Voting on the RACP’s fifth EGM in six months is set to kick off this Friday amidst long-standing board instability.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has begun its latest Extraordinary General Meeting – this time, members will vote on whether to oust the sitting president.
RACP president Professor Jennifer Martin is schedule to officially step down at the end of May.
This extraordinary general meeting marks the fifth EGM in the past six months. The previous meetings were aimed at removing president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran.
To add confusion, the RACP will also begin elections for the future president-elect at the end of March, with voting closing at the end of April.
Results for this election, along with the results for other elected RACP positions, will start to roll out in May.
Voting for the fifth EGM starts on Friday and will end on the following Wednesday as part of the accompanying college-wide meeting that will deliver the outcome.
This EGM was prompted by an over 100-member directed requisition received by the RACP on 23 February 2026.
The requisition was leaked to the press and outlines an argument for removing Professor Martin from both of her positions as president and RACP director.
“We, the undersigned members have lost confidence in the leadership of Professor Martin as President and Chair of RACP board,” the supporting statement reads.
“Many members called for the President’s resignation after 4 failed EGMS in 2025.
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“There was no accountability evident to Members.”
Board instability and responsible oversight of college spendings have been listed as key reasons for the early removal.
RACP president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran has confirmed to TMR that she was not involved with this requisition due to her responsibilities as a member of the board.
Dr Chandran also recently dropped her Fair Work case against Professor Martin in February, citing a lack of timeliness in results.
“The Commissioner sent in letters saying that probably he won’t provide the verdict till after May,” Dr Chandran told TMR.
“There was no point putting in everybody for a two-week hearing when a verdict has been served, considering the impact on everybody.”
The verdict time for the Fair Work case would have come only weeks before Professor Martin’s official presidential departure date.
