Chris holds the titles of Professorial Fellow, College of Medicine and Public Health at the Flinders University of South Australia and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, at the University of Adelaide.
He has held positions as Director of Emergency Medicine at the Flinders Medical Centre, at the Ashford Community Hospital and subsequently at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He was CEO of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care from 2007-2011.
Chris was Chief Medical Officer for the South Australian Government from 2005-2007 and was Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Government from 2011 to 2016. During his time as CMO for Australia he undertook several roles with the World Health Organization. He is currently a member of the WHO Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the World Health Emergencies Program.
He is Deputy Chair of the Australian Pancreatic Cancer Foundation (PanKind) Board and a member of the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Board. He serves on several clinical governance committees for health service organisations.