Who we are

About the NHFB and Administrator

The National Health Funding Body 

The NHFB's primary purpose is to support the obligations and responsibilities of the Administrator through best practice administration of public hospital funding. 

The NHFB, led by CEO Shannon White, operates as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and is funded as a small agency under the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing Portfolio. 

The NHFB is an independent agency with 35 staff that support the Administrator to oversee the administration of Commonwealth, State and Territory public hospital funding and payments under the NHR Agreement. To assist the Administrator and achieve their vision of improving the transparency of public hospital funding in Australia, the NHFB works collaboratively across the four key functions outlined in What we do.

The Administrator

The functions of the Administrator are set out in the National Health Reform Act 2011(Opens in a new tab/window) (NHR Act) and common provisions in relevant State and Territory legislation. The Administrator is an independent statutory office holder. The Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments must agree on their appointment to the position.

To learn more about the Administrator’s role and the NHFB, please visit Role of the Administrator and Role of the NHFB
 

Our strategic priorities

Our vision

To improve transparency of public hospital funding in Australia.

Our purpose

To support the obligations and responsibilities of the Administrator through best practice administration of public hospital funding.

Our objectives

Our strategic direction outlines five key objectives that must be met to fulfil the organisation’s purpose and create value for stakeholders and partners:

  • Accurate and timely calculation of Commonwealth funding contributions.
  • Best practice financial administration of the National Health Funding Pool (the Pool).
  • Effective reporting of public hospital funding.
  • Productive relationships with stakeholders and partners.
  • Operate as a high performing organisation.

Achieving our vision depends on our ability to collaborate openly and constructively with our stakeholders and partners, support the Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool (the Administrator) and keep ahead of challenges in our environment.

Our commitment to best practice financial administration and continuous improvement will give our stakeholders confidence and preserve our unique role in the health system.

Improving transparency also requires us to enhance our core capabilities, better utilise our resources and adopt innovative approaches.

Strategic direction

The Strategic direction highlights our five key objectives, our values and our behaviours as we strive to achieve our vision of improving transparency of public hospital funding in Australia.

Our behaviours 

One NHFB

We contribute as a united team and encourage new ideas.

Enhance trust

We treat others as equals and collaborate openly across boundaries.

Open communication

We listen actively to the views of others and share information.

Own it

We own our performance by knowing, accepting and performing our roles to the best of our ability.

Our behaviours

It starts with me – We are committed to sharing a common set of behaviours and working together as a united team to achieve our objectives.

Managing risk

Risk management is an essential component of sound business management and good corporate governance. Understanding risks and managing them appropriately enhances our ability to make better decisions, deliver on objectives and improve our performance.

Supporting our policy and framework are our Risk Management Instructions and Risk Tolerance.

These fundamental documents are reviewed annually to ensure we maintain an appropriate system for risk oversight and the management of internal controls.

Risk Tolerance Statement

Our risk tolerance levels across our five key objectives are highlighted below. Tolerance levels are based on the supporting business function, together with the potential cost and/or the benefit of engaging with risk to improve our decision-making ability.

Our APS values

  • Impartial
  • Committed
  • Accountable
  • Respectful
  • Ethical
  • Stewardship 

Diversity and inclusion

We are committed to reflecting the diversity of the Australian community in our workforce. Our inclusive workplace supports our people to feel free, comfortable, safe and empowered to be who they are.