“At a time when there’s so much uncertainty in the world, it’s not easy to consider a career change, but it’s been quite invigorating for me. It made sense to explore new opportunities within the MedHealth family, as it provides some security – I know them, and they know me!”
Dorothy Frost is the Head of Projects and Workforce Partnerships with Ability Action Australia and is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing outcomes for everyone. Her experience and leadership qualities have allowed her to communicate, motivate, and solve problems in an ever-changing environment. This ability to adapt and respond has offered her new and exciting roles during her varied career.
My career journey with MedHealth
As Director of the Return-to-Work division at WorkSafe Victoria, I led significant reforms to improve return to work outcomes for employees and employers. I also liaised with many Occupational Rehabilitation providers, which I enjoyed immensely.
I wanted to do more in the rehabilitation space and decided to approach IPAR directly, as I was impressed and inspired by the company and their leadership. I connected with them and soon a role become available that I knew would enhance their business. I commenced with IPAR as General Manager of Research & Innovation in 2014.
I saw significant change over the next few years, as some of our industry leading health, medical and employment brands merged under MedHealth. My role continually expanded during this time.
I was exposed to other areas of the business including occupational rehabilitation, disability employment and specialist opinions, and was instrumental in the development and rollout of the Positivum™ program. It was a very exciting and challenging time for me. It meant we could better understand the evidence and develop evidence-based services and formal evaluations to improve the outcomes for people.
The NDIS is a new scheme experiencing significant growth, and in October 2021, I felt I was ready to join Ability Action Australia as Head of Projects and Workforce Partnerships. I am looking forward to working with the AAA team as they expand and position themselves as a key player in the sector.
Changing career paths
I felt a little uncomfortable leaving the personal injury sector that I was so familiar with and worked within for over 20 years. I had made strong inroads in this industry, earned the respect of my peers and developed many valuable business relationships. At a time when there’s so much uncertainty in the world, it’s not easy to consider a career change, but it’s been quite invigorating for me. It made sense to explore new opportunities within the MedHealth family, as it provides some security – I know them, and they know me!
The challenges
The NDIS is a new sector. The business is growing quickly, and I have had to build new knowledge of the scheme as well as our business – build new relationships and adapt quickly.
My motivation
I get a lot of satisfaction from driving solutions which are complex, and at scale. I love hearing from people that have benefitted from things I was instrumental in developing. There is also so much to do in the NDIS sector, and I am so proud that MedHealth, and Ability Action Australia are taking the opportunities to provide life-changing support to Australians under the NDIS.
Favourite career highlight
One of the real highlights for me was receiving external funding from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to conduct a formal research study, which is now accredited as a clinical trial. I’m not a researcher, so this was a big deal, and external validity of the importance of the work we are doing.
