The Board and staff of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) extend our condolences on the passing of Dr Sally Goold OAM - a proud Wiradjuri woman, trailblazer in First Nations nursing, matriarch of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health leadership, and tireless advocate for health equity.

Sally was the first Aboriginal student nurse to train at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, overcoming significant barriers to become the first Aboriginal Registered Nurse in New South Wales.

In 1997, she founded the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses (CATSIN), now known as CATSINaM, and served as its Executive Director, helping to build a strong national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives. Please see the CATSINaM tribute for a full reflection on her legacy.

Critically for ANMAC, Sally was an inaugural Director of the ANMAC Board, serving from 2010 to 2012. Her influence on culturally safe, inclusive healthcare education remains a cornerstone of ANMAC’s evolution.

Throughout her extraordinary career, Sally was recognised with many accolades, including the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1986 and being named Senior Australian of the Year in 2006. Today, the Dr Sally Goold Award continues her legacy through the recognition of Indigenous nursing and midwifery leadership.

Her life’s work was grounded in her Wiradjuri heritage and the many Elders, nurses, and young people she mentored. Sally didn’t just open doors - she walked through them holding others’ hands.

"As the first Aboriginal Registered Nurse in New South Wales, Dr Sally Goold OAM blazed a trail that made it possible for so many of us to follow. As a proud Wiradjuri woman, she laid the foundation for the transformative work of CATSINaM and shaped the vision for culturally safe care in Australia. Her legacy continues in every policy we advance at ANMAC and in every First Nations nurse and midwife who walks through hospital doors today. I stand on her shoulders with deep gratitude, humility and unwavering commitment to carry forward her vision." - Professor Roianne West, former CEO of CATSINaM and Chair of ANMAC.

Her leadership was relational, grounded in truth-telling and driven by love for her people. Sally walked with courage, always holding space for others, and always guided by her Ancestors. Her legacy breathes through every Indigenous nurse and midwife who rises today.

May the Ancestors welcome her spirit home. We offer our deepest condolences and eternal gratitude.

We pay tribute to a woman of strength, vision and purpose. Sally’s spirit lives on in every yarning circle, every nurse who walks with purpose, and in the quiet strength of our Ancestors’ voices. Her vision forever shaped the path toward culturally safe healthcare.

We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.