Dr Janine Mohamed (née Dutschke) is a proud Narrunga Kaurna woman from Point Pearce in South Australia who has dedicated her career to Indigenous health through roles in nursing, management and policy for over two decades.
She attended Concordia College and graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of South Australia and worked as a registered nurse with the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide. From 2001 to 2007 she worked for the Aboriginal Home Care Program with her Elders, and the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA). Janine moved to Canberra in 2007 to work in senior positions for the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). She also contributed to the establishment of the Close the Gap campaign and was part of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ delegation that participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2011 and 2012. Janine was appointed CEO of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) in 2013, and led the organisation for five years.
Janine is currently CEO of the Lowitja Institute, Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research. Janine is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of South Australia and a Board member of the Remote Area Health Corps, the Rosemary Bryant Research Centre at the University of South Australia, and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. Janine has been recognised for her contributions on multiple occasions, including a University of South Australia Alumni Award in 2016, the ACT Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “Individual” NAIDOC Award in 2018 and the 2019 NATSIHWA Lifetime Achievement Award due to her integral role in establishing a national professional association for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners. She has also been awarded an Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity Fellowship and an Honorary Doctorate from Edith Cowan University. Janine is married to Commissioner Justin Mohamed, who also has a longstanding career in Aboriginal health, including being the former CEO of Reconciliation. Together they have five children.