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. In October 2020 Sue was reappointed for a further 5 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.

Nicole Lawless: Director of Proceedings and Executive Director, Legal Services

Nicole Lawless is the Executive Director of Legal Services at the Health Care Complaints Commission and commenced at the Commission in October 2021. Nicole also holds the statutory role of the Director of Proceedings.

Nicole was admitted as a solicitor in 2002. Prior to join the Commission, Nicole was the NSW Deputy Ombudsman, where she led the Complaints and Investigations Branch. Nicole previously worked in the NSW Ombudsman’s Office as a legal advisor and Counsel Assisting the Ombudsman. Nicole has also held roles as a prosecutor at the NSW DPP, as the Deputy Director of the Criminal Law Review Division in the NSW Attorney General’s Department, as a policy advisor in the Department of Premier and Cabinet on the prevention of violence against women and heading up the legal and strategy team representing the Department of Family and Community Services in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws, a Post Graduate Diploma (Forensic Psychology) as well as a Master of Laws in human rights and is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW.

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.

Krush Deepak: Director, Technology and Systems Transformation

Krush Deepak commenced in the role of Director, Technology and Systems Transformation at the Health Care Complaints Commission in January 2022. 

Krush has previously held senior technology leadership roles within NSW government and the private sector in organisations such as Sydney Trains, Transport for NSW, CBA, Qantas, Vodafone and HSBC. Krush’s achievements include contributing to the modernisation of bus contracts management within Transport for NSW and delivering a first of its kind globally acclaimed platform for real-time passenger trip planning. Krush has also been recognised for his leadership in setting up a contemporary Rail Incident management system and Dynamic Train timetable scheduling system used jointly by Sydney Trains, NSW Police Force, Transport for NSW and the NSW Emergency Services to respond to rail safety incidents and minimise human fatality within the complex Sydney rail network.

Krush holds a Master's degree in ICT and E-commerce and certifications in Ethical hacking, Cybersecurity, Program & Project Management and IT Service Management in addition to a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering.

Kathryn Kerr: Interim Director, Corporate Operations and Chief Financial Officer

Kathryn Kerr commenced in the role of Interim Director, Corporate Operations and Chief Financial Officer in March 2021.

Kathryn has previously held senior roles within Government and the private sector. Prior to commencing at the Commission, Kathryn was the Chief Operations Officer for the Financial Advisers Standards and Ethics Authority, an independent Federal Government Agency within the Treasury Portfolio. Kathryn is a commercial finance and operations executive with over 30 years experience within Australia and Asia.

Kathryn is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand; she has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. Kathryn has extensive experience leading teams and working with Boards and senior executives across finance, risk and operations.