The Commissioner and Executive Team

Sue Dawson: Commissioner

Sue Dawson was appointed to the position of Health Care Complaints Commissioner in December 2015, for a five year term.

Prior to this appointment Sue had occupied senior roles in the NSW and Commonwealth public sectors, including as the head of the Australian Government’s School Funding Reform Taskforce, Executive Director, Income Support, Department of Education and Workplace Relations, Deputy Director General of the NSW Department of Community Services and Deputy Director General, NSW Cabinet Office. She also has extensive experience in the non-government sector.

Sue trained as a social worker, an urban planner and a lawyer and her formal training in public sector policy and service delivery includes completion of the Executive Fellows program at the Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). Her public sector roles have focused on developing policies, programs and regulatory solutions that tackle the things that matter to the community in a meaningful and efficient way.

Her passion is to promote collaboration within and between organisations, to deliver practical and innovative solutions and with the overarching consideration of delivering better outcomes for the community.

Tony Kofkin: Executive Director, Complaint Operations.

Tony Kofkin is the Executive Director of Complaint Operations at the Health Care Complaints Commission and his career at the Commission commenced in 2010. Tony leads the Complaint Operations Division which comprises the Assessment and Investigation Branches.

Tony previously held senior law enforcement positions in the United Kingdom, including Area Commander roles with responsibility for the delivery of all local policing services, and Detective Chief Inspector positions as the head of Public Protection, Specialist Crime and Counter Terrorism Departments. Whilst working at the National Centre for Policing Excellence, Tony played a leading role in the development of national guidelines on the management of volume crime investigations and the fast track prosecution of volume crime offences. Tony also headed a number of international strategic policing partnerships with law enforcement agencies in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Tony has extensive operational and leadership experience in delivering outcomes that protect communities and improve public safety.

Bree Chisholm: Director of Proceedings and Director, Legal Services

Bree Chisholm commenced in the role of Director of Proceedings and Director of Legal Services in July 2019.

Bree brings to the Commission the skills and knowledge of over 15 years prosecution experience.

Bree has extensive leadership experience in the operation and delivery of state-wide legal services in a high volume independent prosecution environment. She has experience in the development of legal policy, and in the implementation of significant organisational reform.

Prior to commencing with the Commission Bree was the Managing Solicitor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution in the Parramatta office – a position she held since 2012. She has also held the role of Policy Manager, Justice Strategy and Policy Branch, NSW Department of Justice during 2015 -16 where she led a range of criminal justice strategic reforms (such as the direct Court Backlog Initiative and the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea reforms).

Her blend of operational, leadership and policy experience makes her a practical and strategic decision maker driven to deliver the best outcomes in an efficient manner

Eddie Van Den Bempt: Director, Corporate Operations

Eddie van den Bempt is the Director, Corporate Operations and Chief Financial Officer at the Health Care Complaints Commission and commenced his role at the HCCC in August 2017. Eddie has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and is a member of the Chartered Accountants Institute, Australia and New Zealand.

Eddie’s experience has been gained in NSW Government and Management Consulting in Australia and publicly listed and privately held IT & Technology companies in South Africa. He has 6 years’ experience in the public sector and including appointments as GM Finance & Business Services at NSW Health Pathology, and Associate Director with KPMG CFO Advisory.

In his role at the HCCC Eddie leads the financial and corporate functions, which include Financial Management; People & Culture; Facilities Management; Procurement; Risk & Compliance and Governance.

Jane Probert: Director, Resolution and Customer Engagement

Jane Probert commenced in the role of Director, Resolutions and Customer Engagement in October 2018.

Jane has previously held senior roles in NSW Government. Prior to commencing at the Commission Jane was the Director of Resolution Services at the Dispute Resolution Services, in the State Insurance Regulatory Authority. Prior to this she held roles in the Supreme Court of NSW and the Law Society of NSW.

Jane is a trained lawyer and mediator. She has considerable experience as both a lawyer and leader in implementing significant organisational reform.

Jane also holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Legal Reserve and is a committee member of the Solicitors Benevolent Society.

Royce Michael Lee: Director, Technology and Systems Transformation

Royce Michael Lee is Director, Technology and Systems Transformation at the Health Care Complaints Commission, and has previously held senior technology leadership positions at UNSW, Qantas, and GrainCorp. He is the Vice President of peak cycling organisation Bicycle NSW, is on the Board of Advisors of the CIO Executive Council, and is on the Ethics Committee of the Australian Computer Society.

Royce completed a master's degree in business and technology at the Australian Graduate School of Management, and holds certifications in Enterprise Architecture, IT governance, and IT service management. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Senior Member and Certified Professional of the Australian Computer Society, and is a Justice of the Peace in the state of NSW.