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Executive leadership


Michael Francis

Chief Executive Officer

Michael has been the CEO at ReturnToWorkSA since September 2019, prior to which he was Deputy CEO Participants and Planning Experience with the National Disability Insurance Agency.

As a Deputy CEO at the National Disability Insurance Agency Michael led service delivery operations nationally, including the local area coordinator and early childhood early intervention partner networks.

Michael has extensive experience in work injury insurance having previously spent five years with ReturnToWorkSA in the roles of General Manager Insurance and General Manager Scheme Improvement and Regulation, as well as 15 years of service delivery and leadership experience working across a range of injury prevention, rehabilitation, insurance and regulatory roles in the Queensland work injury insurance scheme.

Declan Collins

Chief Digital and Information Officer

Declan joined ReturnToWorkSA in August 2020. He has 20 years' experience working in statutory personal injury schemes in various jurisdictions across Australia.

Prior to joining ReturnToWorkSA, Declan spent 7 year overseeing large claims management operations in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. He has also worked for WorkSafe Victoria in a number of different roles including Contract and Audit Manager, Director of Entitlements, Investigations Manager and Senior Prosecutor.

Paul Caskey

Executive Leader - Finance and Investments

Paul joined ReturnToWorkSA in 2012 as the Chief Investment Officer. He is now responsible for Finance, Investments, Actuarial, Analytics, Strategy, Governance and Risk. Paul has more than 20 years of finance and investment industry experience.

Prior to joining ReturnToWorkSA, Paul worked as the Manager, Investments at State Trustees Limited.

Samantha Jones

Executive Leader - Regulation

Samantha joined ReturnToWorkSA in September 2021 and is the Executive Leader of the Regulation group having formerly been the Leader Enforcement.

Samantha brings extensive regulatory experience, with a strong track record in advancing fair, transparent, and effective regulatory outcomes. She has a deep understanding of the South Australian Return to Work Scheme and is committed to fostering safe, supportive, and sustainable return-to-work pathways.

Prior to joining ReturnToWorkSA, Samantha worked in leadership roles including in education and policing.

Shaun Meehan

Chief Operating Officer - Insurance

Shaun joined ReturnToWorkSA as Contracts Manager – Insurance in 2022. With more than 27 years of experience in workers compensation and claims management, he is an established insurance executive known his strategic leadership, risk expertise and ability to drive cultural and operational transformation.

Shaun has led large, complex teams across multiple jurisdictions and has a strong track record in improving performance, enhancing governance, and delivering sustainable business outcomes. He is highly skilled in stakeholder engagement, contract and assurance management, and guiding organisations through change.

Amanda Trudgian

Executive Leader - Legal Services

Amanda joined ReturnToWorkSA in 2016 as Manager Scheme Legal and since 1 July 2025 has been responsible for leading the Legal Services team.

Amanda has more than 30 years’ experience in work injury insurance and personal injury litigation. She has extensive experience as both a barrister and solicitor in the UK and Australia, and prior to working for ReturnToWorkSA, worked for five years as Employer Mutual’s legal counsel in South Australia.

Prior to working for Employers Mutual, Amanda worked in private practice specialising in the area of insurance law, predominantly working in the areas of workers’ compensation, public liability and general insurance. She also gained experience with seafarers’ claims and Department of Health and WorkSafe prosecutions. She dealt with matters right from the investigation stage to running matters to trial and appearing as counsel.

Since being at ReturnToWorkSA, Amanda has been responsible for the provision of expert legal advice in relation to key Scheme-wide legal matters, advising on significant cases, Scheme reform and, when requested, other matters raised by the business, such as employment and governance matters.

Laura Sarich

Executive Leader – People, Capability and Culture

Laura is an experienced executive with a strong background in people and culture leadership across complex organisations in the healthcare, aviation, construction and education sectors. Prior to joining ReturnToWorkSA, Laura held an executive leadership role with the Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT.

Laura brings expertise in organisational strategy, workforce capability, leadership development and building high-performing teams, and has played a key role in organisational change and transformation.

A collaborative and values-driven leader, Laura believes organisational success is built on strong leadership, capable people and a positive workplace culture.

She is committed to strengthening organisational capability, empowering people and fostering a high-performance culture that supports sustainable success and delivers meaningful outcomes for the community.