6f. RACGP Advocacy in Action: What we’ve achieved - and what comes next.
Tracks
Stream 6
| Sunday, May 24, 2026 |
| 11:20 - 12:05 |
| Room C2.2-2.3 (combined) |
Details
A panel session exploring RACGP advocacy in action - what has been achieved, why it matters and what comes next. The discussion will highlight recent advocacy wins, GP advocacy in action, the role of member voice in shaping College priorities, and the launch of the RACGP Advocacy Plan 2026-30.
Speaker
Dr Madeleine Wilkie
GP & Deputy Chair, RACGP GPiT Faculty Council
Burpengary Station Medical Centre
Chairperson
11:20 - 12:05
Dr Madeleine Wilkie is a current RACGP AGPT registrar and Deputy Chair of the RACGP National GPs in Training Faculty. She graduated from the University of Queensland in 2021 and is currently practicing as a general practitioner in leafy James Street in Brisbane. She is a passionate advocate for progress and change in the training space. Alongside her Deputy Chair position, Madeleine has served within the RACGP as a Registrar Liaison Officer, is a member of the QLD faculty as the representative for GPs in Training and sits on the GPs in Training Faculty Council as the QLD representative. She has held numerous positions on junior doctor advisory and wellbeing committees in hospitals during her junior doctor years. Madeleine brings firsthand insight into the realities of GP training and practice operations, combined with a commitment to supporting clinicians to thrive in a changing healthcare landscape.
Dr Clare Keogh
GP Practice Principal
Wirreanda On Wheatsheaf
RACGP Advocacy in Action: What we’ve achieved - and what comes next
11:20 - 12:05
Dr Clare Keogh is a GP and practice owner in Morphett Vale, South Australia. She is Deputy Chair of the RACGP SA Faculty, an RACGP GP Advocate, a Sexual Health Doctor and one of the Medical Leads for Education and Advocacy for SHINE SA. Across these roles, Clare provides advocacy and education for doctors, medical students and patients, with a strong focus on comprehensive and holistic general practice and sexual and reproductive health for all.
Ms Shayne Sutton
Chief Advocacy Officer
RACGP
RACGP Advocacy in Action: What we’ve achieved - and what comes next
11:20 - 12:05
Shayne Sutton is the RACGP’s Chief Advocacy Officer and an experienced advocate, government relations and public affairs specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in senior government, corporate and health sector roles.
Her experience includes serving on Brisbane City Council, as inaugural Chief Executive of the North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, and in senior roles with national consultancy firms Hawker Britton and SAS Group. She has also served as a Non-Executive Director of the Townsville Hospital and Health Services Board and as a specialist adviser to the Queensland Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland.
At the RACGP, Shayne leads the College’s advocacy work, including progressing the RACGP Advocacy Plan and building the GP Advocate Network to support more GPs to engage with decision-makers about the importance of a strong and viable general practice sector.
A/Prof Michael Clements
Chair, Rural
RACGP
RACGP Advocacy in Action: What we’ve achieved - and what comes next
11:20 - 12:05
A/Prof Michael Clements is an experienced Townsville based General Practitioner and practice owner with a background in health leadership and clinical and corporate governance. A/Prof Clements has accrued a wide variety of skills and special interests in his time with the Royal Australian Air Force and then with QLD Health as Director of Medical Services at Ingham Hospital before opening his private practices in Townsville while concurrently working for the QLD Rural Generalist Training Pathway as an advisor. Having worked in rural, remote and overseas clinical environments during and after his fellowship training Michael now gets his ‘rural fix’ by flying himself and other clinicians to remote towns in the Gulf of Carpentaria delivering GP clinics. Clinical interests include veterans’ health, mental health, chronic disease and palliative care.
Dr Michael Wright
President
RACGP
RACGP Advocacy in Action: What we’ve achieved - and what comes next
11:20 - 12:05
Dr Michael Wright is a general practitioner, health economist and health services researcher based in Sydney, Australia. He commenced as RACGP President on 21 November 2024.
Michael is also an Associate Professor at the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales. He combines clinical practice with strategic appointments and academic research analysing the effects of health policy on the quality and performance of primary care.