Dr. Dinesh palipana, oam
Emergency Physician, Lawyer, Disability Advocate and Researcher
Dr. Dinesh Palipana was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland. Dinesh is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher.
While in medical school, he was involved in a car accident that caused a spinal cord injury.
Dinesh works in the Emergency Department at the Gold Coast University Hospital. He is a researcher and senior lecturer at Griffith University. Dinesh is a researcher in spinal cord injury. He is a doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby team. Dinesh was a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission. He is an ambassador to the Human Rights Commission's Includability program, a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia, an advisory board member to HealthyLife and a John Monash Scholar.
Dinesh was the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service's Junior Doctor of the Year in 2018. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award. He was the 2021 Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year. Dinesh was the Queensland Australian of the Year for 2021. In 2022, Dinesh was listed as number 33 in the Courier Mail's top 100 power list for Queensland's most influential in health and wellbeing. His autobiography, Stronger, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2022.