Our head office is located in Sydney, NSW, but we work nationally. Our principal objectives support:
Prevention of, preparedness for and response to wildlife diseases
Maintenance of national wildlife health information datasets
Wildlife health intelligence and decision making in Australia
Australia’s understanding of potential international wildlife health risks to our animals and people
Capacity building in wildlife health across Australia through communication, education and training
A long-term sustainable wildlife health framework for Australia
A national wildlife health network of technical expertise, extending across zoos, universities, private veterinary practices, wildlife carer groups, hunters and fishers, coordinated across federal and state government agencies and non-government organisations
The advancement of the natural environment and the natural ecosystems across Australia.
WHA and our members are well positioned to assist in building national and regional capacities in these areas.
Our greatest strength is our ability to engage a large and varied group of stakeholders, many of whom may have valuable information about wildlife health, and can participate in discussions on wildlife health issues through WHA.
WHA brings together people, groups and agencies working in these fields at many different levels of government, in the private and public sectors, and can facilitate improved information flow.
WHA is very much operationally and outcomes focussed. A National Coordinator, supported by two full time and one part time project officers, provides support for Australian governments and non-government stakeholders. Two staff support the WHA board and members and provide business management services to the organisation:
Rupert Woods CEO
Trish Hennessy-Hawks
Administration Manager
Tiggy Grillo National Coordinator
Keren Cox-Witton Senior Project Officer
Andrea Reiss Project Officer
Silvia Ban Project Support Officer
Core funding is provided through a cost-shared model with funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water resources (DAWR) and all Australian state and territory governments. Significant in-kind funding and support is provided by zoo, university and other veterinary practises that see wildlife, as well as many other supporters and collaborators.
Legal and governance framework
WHA is a for purpose (not-for-profit), incorporated association registered under the Associations Incorporation Act (2009) in NSW. WHA is a registered charity. WHA extends the work of the Australian Wildlife Health Network (AWHN) and is administered under good organisational governance principles. An elected management committee (Board) oversees the activities of WHA.
Vision and mission
WHA’s vision is "Healthy wildlife, healthy Australia". Our mission is to develop strong partnerships in order to better manage the adverse effects of wildlife diseases.
Founding principles
As a national program, WHA is faced with a range of challenges associated with operating in a federated system at national level. This is further compounded by the diversity of stakeholder groups and their many different priorities and perspectives. A number of founding principles help WHA navigate through the complexities of doing business in such a challenging environment. These principles are for an organisation that:
focuses on human and animal health issues associated with free-ranging populations of wild animals that might impact on Australia’s animal health, human health, biodiversity, trade and tourism
is based on scientific endeavour and scientific objectivity
initiates multi-organisational collaboration amongst federal, state, local government and non-government agencies
strives for collaboration and complementarity rather than competition
is non-regulatory, financially responsible and efficient and
works in the national interest.
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