About

The members of the Authority (VARTA’s board) are nominated by the Minister for Health and the appointments are made by the Governor-in-Council. Section 101 of the ART Act states that in making nominations to the Governor-in-Council, the Minister must have regard to the need for diversity and expertise.

Board members

Julia Griffith | Chairperson

BA, Diploma (Youth work), PSM

Ms Julia Griffith has held senior executive roles in a range of justice portfolios in the Victorian public sector, including corrections, justice health, youth justice, police and crime prevention. Most recently, Ms Griffith held the role of Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Public Sector Commission. In 2018, Ms Griffith was the recipient of a public service medal for leadership in the Victorian public sector. 

Fiona Kelly

BA/LLB (Hons), LLM, PhD (Law)

Professor Fiona Kelly is the Dean of the La Trobe University Law School. Prior to her arriving at La Trobe she was an Associate Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Fiona's research interests are primarily in the areas of family law and health law, with a particular focus on the legal regulation of assisted reproduction. She has published extensively in Australian and international journals on the legal regulation of parentage in the context of assisted reproduction, the ethics of sperm donor anonymity, the judicial and legislative response to lesbian and single mother by choice families, and the legal barriers faced by transgender youth seeking medical treatment. Professor Kelly is currently the lead Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant which explores the impact of donor linking – the process whereby donor-conceived people, donors and recipient parents access each other’s identity – on individual and familial identities and relationships.

Lucy Franzmann

BA, MComm, FCPA, GAICD

Ms Lucy Franzmann is the Chief Finance Officer at Victoria University. She is an experienced finance leader committed to the delivery of exceptional public services and the best use of resources, particularly in health, education and the arts. Prior to VU, Lucy was the Chief Financial Officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre from 2016 to 2021. During her tenure, Peter Mac’s activity and revenue grew significantly. Her previous roles include Deputy CFO at Barwon Health, Director of Innovation and Improvement at Austin Health, Deputy Managing Director of Victorian Opera and the Project Accountant at the Royal College of Music, London.  Lucy is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of CPA.  Lucy has two children who are donor-conceived.

Michael Regos

BA/LLB

Mr Michael Regos is a lawyer and for the past two years has been the principal of the legal practice of Michael Regos practising predominantly in the area of health law. For the preceding 25 years Michael was a Partner in the international law firm of DLA Piper where he was head of the DLA Piper Australian Health Litigation Group. Michael has advised health services, insurers, medical practitioners and other health professionals and organisations (including IVF organisations) in almost every aspect of health law including regulatory issues, governance and risk management through to full scale litigation and coronial inquiries. He has acted in a number of litigation cases involving the provision of IVF services. Through his representation of health services in litigation he developed a keen interest in safety, quality and risk management in the health sector. Between 2016 and 2019 he held an appointment as an arbitrator to the Australian Football League.

CEO

James Florent

B.A., B.Sc., MF 

James Florent is the Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority – on secondment from the Victorian Department of Health – where he most recently headed various COVID19 response strategies including vaccination and testing. James is a senior executive with significant regulatory and leadership experience – having worked in numerous senior roles across the Victorian Public Service.