President's Update - July 2025
Updates from Events
The USANZ/EAU Urology Beyond Europe Joint Session at the EAU Congress in Madrid was extremely successful with 154 delegates in attendance, with many European delegates attending in preference to plenary sessions. A similar Joint Session will be scheduled in 2026. A call for Expressions of Interest will soon be made soon for presentations in London from 13-16 March.
The AUA Congress in Las Vegas was also attended by multiple USANZ members. The USANZ presenters at our combined session with BAUS and BJUI proudly showcased Urology from our region and I felt these were the highlights of the session.
Marlon Perera and Joseph Ischia convened a new Urology program at the RACS ASC from 3-6 May in Sydney which was a great addition to this conference. Discussions are in place about potentially reprising this session in 2027. The format of 4-minute presentations worked well for intending trainees in particular. Sincere congratulations should be offered to Henry Woo who was the meeting convenor for the entire RACS conference, a task requiring an enormous amount of time and effort.
Looking ahead, USANZ has just announced the new members of the 2027 Brisbane ASM Organising Committee. Stuart Philip has been named as the ASM Convenor with Ming Wong announced as the Chair of the Scientific Committee. Congratulations to you both. I look forward to working with you over the coming months as the planning commences.
A little closer on the horizon is the ASM 2026 in Melbourne to be held from 28 February - 3 March. To date, 9 International Faculty have confirmed their attendance at the event. More information will be available as the program develops. You can keep up to date with information on the ASM website.
Planning for the 2025 USANZ Section Meetings is well underway, and this will be the next opportunity I have to meet with USANZ Members. Information about these meetings also can be found on the USANZ website.
Updates from Stakeholders
While attending the AUA I met with Jaspreet Sandhu, the AUA Asia Pacific representative. In our discussion I asked him to consider the potential for USANZ Members to participate on AUA Committees, in addition to considering preferred candidate status for USANZ Members seeking fellowships in the USA. Responses to these issues will be communicated to USANZ Members when we receive them from the AUA executive, but the first invitation is currently active with the AUA calling for members to join a Guideline Panel on Hemorrhagic Cystitis. Expressions of interest are due directly to the AUA and instructions on nominating are available on the USANZ website. In addition, USANZ Trainees now have access to the AUA Guidelines, based upon a request by the Board of Urology Chair.
Preliminary negotiations also are in place to establish a memorandum of understanding with the Society of Urologic Oncology. This may assist USANZ members looking for fellowships in this field, and with the provision of speakers for our ASM. Progress is in its early stages and has been tentative.
In response to RACS announcing plans to establish a Robotic Surgery Advisory Committee, USANZ has provided feedback on this issue and is generally supportive of the committee’s formation provided we have significant representation on this board. I would like to see the USANZ Members presence on such a committee commensurate with the leadership we have taken generally in robot assisted surgery.
The USANZ Androgen Receptor Pathway Inhibitor (ARPI) Prescribing Resource was launched at the ASM in Perth and has subsequently been mailed to all Members across Australia. A digital version is available on the USANZ website. USANZ is currently working with 3 industry partners (Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, and Astellas) to provide an in-office service to assist USANZ Members set-up HPOS to speed up the prescription of these and other medications requiring a PBS authority. Information regarding this project and the assistance available can be obtained by emailing the USANZ Office.
Updates from USANZ Projects
The Aotearoa New Zealand Autonomy project has progressed to the point of final legal drafting of the Cooperation Agreement between USANZ and ANZSU. This is likely to be in place by the beginning of the 2026 Membership year.
The Australian Federal Government has mandated changes to the Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) which has the potential to impact the tax-exempt status of USANZ. Work is being undertaken to reposition USANZ and our Strategic Plan and goals to support the Society’s application for charity status which we plan to submit to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) in 2026, following expected Constitution changes at the next Annual General Meeting. The changes are designed to focus more on the public benefit of our work. The aims of the Society will require realignment under the new goals and Strategic Plan. This will be the focus at the Strategic Planning Day in August.
At the recent Board Meeting the Directors approved the Terms of Reference for a People and Culture committee at USANZ. The Committee will be chaired by a member of the Leadership Group and will meet at least twice each year to advise and make recommendations to the Board regarding matters to do with office holders and employees, matters to do with the role of the CEO, and the culture of the organisation.
In the Training space, 8 candidates (7 Trainees and 1 SIMG) successfully completed their Fellowship Exam. Congratulations to all.
Selection interviews for the SET Urology 2026 Intake were held in Melbourne and Brisbane on 13 June. This year a new Referee Interview process was introduced to collect more comprehensive feedback on candidates, replacing the online report with structured phone interviews. While more resource intensive, this new process has already shown some advantages. I am tremendously grateful to all members who gave of their time to make this process successful. Detailed analysis of how this change impacts the selection process for various groups will be undertaken.
The minutes for the Specialty Advisory Group (SAG) Meetings that were held at the 2025 ASM in Perth are now available on the USANZ website.
Update from ANZAUS
On 1 March 2025, the DHAC removed the 85% rebate level for several procedural items, identified by the Department as unsuitable for use outside of a hospital or a hospital-equivalent setting, to be billed instead at the 75% rebate level. Most of these item numbers referred to procedures only undertaken in hospital under anaesthesia, however it was felt that in regard to certain item numbers in this group that this change would disadvantage USANZ members and their patients, particularly those from rural and regional areas.
After consulting with the Specialty Advisory Group Leaders and the USANZ Board of Directors a range of item numbers were identified as suitable for appealing this decision. ANZAUS submitted a request to the Department to reinstate the 85% rebate for a series of these items, and was successfully able to prosecute this case. The item numbers that have now been returned to an 85% rebate level are 36812, 36833, 36836 and 18379. Recognition should be given to Troy Gianduzzo who led this successful process in such a professional manner.
USANZ Representative Roles
Nathan Lawrentshuk is coming to the end of his tenure as Editor of the BJUI USANZ Supplement. I am pleased to announce that from August 2025 this role will be transitioned to the new Editors of the BJUI USANZ Supplement who will share the role – Marlon Perera and Matthew Roberts. A generous thank you on behalf of all USANZ members should go to Nathan for all his hard work establishing this journal as the gateway to publication for so much of the research undertaken in Australian and New Zealand.
Prem Rashid has ended his term as the UAA USANZ Elected Council Member and his role will be now be filled by Past President and Current Secretary Helen O’Connell.
Manish Patel also has concluded his term as Editor (Urology) for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery. His role will be taken up by the current Deputy Editor (Urology) who is Amanda Chung who is ideally qualified for this position – congratulations Amanda! After a call for expressions of interest Shomik Sengupta will take up the position of Deputy Editor.
In concluding I would like to express my gratitude to all the USANZ members who contribute their time so unselfishly so make our organisation function at such a high level. It is this desire to improve the standard of health care provision in our region that has built USANZ into a society which I feel is unique in many ways.