FPM Board meeting update

Honours and awards

FPM extends its congratulations to Professor David A Scott who was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List, for significant services to anaesthesia and pain medicine. 

Governance  

2026 FPM Board meeting dates 

The FPM Board is scheduled to meet on the following dates in 2026: 

FPM New Zealand National Committee membership 

Following a call for nominations earlier this year, the New Zealand National office held an election in May to elect the members of the FPM New Zealand National Committee. Congratulations to Dr Charlotte Hill who was appointed the committee chair and Dr Paul Vroegop who was appointed the deputy chair at the July meeting. The complete membership is detailed on the website.  

FPM regional and national committee chairs  

In a continuing effort to improve communications between the FPM Board, New Zealand and the regions, the first meeting of the FPM regional and national committee chairs was held in June, which was well attended and provided a valuable opportunity to share updates, discuss common challenges, and enhance collaboration across jurisdictions. The next meeting with all chairs is scheduled for Monday 8 September.  

Strategy 

FATES project: Developing flexible accreditation pathways for pain medicine training in rural settings 

The faculty has received a FATES application from a Level 1 unit at Grampians Health Ballarat, with an accreditation visit scheduled. We are also in active discussions with several other regional units interested in participating in the program. 

Development of Australian health practitioner pain management education standards 

The national consultation on the draft Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education concluded on 18 July. Feedback was received from a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including clinicians, educators, researchers, policy makers, and people with lived experience of pain. 

A feature of this final consultation phase was the Pain Management Education Roundtable, held at ANZCA House on 17 July. The forum brought together representatives from specialist medical colleges and other key stakeholders for in-depth discussion of the draft standards. While the formal mechanism for feedback was the online survey, the roundtable proved valuable in fostering shared understanding, strengthening cross-professional alignment, and reinforcing the faculty’s leadership in this area. Feedback from other medical colleges has been overwhelmingly positive. There appear to be a number of areas in which ongoing collaboration can be developed. 

The finalised standards will be presented to the September FPM Board meeting for approval prior to submission to the Australian Government by 11 October. 

Advocacy 

Implementation of FPM’s advocacy plan is progressing well, with a focus on enhancing the faculty’s visibility and influence across the healthcare and policy landscape. A recent article in the ANZCA Bulletin (pages 60-61) highlights our strategic priorities and reinforces FPM’s leadership in advancing pain management education and patient care. 

The upcoming regional and national committee forum, scheduled before the FPM Spring Meeting, will focus on advocacy and provide a platform to align efforts across Australia and New Zealand. 

Following the Dean’s letter to Minister Butler outlining five key recommendations to improve access, safety, and equity in pain care, particularly for rural, regional, and First Nations communities a response has been received. While largely non-committal, it acknowledges the issues raised but does not directly address core recommendations, including MBS reform and sustainable public pain service funding. 

We are also progressing discussions on a collaborative rural workforce initiative. This includes encouraging advanced pain training for rural GPs, developing a sub-fellowship model in pain management, and promoting collaborative models of care. This aligns with the National Medical Workforce Strategy 2021–2031 and presents a scalable framework to address geographical workforce gaps. 

Professional affairs 

Professional documents 

The development of three new professional documents is currently under way:  

• Statement on the scope of clinical practice for SPMPs.
• Statement on the provision of pain medicine care to children and adolescents.
• Minimum standards for multidisciplinary pain services.

Two existing documents are currently under review:  

• PS10(PM), a statement on medicinal cannabis and chronic non-cancer pain.
• PS12(PM), a position statement on the use of ketamine in the management of chronic non-cancer pain.

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 

The ANZCA Council approved the ANZCA Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2025-2027.  

2026 ANZCA ASM and FPM Symposium 

The following international speakers have accepted the invitation to attend the 2026 ANZCA ASM and FPM Symposium. Professor Lesley Colvin (Scotland) as the FPM Auckland Visitor and Dr Jelena Janjic as the 2026 FPM ASM Visitor and a keynote speaker. Further information about the events can be found on the website. 

2026 Emerging Leaders Conference 

Dr Irina Hollington has been nominated the board member-in-residence for the 2026 Emerging Leaders Conference that will be held at Rydges Formosa in Auckland between 28-30 April 2026.  

Education and training  

Training and Accreditation Executive Committee (TAEC) strategic priorities 

The FPM Board has endorsed the TAEC strategic priorities, designed to ensure the committee remains focused on its core objectives while providing clear strategic direction to its sub-committees. These priorities also support alignment with the faculty’s broader strategic goals and compliance with relevant regulatory standards.  

FPM new fellows admitted to fellowship (as of 25 July 2025) 

Dr B D Tassie, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA (NSW) 

Dr J S Rudiger, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA (NZ) 

Dr R Kamath, FFPMANZCA, FRACGP (VIC)