Our heritage

St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA) has been providing healthcare in Australia for over 160 years, since our first hospital was established in Sydney in 1857 by the Sisters of Charity. When the first five Sisters arrived in Australia in 1838 they carried with them the vision of their Founder, Mary Aikenhead, to reach out to all in need of care, but particularly those living on the fringes of our society.

Our private hospitals hold an essential place in this Mission. Since the opening of the first St Vincent’s Private Hospital in 1909, we have worked in partnership with specialist doctors to build a strong culture of excellence and compassion in healthcare. In the days before government funding of public hospitals, our doctors often provided medical care at no charge to the poor and destitute. The establishment of private hospitals enabled our doctors to treat private, fee-paying patients, ensuring they had the capacity to continue to support the Sisters of Charity in their broader mission.

Today, by providing excellent, compassionate, research-driven care to our patients in the private system, we continue to strengthen St Vincent’s capacity to care for those who are poor and vulnerable across our whole network of services.  

Our care

Taking to heart our mission of service of the poor, SVHA reaches out to some of the most vulnerable people in the Australian community, including:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• People experiencing addiction
• People living with mental illness
• People in prison, with respect to their health care needs
• People who are seeking asylum and refugees
• People who are socially and financially disadvantaged, especially those experiencing homelessness

Our commitment

For those entrusted to our care it’s:

• Provided in an environment underpinned by our mission, vision and values
• Holistic and centred on the needs of each patient and resident
• High quality, safe and continuously improved to ensure best practice
• Innovative and informed by current research, using contemporary techniques and technology
• Delivered by a team of dedicated, appropriately qualified people who are supported in the continuing development of their skills and knowledge
• Committed to a respect for life within the tradition of Mary Aikenhead and the Sisters of Charity

Group and corporate governance

SVHA is a group of not-for-profit, non-listed companies operating under the stewardship of Mary Aikenhead Ministries.

We are governed by a board that sets our strategic direction and ensures that we comply with legal and legislative requirements. Our group executive manages the daily operations of the organisation to the highest standards. We all work together to realise the mission of our founders to serve all those in need of care.

The SVHA Board

The SVHA Board sits as the board of SVHA and of the 8 subsidiary companies that operate our private and public health facilities/services and our aged care services.

The board closely monitors the organisation's performance, and ensures that we achieve our mission to bring God's love to those in need through the healing ministry of Jesus. It also governs the SVHA group of companies in compliance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth), Canon law, and all other relevant civil legislation.

The Board must at all times operate within the Mary Aikenhead Ministries Ethical Framework and the Catholic Health Australia Code of Ethical Standards of Health and Aged Care Services in Australia 2001.

The Board also conducts itself and considers its decisions in accordance with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, including:

• The dignity of the human person
• Solidarity and service
• The common good
• A preference for the poor
• Responsible stewardship of resources
• Subsidiarity

All directors serve as independent, non-executive directors and are appointed by the Trustees of Mary Aikenhead Ministries.

SVHA executive leadership

The SVHA Executive Leadership Team provides management and leadership of our public hospitals, private hospitals, and aged care and shared services divisions.

The executive shapes and implements the board-approved strategy and executes the day-to-day operations of the organisation with the highest possible levels of safety, effectiveness, efficiency and concordance with our mission.

The executive team meets monthly to consider and approve operational decisions delegated to it on matters of strategy, risk and mission.

Annual reports

Please view our annual reports here.