St Vincent's Health Australia (SVHA) is a group of not-for-profit, non-listed companies operating under the stewardship of Mary Aikenhead Ministries.
SVHA is governed by a board that sets our strategic direction and ensures that we comply with legal and legislative requirements. Our group executive manages the daily operations of the organisation to the highest standards in order to realise the Mission of our founders to serve all in need of care.
The SVHA Board
Our Board sits as the board of SVHA and of the eight subsidiary companies that operate our private and public health facilities and our aged care services.
The board closely monitors the organisation's performance, and ensures that we achieve our mission to bring God's love to those in need through the healing ministry of Jesus.
It also governs the SVHA group of companies in compliance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth), Canon law and all other relevant civil legislation.
The board must at all times operate within the Mary Aikenhead Ministries Ethical Framework and the Catholic Health Australia Code of Ethical Standards of Health and Aged Care Services in Australia (2001).
The board also conducts itself and considers its decisions in accordance with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, including:
the dignity of the human person;
solidarity and service;
the common good;
a preference for the poor;
responsible stewardship of resources; and
subsidiarity.
All directors serve as independent non-Executive directors and are appointed by the Trustees of Mary Aikenhead Ministries.
SVHA Executive Leadership
The SVHA Executive Leadership Team provides management and leadership of our public hospitals, private hospitals and aged care and shared services divisions. The executive shapes and implements the board-approved strategy and executes the day-to-day operations of the organisation with the highest possible levels of safety, effectiveness, efficiency and concordance with our mission. The executive team meets monthly to consider and approve operational decisions delegated to it on matters of strategy, risk and mission.
About Mary Aikenhead Ministries and Sisters of Charity
Mary Aikenhead Ministries
Mary Aikenhead Ministries was established by the Sisters of Charity of Australia to continue the various health and aged care, education, and some social service and welfare ministries, that they had established since their arrival in Australia from Ireland in 1838. Those ministries are now governed by a group of Trustees, consisting initially of two members of the Congregation and three lay colleagues.
Sisters of Charity
Our story begins in Cork, Ireland in 1787 with the birth of Mary Aikenhead. Her story can be read on the website of our founding Congregation, the Religious Sisters of Charity that is governed from Ireland.
