Susan Pearce is Secretary, NSW Health, appointed in March 2022. In this role, Susan is responsible for the management of the NSW health system – with over 120,000 FTE and a budget of over $30billion – to ensure the provision of world-class, patient-centred care to the people of NSW.
Prior to her recent appointment, Susan was Deputy Secretary, Patient Experience and System Performance Division, a position she has held from November 2015. In that role, Susan had responsibility for the oversight of front-end service delivery and system performance and management across NSW Health, and improving patient experience.
Susan was also the Controller of the State Health Emergency Operations Centre (SHEOC), responsible for directing and overseeing NSW Health’s operational response to the pandemic. From February 2021, Susan led the NSW Health vaccine rollout program, establishing over 40 NSW Health vaccination clinics and more than 100 mobile, outreach and pop-up locations across the state to contribute to the high vaccination rate that have been achieved amongst the people of NSW.
Susan began her career as a registered nurse more than 30 years ago in Broken Hill and has continually worked to serve the communities of NSW, including working in number of Local Health Districts and subsequently as the NSW Chief Nurse. Susan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to public health administration and governance in the Australia Day Honors 2023 and has qualifications in Law and was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a solicitor in September 2019.
