Young people heal best when their families are part of the care team. The FAC promotes improved relationships between patients, families/carers and staff and seeks to actively engage family perspective in the design of services. 

The FAC has two types of members: volunteer parents and carers of young people as well as staff representatives. We work together to ensure consumer expertise and experience is available to the health service. The Chairperson of the group is a position that is always held by a parent member. All members on the current FAC group have committed to be part of the team for 2 years, come from diverse backgrounds and reside in both metropolitan and rural areas of Victoria. As such, we are committed to constantly improving care for families at The Royal Children’s Hospital.

As a recognised Committee of The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, we adhere to the policies set by the RCH, which includes our obligation to maintain patient confidentiality.

Why have a FAC?

The RCH is committed to the principle that the delivery of health care will be based on partnerships between patients, families, and all those involved in their care. In order to achieve, the RCH has established a hospital-wide Family Advisory Council to promote and improve the RCH's approach to patient and family centred care. The key principles of patient and family centred care are:

• Dignity and respect
• Information sharing
• Participation
• Collaboration

The FAC and the RCH work in partnership to deliver patient and family centred care.

How does the FAC contribute?

We work in partnership with the RCH to:

• Identify areas where care can be improved – where safety or the quality of outcomes could be improved, or where services could be more focused on the needs of patients and families
• Develop, in consultation with patients and families, solutions to problems identified by families
• Contribute a parent/carer perspective. For example - contributing and making suggestions to educational material for families produced by the RCH.

Family Advisory Council Terms of Reference

Consumer Representatives of the Family Advisory Council

Alaine Prime

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

I am proud to be part of the RCH Family Advisory Council and value the opportunity to contribute to promoting collaborative care between children, their families and the RCH. 

I have a passion for how families navigate the complexities of living in hospital with their children who are long-term patients, and how we exist within and alongside hospital teams. My hope is for health care services that are trauma informed and meaningfully engage children with disability to be active and lead in their own care and treatment.

I live in St Kilda with my partner and daughter, and am a social worker in the area of family violence and legal services.

Andrew Symes

Community Member

RCH Community Advisory Committee Co-Chair

(member since Dec 2022)

The RCH has been a part of my parenting journey from the second day of my eldest daughter’s life. I have had a consistent connection to the RCH for the past 11 years, centred on the care for my daughter. 

I am willing to share my learnings with other families, and seek to enhance connection to the RCH. I strive to improve the hospital experience for other families navigating challenging times with their children’s health whilst balancing the needs of all family members.  

Professionally, I am a physiotherapist who has worked primarily in public health services including metropolitan Melbourne and Perth, as well as my current role in regional Victoria. 

I live in regional Victoria with my wife and four children.

Belinda Loke

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

I leverage my consumer expertise and personal experience as a parent of an RCH patient to contribute to The Royal Children’s Hospital Family Advisory Council, enhancing patient and family-centred care by refining health service designs and approaches.

I am passionate about healthcare, nurturing vulnerable children, and early childhood development to help kids thrive.

Professionally I have over 17 years of legal experience expertise in law (founder of a digital law firm) and experience in governance and leadership. I currently serve as a Board Director at QEC and Kids Hope Australia. I also hold advisory council roles at the Monash University Health and Social Care Unit and the BoardEffect Expert Advisory Panel.

I live in Melbourne and am married with 2 boys. My background is Australian born with Malaysian Chinese cultural heritage.

Juliette Permezel

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since August 2023)

Our first contact with the RCH was when our neonate daughter was born unexpectedly critically ill, requiring transport by the NETS team (now PIPER) to the NICU ward at the ‘old’ RCH in November 2010. 

Thankfully through the combined intensive efforts of NETS and NICU our daughter survived, however received a life altering diagnosis of a unique genetic condition at the age of 18 months.  She is now 14 years of age and amongst other things, lives with intellectual disability, ASD Level 3, a rare cancer syndrome and has survived 10 years of different types of complex and rare epilepsies.  We have experience with numerous specialties including genetics, paediatrics, ED, Surgery, Day Medicine, Neurology, Infectious diseases, ENT, cardiology, pharmacology, various allied health specialties, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, psychiatry.….. you get the idea!  Our daughter will need medical care for the rest of her life, although we dread transition to the adult world in a few years' time!

Before our daughter arrived and I became her full-time administrator, I was an advertising and marketing professional, working in blue chip corporates and a federal government agency, including offshore projects.

I am passionate about any opportunity to assist health providers deliver nuanced patient and family-centric care that is trauma informed, holistic and mindful of complex rare disease and intellectual disability.

I live in Port Melbourne with my husband, our daughter and a very spoiled dog. In my spare time I get to the gym, the physio and love a good massage!

Kim Davie

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since 2012)

I joined the Family Advisory Council in 2012 after spending 2.5 months in NICU with my child and working with a social worker who suggested that I would be a good candidate to support other families. We have used many different services at the RCH, both inpatient and outpatient, since 2010 so felt I could give a broad range perspective on our experiences.  Our three children diagnoses range from Heart Kids, Intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum. ADHD, Down syndrome, Anxiety, to eczema and allergies all of which we have been managed by the RCH in one form or another.

I am passionate about intellectual disability rights and the whole family being cared for, not just the sick person – there is a family/ team/ village behind that sick person who needs help so they can be there for the sick one.

I have a professional background in business/process Improvement, finance, IT and also as a registered nurse.

I live in the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne with my husband and 3 children. My background is Australian.

Lucia Wang

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

I am a single mum to a wonderful little boy who lives with a rare genetic condition. We relocated back to Australia and chose Melbourne as our new home after many years living overseas, across 4 different countries. The wonderful patient care provided by medical specialists at the Royal Children’s Hospital was a big influencing factor in the decision to move to Australia. My son’s diagnosis means we often find themselves with follow-ups and appointments at the RCH.

I enjoy working on meaningful projects that create positive social impact, with a special interest in giving back to the disability community.  I am deeply interested in projects and ideas that encourage social responsibility and help raise the living standards of those in vulnerable situations.

Professionally I have extensive experience working internationally in policy, marketing and communications.  In the past few years, I have devoted my time to ensure my son is living his best life despite his challenges and ensuring the disability community and our children have a voice and are included and represented equally and with dignity.

Maya Pinn

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

My history with the RCH started back as a child, when I attended the ‘old’ RCH and briefly attended appointments at the new RCH for my own health matters. Now, I regularly attend the RCH for my son, due to his Rare Genetic condition, diagnosed in 2019, briefly before my daughter was born. This Ultra Rare disorder includes other conditions such as Epilepsy and Cortical vision impairment meaning he is also non-mobile and non-verbal. This has completely changed my outlook on life and has inspired me to advocate for better policy and healthcare for all children. 

I am passionate about improving healthcare, particularly for children with Rare genetic conditions. Improving healthcare whether inpatient or outpatient should be consistent, and the family should be supported through a holistic approach. I apply myself in all avenues of disability including volunteer advocacy, volunteer peer support leader engagements and through my small business that creates fashionable adaptive clothing for children with a disability.

My professional experience spans into Not-for-profit organisations such as Syndromes Without A Name (SWAN) Australia, a peer support organisation for families of children with undiagnosed and rare genetic conditions.  I’ve completed a Bachelor of health science, currently completing my honours at The University of Melbourne, undertaking my research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in increasing diversity in Australian genomics.

I live in south-east Melbourne as a single mum to two beautiful children.

Megan King

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

My son was diagnosed at 17 months old with autism (Level 3) and severe intellectual disability. He is now 10 years old and over the years has been a RCH consumer of genetics, paediatrics, accident & emergency (multiple times), radiology, ECGs, heart scans and complex dentistry.

I’m passionate about all things related to autism, advances in genetics, gut-health, creating whole-life improvements for both children and their carers.

My previous career was in the finance, managing the financial, commercial and legal deliverables of mega and major infrastructure projects in the UK but I gave this up after my son’s diagnosis with Level 3 autism to focus on his early intervention. I have now been operating my Support Coordination business (specialising in children with autism) for over 3 years, including running a facebook group, informally supporting 4,500+ local families.

I live in Parkdale (Bayside/Kingston area) as a single parent to my son.

Meghan Lawson

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

I was a surgery patient at the RCH when I was 11 years old and then my work as a foster care worker brought me to the RCH for appointments and the Emergency Department for foster children. In 2010 our youngest daughter had anaphylaxis to peanuts and ended up at the ED and as a result now has ongoing visits. Over the years we also visited to Specialist Clinics and the Short Stay Unit for both children.

I’m passionate about children’s mental health care and access to quality care for all children, along with creating memories for families.

I have worked in the disability and foster care field for over 20 years and currently have my own photography business.

I live in Melbourne’s inner north with my wife and two children, aged 18 and 15 years, and one dog.

Melinda Norris

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since March 2025)

The RCH provided exceptional care to our oldest son as a cardiology patient for 8 years, from age 10. This care, along with a heart procedure, enable him to thrive as a young adult. While working at the RCH I supported my sister as she cared for her son who was diagnosed and treated for leukaemia. This was an intensive 3 years that involved many trips to the ED, Day Oncology and almost an entire year as an inpatient.

I am passionate about the provision of leading-edge healthcare that adopts a patient-centred partnership with children and their families and am honoured to contribute to the great care the RCH provides.

Professionally, I bring a background in organisational psychology (B.Sc. (Honours in Psychology) and a Ph.D. in Industrial & Organisational Psychology) and over 25 years’ experience partnering with organisations across numerous sectors. This has included a particular focus in healthcare, working with Cabrini, Healthscope and 3 years (2021 – 2024) at the RCH leading the program to bring our Compact culture to life.

I grew up in regional Victoria and live in Melbourne with my husband and two boys.

Natalie Cassimatis

FAC Co-Chair 

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

Our family became involved with the RCH when our son needed a heart procedure at 18 months of age. He was born with a heart condition and portosystemic shunt of the liver. His regular care is provided by the cardiology, gastroenterology, and haematology teams at the RCH.

I am passionate about supporting others and my interests include going to the beach, family holidays, spending time with friends, keeping active, watching the footy, comedy and ice cream. 

Professionally I am an alcohol and other drugs (AOD) program manager. My cultural background is Greek, and I reside in eastern metropolitan Melbourne with my husband and son.

Olivia Cameron

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since February 2024)

As a parent of three children who have all received care at The Royal Children's Hospital, I understand the importance of exceptional paediatric healthcare.

I am committed to advocating for children and their families as they navigate the challenges of illness, injury and hospitalisation and am passionate about supporting children and their families to cope, particularly during medical procedures.  I am committed to empowering children, advocating for their rights and needs during medical procedures, and fostering an environment that promotes best practice in procedural care. I am also interested in initiatives that develop health literacy for children and their families, equipping them to master healthcare. I am dedicated to ensuring the RCH is a place where all children thrive.

Professionally I have nearly 20 years experience in paediatric allied health which means I bring a unique perspective, having witnessed the healthcare journey both as a parent and a professional.

Rohan Wastell

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since 2017)

RCH Community Advisory Committee member since pre-Dec 2022)

My daughter is a graduate of the RCH Transition Service after two long term admissions to the RCH.  During her second admission, a genetic condition was diagnosed which was followed by four months of 24-hour care and negotiating with ICU, doctors, surgeons, nurses, cardiac ward, rehab, OT, psychology, social work and school. The relief and laughter of LiveWire was fabulous.   

This experience helped me to understand the consumers’ needs and the importance of connecting with any needed support services and led to me leaving my job of 38 years to become my daughter’s full-time carer.  

After so much time spent ‘living’ at the RCH and using so many services I feel in a position to give back, from a parent's perspective, to help the hospital improve communication and provide a voice for all consumers utilising the RCH.  

Tracy Stanley

FAC Chair

Consumer Representative

(FAC member since 2009)

I bring nearly two decades of experience in family support through my work with HeartKids, where I’ve had the privilege of supporting hundreds of families impacted by childhood-onset heart disease. My connection to this work is also personal - my daughter was a cardiac patient at The Royal Children's Hospital from birth and has now transferred to adult care.

I’m a long-standing advocate for patient and family-centred care and have been a member of The Royal Children’s Hospital Family Advisory Council for over 16 years. I’ve also contributed to a range of initiatives, including the Heart Failure Patient Advocacy Committee and the Australian & New Zealand Fontan Advisory Committee.

As Chair of the Family Advisory Council, I draw on both my own experience and the voices of the many families I’ve supported in my role at HeartKids. I believe strongly in the value of family perspectives in shaping healthcare services and improving outcomes for children and young people.

Other members of the RCH Family Advisory Council

• Director, RCH Partnerships & Consumer Engagement
• Partnerships & Consumer Engagement Advisor (Secretariat)
  
• Patient Experience Partner, Quality Department
• Program Director, RCH Campus Mental Health Strategy
• RCH Social Worker
• RCH Clinical Nurse Educator, Education Outreach Program
• RCH Nurse Unit Manager, Kelpie ward