAC) of AOAC from 2018 until 2025 and was actively involved in the review and redevelopment of the Standard Pathway Assessment for overseas- trained osteopaths. She was a Professional Reference Group (PRG) member for the 2020-2021 Review of Accreditation Standards for Osteopathy Programs in Australia. Melanie worked in the Osteopathy program at Victoria University (VU) from 2010 until 2020 as a lecturer, tutor, and clinical educator. While there she was involved in curriculum development for the Case-Based, Problem-Based and Technology Enhanced Learning components of the VU integrated program. She has also been engaged by private practice in clinical education and development roles supporting osteopathic graduates and other allied health professionals.

PhD, MAppSci, BAppSci, GradCert (Leadership in Ed & Training)

Patrick has a Physical Education degree and a PhD in biomechanics, having spent the early part of his career in the Victoria University biomechanics laboratory environment and working with elite sports in the analysis of techniques. This biomechanics expertise was also how he became involved in the Osteopathy program at Victoria University. More recently his teaching and research focus has been on the evidence-informed practice space and clinical education. Pat has combined his teaching and research with various leadership roles within the College of Health and Biomedicine, including the Director of Teaching and Learning. This role focused on accreditation, quality assurance and continuous improvement practices across all health and biomedicine courses during a period of transition at Victoria University. Pat is currently the Director, Education Services at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

MBA (Governance), GradDipBA, GradCertProfAcc, GradCertMgt (PubSec), AICD, Tasmanian Leaders Program

Andrew’s career includes Non-Executive Director roles across various sectors and senior management roles in Local Government. He currently is the principal of his own consulting firm.

His strengths lay in governance, risk, strategy and project management in addition to workplace health and safety and industrial relations.

Andrew is a lifelong learner with an MBA and qualifications in management and finance. His professional memberships include Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and Fellow of the Institute of Professional Accountants. He completed the inaugural Tasmanian Leaders Program in 2007.

In addition to his Non-Executive Director role at AOAC, Andrew is a Non-Executive Director at Work and Training, a Committee Member with the Tasmanian Traineeships and Apprenticeships Committee and is a Tasmania Division Councillor with the AICD.

Andrew’s previous directorships include Chair, Treasurer and Chair: Audit and Risk Committee at the Migrant Resource Centre Northern Tasmania.

PhD, MNurs (Hons), BNSc, CMHN, RN.

Professor Rhonda Wilson is an internationally recognised mental health nursing scientist with a research focus on digital health interventions. She is Professor of Mental Health Nursing at RMIT University Australia and RMIT Europe in Spain, where she leads mental health nursing and an innovative digital mental health nursing laboratory.

As a Wiradjuri (First Nation) descendent, and member of CATSINaM (Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives) she is a vigorous advocate and activist for the promotion of cultural safety and decolonisation in our education and health institutions. She has published extensively in international journals, books and conferences. She has a track record of leading national and international mental health mixed methods research programs, including using methods suited to priority populations, and First Nations peoples.

Professor Wilson has worked in a wide range of rural and regional clinical registered nursing roles throughout Northern Queensland, North-western Victoria, South-western Queensland and the New England region of NSW and academic roles in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand. During lockdown restrictions at the height of a Covid-19 outbreak in Walgett, NSW 2021, she partnered with Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service and her university colleagues, to go to Walgett to undertake an early humanitarian vaccination campaign to provide urgent protection for the Walgett community. Professor Wilson continues with a wide international and national network and program of research based flexibly on the traditional Darkinjung Country, Central Coast NSW, Australia. She is the current President of the peak body, Australian College of Mental Health Nurses.