About us
Who we are
Austral Allergy began with a single mission with Canberra Allergy: to provide the highest standard of evidence-based care for the 1 in 3 Australians living with allergic disease over their lifetime.
Austral Allergy was founded by GP Allergist Dr Chris McCue in 2021. Dr McCue was later joined by GP allergist Dr Sarah Tarrant in 2023. Both set off to address the gap in the market – a premium high quality Allergy Clinic which takes care of patients over their lifetime, across Australia.
We have built a team of GP Allergists and Immunologists with expertise spanning from infancy to older age, our team ensures that every patient receives tailored, evidence-based treatment. We understand the challenges of accessing specialist care in regional areas, and are committed to making high-quality allergy and immunology services more accessible.
With our first clinic in ACT and an outreach in Wagga Wagga, we are on the journey to Australia wide expansion.
Our Board
Dr Chris McCue
MBBS, FACRRM, Adv Dip EM, Grad Cert Med Ed, Grad Cert Allergic Diseases, Endoscopist, GAICD
Founder, CEO and Director
GP Allergist and specialist rural generalist with postgraduate training in allergy medicine, GI endoscopy, and internal medicine. Chris founded Canberra Allergy after recognising the challenges many patients face in accessing tailored resources to identify the cause of their symptoms and manage their conditions effectively. With over a decade working in across rural and regional areas – from the South Coast to northeast Victoria – Chris understands the complexities of delivering care in some of Australia’s most beautiful but least well-resourced communities. When not working at Canberra Allergy, he might be found representing the College nationally or internally in his education and training roles, teaching advanced paediatric life support or mentoring junior doctors. Alternatively, he might be parenting, walking his dogs or combining his passions for food and bushwalking into foraging for wild foods!
Dr Sarah Tarrant
MBBS, FRACGP, Grad Cert Allergic Diseases, Associateship of Clinical Allergy, GAICD
Director
GP Allergist with a postgraduate qualifications in allergy medicine and extensive experience working in regional Victoria. Sarah takes a warm, thorough approach to managing allergic conditions in children and adults, with a particular interest in eczema and other forms of dermatitis. She has refined this approach over years as a parent of children with allergic conditions. She is passionate about empowering individuals with knowledge and confidence to manage their allergies effectively. Sarah remains dedicated to providing care to regional and rural Australians with outreach clinics delivering face to face and telehealth services. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and watercolour painting.
Michele Smith OAM
FAICD, FCHSM, CHE, RN
Independent Chair
Michele Smith OAM is an experienced Chair and Non-Executive Director with over 40 years in healthcare and human services. She currently serves as Independent Chair of Austral Allergy and is a Non-Executive Director of Ochre Health, having joined the board in 2024 and served as Interim CEO for 12 months during a period of private equity transition before returning to her non-executive role. Michele is also Board Chair of the Eyre Far North Local Health Network of SA Health and a Non-Executive Director of Unity Housing and Hireup. With a foundation as a Registered Nurse and former CEO, she brings deep experience in clinical governance, growth strategy and supporting founder-led and private equity backed organisations to scale sustainably. Michele is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Certified Chair, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2023 for services to medical administration.
Dr Hamish Meldrum
MBChB, FRACGP
Director
Hamish is a New Zealand medical graduate with extensive experience across General Practice, Emergency Medicine and Obstetrics. He worked in the NSW Outback town of Bourke for five years as a GP Obstetrician, founding Ochre Health there with Dr Ross Lamplugh in 2002, before moving to Sydney in 2006. Hamish was Ochre’s Director of Medical Services until 2020 and he resumed his clinical support for doctors across the group in 2024 as Interim Chief Medical Officer, jointly responsible for leading clinical governance, quality improvement and the company’s patient health outcomes program. In addition to his board and clinical roles, Hamish chairs our Innovation Committee, focusing on developing and implementing innovations that improve patient care and practice operations as well as advancing the company’s market leadership in general practice. He is also a regular author, commentator and conference presenter on issues affecting the primary care sector, and he is an examiner for the RACGP Fellowship examination program.
Ashton Tay
BEng (Hons)
Director
Ashton is a Director of Austral Allergy and a Managing Director in the Investment Team at Genesis Capital, where he has worked since 2018. Prior to this, he was with Liverpool Partners, a lower mid market investment firm.
Ashton brings significant experience in strategic growth, governance and building sustainable organisations. With a background in engineering, graduating with Honours from the University of New South Wales, he combines analytical rigour with a practical approach to scaling complex service-based businesses.
At Austral Allergy, Ashton supports the long term development of the network, helping to ensure strong foundations, responsible expansion and the infrastructure required for clinicians to deliver high quality, patient centred care.