Dr. Neale Fong is an Australian businessman and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Based in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, he formerly served as the

West Australian Football Commission WA Football, formerly the West Australian Football Commission, is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Western Australia. The organisation is registered as a not-for-profit association. WA Football assists in adminis ...

chairman and director general of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. , he is the chairman of the

Western Australian Institute of Sport The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia. The founding director was Wally Foreman who held the position for 17 ye ...

Early life

Fong was raised in a working-class Chinese-Australian family. His grandfather migrated from southern China, initially to the Goldfields before moving to Perth where he set up Fong's Greengrocer in Northbridge.

Education

Fong studied at the Balcatta Senior High School and graduated in 1976, serving as School Captain, Athletics Captain and Football First XVIII Captain. He was admitted to UWA Medical School in 1977, and graduated in 1982. In 1988, he moved to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to undertake graduate theological studies at Regent College, University of British Columbia. He graduated with a Diploma in Christian Studies (DipCS) and a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) with a concentration in Applied Theology. Fong graduated in the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

's Graduate School of Management with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 1996. He also has degrees in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Career

Health services

His first medical job was at Royal Perth Hospital where he worked in terms including under Sir George Bedbrook at the RPH(RH) Spinal Unit and at the Port Hedland Regional Hospital. He was then appointed as a Venereologist in the VD Control Branch of the Health Department of WA where he established the first HIV/AIDS assessment clinic in 1985. He was part of a number of state and national committees involved in tackling the

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

epidemic in the mid-1980s. Returning to Perth in 1990, Fong took up roles in the newly named STD Control Branch in the Public Health Division of the Health Department of WA. He was asked to undertake a major review of STD/HIV services in Metropolitan Perth, which resulted in major changes to STD management. He established the inaugural Communicable Diseases Control Section of the Health Department of WA in 2003/04. In 1994, he was recruited to be the Director of Medical Service for the East Metro Health Service. With the resignation of the managing director of the State Health Purchasing Authority in 1995, Fong was appointed to the role and worked on the establishment of the new structure to be led by former Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health Alan Bansemer. Fong was appointed Chief General manager Operations with responsibility for all operational responsibilities with the health services in metro and country WA (the equivalent of a Chief Operating Officer role). After serving three years in this position, Fong was recruited to be the CEO of Australia's largest private hospital at the time, St John of God Subiaco. He led the hospital in a major turnaround including the commencement of a $100M redevelopment program from 2000 to 2004. The first comprehensive cancer centre (later to be named the Bendat Comprehensive Cancer Centre) was established. In 2004, he was appointed by the Gallop Ministry to implement reform in Western Australia's public health system. He became the executive chairman of the Health Reform and Implementation Taskforce, charged with implementing the recommendations of the Reid Report. He became

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

, the state's highest-paid public servant with a salary of A$600,000, before resigning over findings alleged misconduct. No corruption charges were identified or laid. In September 2012, Fong commenced an appointment by Health Solutions WA Pty Ltd (of which he was managing director) as managing director of Peel Health Campus, a private hospital at

Mandurah Mandurah ( ) is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 90,306. Mandurah's central business dis ...

which was also embroiled in allegations of fraud and corruption prior to Fong's appointment, It was found that doctors were being paid $200 per patient as inducement for admissions to the hospital. A subsequent parliamentary inquiry found that the scheme incorrectly generated $1.78 million from the Department of Health, which was able to recover the amount.Inquiry into Peel Health Campus Payments Report
W.A. Legislative Council, November 2012 Within four months, Fong quit, announcing acquisition of the business by

Ramsay Health Care Ramsay Health Care Limited is an Australian multinational healthcare provider and hospital network, founded by Paul Ramsay in Sydney, Australia, in 1964. The company operates in Australia, Europe, the UK, and Asia, specialising in surgery, reha ...

. Fong was appointed to the board of Prime Health, an occupational health and safety company, soon after and established his advisory service (Australis Health Advisory). He has consulted widely in Commonwealth and states on health and hospital and leadership development. Under Health Workforce Australia he held the project to form Australia's first health leadership competency framework (Health LEADS), which endures to this day. In 2009, he became Chairman of Bethesda Hospital and held this position till 2019 when he was appointed CEO. He was formerly deputy chair of the Bethanie Group, interim CEO of Peel Health Campus and Chair of ASX listed company Chrysalis Resources for 8 years. He has also held a number of other ASX company director positions. In 2010, he led the project for the establishment of the Curtin Medical School, which opened for students on 2017, and was Director of the Curtin Health and Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) for two years. In November 2015, he was appointed by the Minister of Health to chair the WA Country Health Service Board, one of five WA Health service boards.

Football

Fong commenced his career with the

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exis ...

colts and reserves teams. He was Captain of the Colts team in 1978 and was coached by East Perth legend Ken McCaullay. His brother is former West Perth captain

Les Fong Leslie Robert "Les" Fong (born 24 August 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Playing career After being recruited from Nollamara, he joined the cl ...

. After 12 years as a successful amateur player, he was elected a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

from 1999 until 2010, and chairman from 2002 until 2010. He has been described as "one of the most important figures in Western Australian football history". He served as chaplain of the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

Football Club from 1993 to 2014.

Youth work

Fong was the director and chair of Youth Vision WA from 1990 to 2015, having completed 41 years in youth work in the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...

WAIS

In September 2023, Fong was appointed chair of the

(WAIS).

References

External links

Stateline interview
on the West Australian health system

on drugs in sport {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Neale Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Public servants of Western Australia Australian members of the Churches of Christ Ministers of the Churches of Christ Australian people of Chinese descent Australian chief executives