President's Update - October 2026

I am pleased to share an update with Members following the most recent USANZ Board of Directors meetings.

Future Events

Next year’s ASM in Brisbane is well under development thanks to the hard work and capability of Stuart Philip as Convenor, and Lih-Ming Wong as Scientific Committee Chair. I believe this will be an excellent conference with a strong focus on emerging technologies including AI. Early Bird Registrations are now open for the ASM, and I would encourage everyone to view what I feel is a remarkable preliminary program available online along with our confirmed International Faculty.

The Early Bird Registration discount will be available until 15 January 2027.

Financial Position

As many of you would know from the details shared at the various Section meetings, the financial position of USANZ remains solid and continues to strengthen. I am pleased to report that the 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting returned a surplus of $505,723 and the Society’s net assets continue to grow - as at 30 June 2026 it was $17.70m. 

SIMG Expedited Pathway

USANZ has been active in opposing this pathway for urologists and has worked closely with RACS in this endeavour.

In July 2026, USANZ submitted feedback to the Medical Board of Australia on the proposed reforms and the draft Specialist pathway requirements.

As a consequence of our strong financial position we have had the resources to also engage external consultants for their advice with a view to them assisting with presenting our concerns directly to government.

I feel that this is a key issue that will determine the future direction of USANZ and that we must demonstrate what the wider community will lose by major adjustments to the current training system, and how much of what USANZ is already doing to optimize service delivery would also be at risk. Further information on this issue will be communicated to the Membership as it becomes available.

Medical Cost Finder Website

This is a rapidly developing space and USANZ is working to advocate with the relevant government authorities on behalf of Members. It is noteworthy that legislation for this has passed the federal parliament and received royal assent before a definitive format has been arrived at, and before final consultation with medical organisations has been completed.

The Medical Costs Finder (MCF) website was established by the Department of Health to inform patients about out of pocket (OOP) costs for procedures.

USANZ has sought legal advice and believes that the proposed MCF site changes will be in breach of ‘anti-competitive’ legislation. If industry had initiated this site, it would be challenged, but the government is legislating this publication of fees.

Most recently the Federal Government Department of Health Disability and Aging conducted a consultation on Specialist Affordability: Options to Address Excessive Fees.

USANZ has made a submission on behalf of the Society to this consultation but also encouraged Members to make their own submissions. I would like to thank those members who made submissions and for their direct feedback to me on this issue.

A further meeting on this matter between the government and USANZ leadership is planned for later this month.

Election for Position of USANZ Vice-President 2027-28

Members would be aware that the process to appoint the next USANZ Vice President is currently underway. Further information will be circulated as it becomes available.

Digital Transformation Project

USANZ has begun the process of transitioning away from our current AMS (Associations Management System) provider, Bond, to a new platform. This has become necessary as our current provider is introducing a new operating system and will no longer support the system that USANZ is using.

USANZ took this opportunity to investigate alternative platforms. After a competitive process, the decision was made to move to a new platform to replace Bond which should eventually provide Members with an improved experience. The new platform is currently used by professional representative organisations similar to USANZ.

We anticipate moving to the new platform in late 2026. Additional information on the transition will be distributed to Members via UroNews, closer to the launch of the new platform.

USANZ Office

USANZ has benefited from a highly stable team in our Edgecliff office for many years, and planning for changes is in progress to ensure continuity of service. Madeleine Bennison has recently resigned after many years. Deborah Klein is transitioning to part time work and while Deborah will retain overall responsibility for the delivery of the training program in her capacity as Senior Training Manager, a new Training Manager will commence in early November to assist with training delivery as Deborah’s transition continues.

International Representation

Over recent weeks Members have continued our strong tradition of representing USANZ on the world stage with presentations and participation in the following gatherings:

• Wenjie Zhong & Marnique Basto were the nominated USANZ representatives at the Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) Emerging Leaders Forum, held in Sydney on 18-20 June.
• Bishoy Hanna was the nominated USANZ representative at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting Residents Bowl in Washington DC on 26-28 April.
• Trainees Bradley Reynolds and Andrew Silagy attended the Canadian Senior Urology Residents (CSUR) retreat held to coincide with the Canadian Urological Association Meeting in Saskatoon, Canada on 27-29 June.
• Weranja Ranasinghe presented his paper ‘The AUSSIE Study: Preliminary Evaluation of Cxbladder Triage Plus for Urothelial Carcinoma Detection in Patients with Haematuria’ at the ANZUP ASM, held in Adelaide on 28-30 June 2026. This opportunity was extended to Weranja as the winner of the Best Oncology Presentation at the 2026 USANZ ASM
• Andrew Silagy was the nominated USANZ lecturer at the USANZ Joint Session at the Indonesian Urological Association (InaUA) Annual Scientific Meeting held in West Java, 30 September - 3 October.
• Jeremy Grummet was the USANZ lecturer at the São Paulo Meeting of Urology, organised by the Brazilian Society of Urology, from 3-6 September.
• USANZ trainees Mo Li and Tom Clarkson were the USANZ representatives at the Asian Urology Residents’ Course (AURC) held in conjunction with the UAA Congress in Manila.
• Trainees Bishoy Hanna and Jiasian Teh attended the European Urology Residents Education Programme (EUREP), held in Prague on 4–9 September.
• Wenjie Zhong was the USANZ Speaker at the Korean Urological Association (KUA) Annual Meeting held in Seoul on 14-16 October
• Richard Cetti was the inaugural USANZ speaker at the South African Urological Association congress

USANZ Trainee Members attending the CSUR Meeting in Canada, the AURC in the Philippines and EUREP in Prague were supported by the Australasian Urological Foundation (AUF), who contributed toward travel costs.

I’d also like to remind Members that the SIU 2026 has moved the location of their Congress from Abu Dhabi to Florence in November. The USANZ Joint Session will be combined with BAUS and KUA with Manish Patel and Paul Manohar coordinating the session.

Media

USANZ continues to grow our presence in the media with our monthly media releases highlighting topical health promotion messaging for the public. USANZ will continue to report on media coverage weekly, in UroNews.

Recent activity has included media placements by Female Urology SAG Leader, Eva Fong and Male Lower Urinary Tract SAG member, Eric Chung. USANZ also highlighted the long-term impacts of birth trauma during Birth Trauma Awareness Week, with Caroline Dowling representing USANZ in the media. A media focus was also undertaken on bladder function with commentary provided by Female Urology SAG Deputy Leader, Sandra Elmer.

The August release of the updated Guidelines for Early Detection of Prostate Cancer provided an additional opportunity for USANZ to engage with the media. I was joined by USANZ Vice President Ashani Couchman and Genitourinary Oncology SAG Leader Weranja Ranasinghe representing USANZ in the media, with additional commentary by Peter Heathcote in his role as Chair of the Guideline Expert Advisory Panel. We were able to provide expert commentary on what the recommendations mean for patients and clinicians. USANZ’s media release for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, continued to keep the issue in the media.

Successful Expressions of Interest

The Organising Committee for the USANZ 2028 ASM Adelaide was selected after a call for Expressions of Interest. It is my pleasure to welcome Matthew Hong to the role of Convenor and Marlon Perera as the Scientific Committee Chair.

Wenjie Zhong has also been selected as the Urology Program Convenor at RACS 2027 Annual Scientific Congress, to be held in Melbourne from April 29.

Prof Damien Bolton
USANZ President