But a recent appointment has made him think more about his family’s journey to, and life in, Australia.

He is the federal Australian Medical Association’s nominee to be its representative on the panel of clinicians to review government refusal to transfer refugees in offshore detention to Australia for treatment.

Dr Di Dio, the association’s ACT branch president and a Canberra GP, said providing adequate medical care to refugees in Australia’s care was a matter of basic human rights and dignity.

The panel was a hard fought political win - part of the so called Medevac bill - which doctors and groups like the Australian Medical Association were key to.

The bill was intended to get sick refugees on Nauru or Manus Island the medical care they needed in Australia.

“The most important thing is to identify and treat any health issues in people who live in or are looked after by Australia,” Dr Di Dio says.

“It is zero to do with politics, I have no interest in that whatsoever.

“It's simply about the physical and mental health of people.

“We were one of the most influential bodies last year in getting the kids off Nauru.

“That course of action makes me incredibly proud."

Dr Di Dio was born in Queensland, growing up as a son of two Italian migrants on a banana farm.

The family moved back to Sicily, Italy, when he was very young, before returning to Australia when he was 11.

He credits growing up in small country towns in Italy and Australia for his passion for general practice.

“My only exposure to medicine was the local GP who was and still is an unbelievably strong presence in the community,” Dr Di Dio says.

He and his family have lived in Canberra for about 15 years,. It is the city his wife grew up in, and they jointly run a practice in Yarralumla.

Dr Di Dio has been president of the ACT branch of the association since May but had little time to settle into the new role as 2018 was one of the most tumultuous years in ACT’s public health system in recent memory.

The government came under intense pressure over mismanagement and bullying allegations within the health system as well as its ongoing poor performance against key performance indicators.

The association in September made the decision to come out and call for a royal commission type inquiry into ACT’s health system, in effect supporting the Opposition’s ongoing calls for the same type of inquiry.

Eventually, the government decided to settle on an independent review of ACT’s public health system, which lacked the powers and protections of a board of inquiry.

“That was an extremely stressful and painful but it had to be done,” he says.

“What I'm most proud of is connecting together the three disparate medical associations - [Visiting Medical Officers Association], and the AMA have over the years intersected at times and had some mutual respect but I think we’re working much more closely than we did before.

“I'm also very proud we’ve had a very deep review into ACT Health, I feel that review to a significant extent occurred because of combined pressure from us.

“The outcomes from that review are a big challenge from that as well.

“We want to be a part of a process that ensures accountability we have a really good relationship with government and with the opposition who we respect and we hope they will listen to us when we hold them accountable to the recommendation in their review."

He says Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris must take the lead in making sure the people within ACT Health that have shown poor behaviour for years are held accountable.

"In a sense, by opting for the independent review process the minister has made herself responsible for addressing these issues," he says.

"While doing this raises significant challenges, in our view it needs to be done."

Dr Di Dio is a fierce advocate for GPs and believes they often get an unfair rap by the media, politicians and the community more broadly.

“GPs and private practitioners who work in the ACT, they deserve a huge pat on the back,” he says.

“We are one of the very few states or territories with an under supply of GPs."

He said most GPs in Canberra bulk billed many patients simply because they cared for people.

“They are working unbelievably long hours and all they get is criticised and picked on because they charge more than the bulk billing rate, or the waiting list is so long," he says.

“If we bulk billed all our patients we would be getting negative income.”

He said the low Medicare rebate rate meant it was not financially viable for most GPs and practices to bulk bill all patients.

“[The rebate is] the same value that bulk billing was when introduced by the Hawke government," he says.

Dr Di Dio says he wants to use his remaining time as president to keep advocating for community health.

"I've always been proud to be part of the AMA being an organisation that was extremely unpopular and picked on when we said smoking was bad for you," he said.

"When I was a kid I loved To Kill a Mocking Bird and 12 Angry Men - I think we have those same values, it's about doing what's right."