Our people

Professor Michael Pervan commenced as the Chief Executive Officer of IHACPA on 1 February 2023. 

Prior to this appointment, Prof Pervan was Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. Prof Pervan is:

• Professor of Health Services, University of Tasmania (since 2018)

• Fellow, Australian College of Health Service Executives (2018)

• National Councillor, Australian Health and Hospitals Association (2009 – 2019)

• Board Member, Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (2009 – 2019).

As Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania, Prof Pervan was responsible for designing and implementing major health sector and organisational reforms.

Prof Pervan has represented Western Australia and Tasmania at the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council and at Council of Australian Governments working groups on system reform, health workforce and mental health over a number of years.

This has included leading financial governance initiatives, and implementing reform programs across health, human services, child protection, out of home care, youth justice and ambulance services as part of his role at the Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania.

Joanne Fitzgerald has worked at IHACPA since 2012, and currently holds the position of Executive Director, Hospital Policy and Classification. Prior to this, she was Director, AR-DRG Development where she was responsible for developing and managing the Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups classification system.

Joanne holds a degree in Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Information Management) from the University of Sydney. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a health information manager working with health classifications in both the public and private health sector. Joanne has worked as a clinical coder, manager of medical record departments and at the NSW Ministry of Health.

Professor Kees van Gool leads the team responsible for the pricing and funding functions undertaken by the agency.

Prof van Gool joined IHACPA from the University of Technology Sydney, where he was Deputy Director, Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, and Chief Investigator of the Centre for Research Excellence on Value-Based Payments in Cancer Care.

He brings his extensive experience in international, national, and regional health policy research, and quantitative skills in micro-economic modelling and linked data uses.

Julia Hume is currently the Executive Director, Costing and Data Infrastructure, and has worked at IHACPA since 2013. As the Executive Director, Costing and Data Infrastructure, Julia leads the teams responsible for the functions of costing, pricing, data acquisition and IT infrastructure.

Julia has worked extensively on the National Hospital Cost Data Collection for both the public and private sectors. She holds a degree in Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Information Management) and a Masters in Political Economy from Sydney University. She has previously held roles across the health sector including working in health insurance and cancer research.

Julia has worked in the international development sector in several post-conflict countries.

Olga Liavas joined IHACPA in 2015 and currently holds the position of General Counsel and Executive Director, Corporate Affairs. She leads the Corporate Affairs branch in delivering a range of corporate and communication services. This includes secretariat services for the Pricing Authority, key advisory committees and working groups, internal and external communications, legal services, corporate governance and reporting, workforce development, office and building services, and executive support.

Olga was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW in 1992 and joined the Australian Government Solicitor in 1993 where she advised on complex and high-profile administrative and competition law matters, including challenges to the constitutional convention and the decision to build the OPAL nuclear reactor. In 2004, Olga joined the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. As Branch Head, Legal and Corporate Services, she represented Australia on the OECD Nuclear Law Committee and in numerous international delegations providing advice on the development of legislation for radiation protection and nuclear safety.