About us

From small beginnings to a community of practice across the Asia-Pacific, the story of APLS Australia. 

Advanced Paediatric Life Support, Australia (APLS) aims to improve the early management of acutely ill and injured children in Australia through training and education of health care professionals.

A fully incorporated, not-for-profit organisation founded in 1997, APLS Australia currently facilitates over 130 courses a year for more than 2,500 health care professionals, expanding each year.

Its flagship courses, Advanced Paediatric Life Support and Paediatric Life Support, run in over 30 locations across Australia each year with outreach work conducted in several developing countries. 

From its development in the 1980s by the UK's Advanced Life Support Group, APLS has become the internationally recognised gold standard in paediatric emergency training. Courses are supported by the 7th edition Australia and New Zealand APLS manual and an award-winning online learning package for both the APLS and PLS courses. 

APLS Australia has its own dedicated training centre in Melbourne’s CBD. It also produces the biannual PAC Conference, one of the largest paediatric acute care conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. 

 

Our Vision

To continue to raise the standard of care provided to acutely ill and injured children in Australia. 

 

Our Values

  • Diversity
  • Respect
  • Recognition
  • Innovation
  • Sustainability

 

Our Mission Statement

"To promote excellence in emergency care of ill and injured children through the provision of high-quality contemporary education programs for health care professionals.”

Our Constitution

APLS Constitution 2020

 

APLS Board & Committees

Want to contact a board member, committee chair or APLS staff member? Email faculty@apls.org.au and we will send on your enquiry, or contact us here
 

Chief Executive Officer

Rod Wealands

Chair

Jacquie Schutz

Deputy Chair

Marissa Alexander

 

Board Members

Jason Acworth

Marissa Alexander

Andrew Blanch

Shelley Dutton

John Gavranich

Susan Loane

George Panos

 

Course Development Committee

 
Chair

Adam Buckmaster

Members

Shahn Horrocks, Cathrin Parsch, Jane Stanford, Anthony Stevenson, Andrew Terrey, Adam Buckmaster, André Kogan, Donovan Dwyer, Noel Roberts, Jane Cichero, Lisa Kane
 

 

Instructor Development Committee

 

Chair 

Marissa Alexander

Members

Paul Bloomfield, Sue Coretti, Elizabeth Cotterell, David McDonald, Jane Stanford, Jane Cichero, Christopher Webber, Noel Roberts, Andrew Blanch, John Gavranich, Anna Sullivan (APLS NZ Representative)

 

 

Paediatric Life Support Committee

 

Chair

Stephen Teo

Members

Di Crellin, Constance Gray, Catherine Gale, Shelley Dutton, Jane Cichero, Jane Stanford, Noel Roberts, Stephen Bradley (APLS NZ Representative), Carmen Haines (APLS NZ Representative)

 

International Development Committee

 

Chair

Mike Starr

Members

Malcolm Higgins, Tomas Ratoni, Christine Sanderson, Christine Brabyn (APLS NZ representative), Mike Starr, Setthy Ung, Bruce Lister, James Flynn, Susan Phin, Olwen Gilbert, Jane Stanford

 

Risk, Finance & Audit Committee

 

Chair

George Panos

Members

George Panos, Susan Loane,  Michelle Montague, Rod Wealands