Professor Oates: the children's champion

1 September 2006
Professor Oates developed and established the Child Development and Child Protection Units at the Children's Hospital to provide state-wide assessment and treatment services for previously neglected groups.

Professor Kim Oates, a tireless advocate for children who experience abuse and neglect and who have disabilities, will be presented with a University of Sydney Alumni Award this weekend.

Professor Oates has served in a leadership role on many national and international councils and organisations that work to prevent child abuse and neglect. He has also contributed to many community organisations, including Good Beginnings Australia, Dads Unlimited, The Humour Foundation (which brings the Clown Doctors to children in hospital) and the Starlight Foundation.

As past Chief Executive of the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Professor Oates's community contributions included frequent appearances in the media championing child health issues and child rights.

He developed and established the Child Development and Child Protection Units at the Children's Hospital to provide state-wide assessment and treatment services for previously neglected groups.

Within the University Professor Kim Oates held the inaugural Douglas Burrows Chair of Paediatrics and Child Health, and was known for introducing medical students to rural Australia on his clinics in Bourke. He served for many years on Postgraduate Committee in Medicine, was elected Faculty Representative of the Medical Graduates Association (1998) and was a Founding Editor of the highly regarded Medical Alumni Magazine, Radius.

His current community involvement includes acting as a Trustee of the Sydney Grammar School, Patron's Council 2RPH (Radio for the Print Handicapped), National Goodwill Ambassador of Good Beginnings Australia, and Trustee of the Child Protection Trust and National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In 1996 Professor Oates was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for service to medicine, particularly in the field of paediatrics and the welfare of children. The Alumni Award for Community Service is conferred upon Professor Oates in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to child health issues and child rights, and his overarching commitment to the medical profession.


Contact: Kath Kenny

Phone: 02 9351 2261 or 0434 606 100