Our History

The Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA) was founded in 1968 in recognition of the emergence of medical administration as a specialty in its own right. It was established with the aim of promoting and advancing the study of health services management by medical practitioners.

The Articles of Association were adopted on 21 March 1967. The Founding Convocation and inauguration of the (then) Australian College of Medical Administrators was held at The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne on 29 and 30 May, 1968. There were 279 founding Fellows.

On 6 August 1979, His Excellency Sir Zelman Cowan, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, advised that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was pleased to give approval for the granting of the prefix ‘Royal’ to the Australian College of Medical Administrators. 

The College was recognised by the National Specialist Qualification Advisory Committee in 1980 as the appropriate examining body for the new specialty of medical administration. Hence, the Fellowship is a nationally recognised specialist qualification.

In August, 1998, when links with New Zealand were formally established, the College changed its name to The Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators. RACMA has also formed an affiliation with the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine (HKCCM). 

The first office bearers of the College were: 

Past Office Bearers

The College President serves for a term of three years. The following persons have been College Presidents:

The Censor in Chief has responsibility for all College assessment and also oversees the alignments of the Curriculum with the Assessment Framework in the RACMA Fellowship Training Program. The Censor in Chief is also Chair of the Board of Censors. The following persons have occupied this important position: