New appointments to support outback communities

Monday, 4 December 2023

Three highly experienced members with strong ties to regional South Australia have been appointed to the Outback Communities Authority (OCA), helping administer and manage public services in some of the State’s most remote communities.

Rural and regional health leader Andrea Triggs, experienced lawyer Will Fennell and Royal Flying Doctors Service Central Operations CEO Tony Vaughan ASM will begin their three-year terms on 1 January 2024.

The OCA provides facilities and services to outback communities that are not within a council area, covering around 63 per cent of South Australia – stretching from Fowlers Bay on the far west coast to Oodnadatta and Marla in the far north, Innamincka in the north-east and down to the northern Flinders Ranges.

Ms Triggs is Director of Mental Health across the Eyre and Far North Local Health Network and has more than 20 years’ experience in the primary health care sector.

Mr Fennell, partner at Piper Alderman lawyers, has worked with regional and outback clients in the agriculture, tourism, conservation, health, mining and aged care sectors.

The two new appointments follow the re-appointment of Mr Vaughan for a second term to the OCA, as the highly regarded and dedicated member continues to serve outback communities.

The roles will be supported by three existing Board members: Leila Day, Ngatina Sylvanius and Presiding Member Jan Ferguson OAM.

The OCA serves an area of about 625,000 square kilometres – an area as big as France and two-and-a-half times bigger than the United Kingdom, with around 4,500 people calling outback South Australia home.

The Malinauskas Government – which tripled the OCA’s funding to $2.24 million per year in the 2023-24 State Budget – is now providing enough resources to support the OCA to deliver services to residents along with the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the South Australian outback each year.

This additional funding, the largest commitment of State funding in the OCA’s history, allows the provision of basic services including airstrips, public toilets, UHF communication towers, environmental protection measures and waste management.

It also covers administrative costs, meaning the OCA can invest the full amount of the Financial Assistance Grant it receives from the Federal Government each year directly into outback communities – with no new levy imposed on residents and property owners.

For more information on the OCA visit oca.sa.gov.au.