About us

About us

Governance

A Board of Directors governs the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children.

Under the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Actlink opens in a new window, members of RIDBC elect Board Members.

The Board has responsibilities and duties defined under the Act and by-laws. These ensure that RIDBC:

  • Achieves its objectives
  • Properly conducts its financial reporting
  • Acts in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

The Board selects and appoints the Chief Executive, who is accountable to the Board for the performance of RIDBC.

Board of Directors profiles

Patron

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, AC,
Governor of New South Wales

Vice Patron

Mr Norman B Rydge, AM, OBE, was appointed Vice Patron of RIDBC on 24 June 2009. He was a Director from 1977-2009, and President from 1995-2009. He is a Life Governor.

President

Mr Sean P Wareing, FCPA, ACIS, was appointed to the Board in 2000, elected a Vice President in 2003 and President in 2009. He is a Life Member of RIDBC. Mr Wareing has had extensive experience both as an Executive in, and Chairman or Director of, public and private companies. He is a Graduate of the Senior Management Program of the Harvard Business School, an Honorary Fellow of the University of Western Sydney and a former Vice-President of the NSW Division of CPA Australia.

Vice Presidents

Mr David Dinte, BEc, LLB, MAICD, is a property developer with extensive experience in commercial, retail, industrial and residential development, acquisition and management in both Australia and the United States of America. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centres. Mr Dinte joined the Board in 2000 and was appointed a Vice President in 2009.

Dr John Gregory-Roberts, MB, BS, BSc, FRACS, FRANZCO, FRCOphth, is a Life Governor of the Institute. He has been Honorary Ophthalmologist to the Institute since 1978, joined the Board in 1991, and was elected a Vice President in 2003. He is Head of the Vitreo-Retinal Unit at the Sydney Eye Hospital, and a member of the Board of Management of the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation. He is a past President and Life Governor of the Sydney Medical School Foundation of the University of Sydney.

Mr Richard Owens, OAM, is Chairman of his family’s diversified retail, real estate development and investment company, and a vigneron and wine producer in the Hunter Valley. He is Deputy Chairman of the Hunter Valley Training Company and is a member of the Boards of Opera Australia and Hunter Valley Research Foundation. He joined the Board in 1990, was appointed Vice President in 1999, and is a Life Governor.

Mr Graeme Skarratt, OAM, a former Director of Raine & Horne Pty Ltd, is a Life Governor of RIDBC. He joined the Board in 1981 and was Honorary Secretary from 1982 until 1992, when he was appointed a Vice President. Mr Skarratt has been a member of RIDBC's Abstract Committee for 46 years and associated with RIDBC for 51 years.

Directors

Associate Professor Catherine Birman, MBBS, FRACS, is an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Deputy Director of the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre and is a member of the Macquarie University Medical Advisory Committee. She has been a past Chairman of the NSW division of the Australian Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and past Secretary of the Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Otolaryngology Society. A/Prof Birman joined the Board in 2011.

Mr Graeme Bradshaw, BEc, FFIA, CFRE, is the Principal of Graeme Bradshaw Consulting. He retired in 2007 from the role of Senior Partner of DVA Navion Inc, a specialist international management and marketing consultancy serving the not-for-profit sector. Mr Bradshaw was Deputy General Manager of the Royal Blind Society of NSW. He is a Fellow Emeritus and past President of the Fundraising Institute of Australia. He joined the Board in 1998.

Professor Christine E Deer, BA, MTCP, DipEd, PhD, FACE, is Emeritus Professor of the University of Technology, Sydney, having retired as Professor of Teacher Education and Head of the School of Teacher Education. She is a member of the Sydney Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, a director of the James N Kirby Foundation, and a member of the MLC School Council. Professor Deer joined the Board in 1993 and is a Life Member.

Mr Roger Gee, FRAeS, retired in 2006 from Qantas after a 41 year career with the airline. He retired as a 747-400 Senior Check Captain. He has been an active member of RIDBC's Pathfinder Auxiliary for more than 30 years. He instigated the Charity Flight, a very successful fundraising event, and piloted the Qantas Children’s Jumbo Joy Flight for many years. Mr Gee joined the Board in 2008 and is a Life Member of RIDBC.

Mr Jim Kropp, BComm, FCPA, was a senior audit and risk management consulting partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, retiring from the practice in December 1999. He is a Director of Commonwealth Managed Investments Limited, Colonial First State Capital Management Pty Limited and Colonial First State Loan Note Issuer Pty Limited, and a former director of AARNet Pty Ltd, and former National President of CPA Australia. Mr Kropp joined the Board in May 2010.

Mr John Landerer, CBE AM LLB (Syd) LLD (Honoris Causa Macquarie), is a Solicitor specialising in corporate advisory work, and a company director. He is Chairman of Goldsearch Limited and a number of private companies. He is a Director of Life Education Australia, the Garvan Research Foundation and other charitable institutions. Mr Landerer is a Fellow of the University of Sydney. He is a Commander in the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity. He joined the Board in 2005.

Mr Greg Sedgwick, BComm, MComm, joined the Board in 2011. He was previously the Managing Director of Crane Group Limited and was instrumental in fostering the corporate relationship between RIDBC and Crane. He was Vice President of the Australian Industry Group of NSW and a member of the Business Council of Australia. He has had extensive international experience and has held board positions with listed companies in Japan, India and South Africa.

Mrs Barbara Stone, AM BA DipEd MEd MAICD FACE FACEL, retired as Principal of MLC School in 2011. She is a past National Chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, past Chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools (NSW), Past President of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools of Australasia, a Board member of the Association of Independent Schools (NSW), Kormilda College, Darwin and a member of the Advisory Group for Gifted Education Resource Research and Information Centre, UNSW. She joined the Board in 2002.

Integrity Statement

Preamble

Good governance is essential to maintaining trust between the Institute and its supporters, funding authorities and the families of the students.

The Institute is a charitable human service organisation. Accordingly, its Board will aim to promote values and attitudes of service, integrity, frugality, consideration for individuals, accountability and personal responsibility.

What is required of Board Members:

  • Members of the Board shall be non-executive and unpaid and shall take no benefit whatsoever from their office and no member of RIDBC's staff may be appointed to the Board.
  • Criteria for Board membership are determined by the “Eligibility Guidelines” and relevant clauses in the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Act and the by-laws.
  • The Board shall act at all times and in all matters in the best interests of the Institute in conformity with its Act and by-laws.
  • Members of the Board have a duty to ensure that the management of the Institute is competent, ethical and prudent and that it acts in the best interests of RIDBC.
  • Members of the Board shall at all times act honestly and in good faith in the exercise of their powers and the discharge of their duties of office.
  • Members of the Board have a duty to use due care and diligence in fulfilling the functions of office and in exercising the powers attached to that office.
  • Members of the Board should not engage in conduct likely to bring discredit upon the Institute.
  • Board members shall not take improper advantage of their position nor allow personal, family or business interests to conflict with the interests of RIDBC.
  • The performance of any service or the supply of any article to RIDBC by a Board member for which compensation may be received requires the prior approval of the Board and subsequent disclosure to the members.
Conclusion

Members of the Board agree to be bound by this Integrity Statement. New appointees to the Board will be required to agree to be bound by the Integrity Statement. Any member of the Board finding herself/himself unable to meet or to continue to meet the requirements of the Integrity Statement must offer to resign from the Board.

Guidelines to appoint Board Members:

Prospective appointees to the Board of Directors must:

  • Be, or be prepared to become, members of RIDBC in accord with the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Act.
  • Have sympathy with, and be prepared to contribute to, RIDBC's purposes and objectives.
  • Have abilities and skills, which would be of use to RIDBC.
  • Be compatible with and prepared to work with existing members of the Board.
  • Have a range of personal and/or professional contacts from various fields of endeavour who would be of potential benefit to RIDBC.
  • Have an understanding of the duties and responsibilities of a Board member.

Performance by Self Appraisal

In order to ensure that the Board is constituted so as to properly discharge its duties to the members, staff and clients of RIDBC, Board members agree that periodically they will undertake a performance appraisal by self-analysis.

This requires the completion and signing of a questionnairePDF File, signifying continued agreement to be bound by the requirements of the Integrity Statement.