Jimmy Mastorakos has been appointed Executive Director – Corporate Services in the Federal Court of Australia. Katrina Di Marco is the new Deputy Secretary, International and Foreign Investment Group in the Department of Treasury. Photos: LinkedIn.
A breakdown of the latest appointments and moves in the Australian Public Service, the wider public sector and across the public services of the states and territories.
New Finance Department Secretary appointed
Matt Yannopoulos has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Finance for a five-year term starting on 29 September.
He returns to the department after serving as the Associate Secretary of the Department of Defence since October 2021.
Before joining the Department of Defence, Mr Yannopoulos was Deputy Secretary, Budget and Financial Reporting at the Department of Finance.
Matt Yannopoulos is the incoming Secretary of the Department of Finance. Photo: Department of Defence.
Ag Department Secretary leaving early
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has announced that the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Adam Fennessy will leave the role on 26 September, three years earlier than expected.
Mr Fennessy has only been in the job since 18 September, 2023. He was to have served a five-year term in Canberra, but Ms Collins said he would take leave from 19 September and complete his term early subject to the approval of the Governor-General.
“I would like to thank Mr Fennessy for his service to the government as Secretary of DAFF,” she said in a brief statement.
“Mr Fennessy came into DAFF at a transitional time and has worked hard to stabilise the department. This includes improving DAFF’s finances, continuing to strengthen our world-class biosecurity system and expanding trade opportunities for Australia’s farmers and producers.”
During his brief tenure, Mr Fennessy oversaw the rejection of an application to re-export more than 15,000 sheep and cattle to the Middle East via the Cape of Good Hope after a vessel carrying the animals was forced to return to Australia due to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
He had also expressed concern about Australia’s biosecurity laws, specifically with regard to new strains of bird flu. In July this year, Mr Fennessy was named the new president of IPAA ACT, a branch of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
APS Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Ed Cram has been appointed Executive Director, Agricultural Chemicals at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
Alaina Mitchell is the new Assistant Secretary in the Attorney-General’s Department.
Danniella McGowen has been chosen as Assistant Director-General, Access and Public Engagement at the National Archives of Australia.
Band 2
Peter Finnin has been appointed First Assistant Secretary of the Biosecurity, Plant and Science Services division in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Jimmy Mastorakos has been named Executive Director – Corporate Services in the Federal Court of Australia.
Band 3
Katrina Di Marco has been appointed Deputy Secretary, International and Foreign Investment Group in the Department of Treasury.
Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Adam Fennessy (left) will leave the role three years earlier than expected, on 26 September. Peter Finnin has been appointed DAFF’s First Assistant Secretary. Photos: File and LinkedIn.
Other federal appointments
Julie O’Brien has been appointed Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman at the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, effective from 3 November.
Ms O’Brien is currently serving as General Counsel at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Rosheen Garnon has been appointed deputy chair of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia.
Ms Garnon has served on the board as a previous deputy chair and a member, and chaired the Audit and Risk Committee since 2021.
Hannah Pelka-Caven and Dr Michael Brand have been appointed members of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia, with Caroline Wood reappointed as a member.
Ms Pelka-Caven is a musician and lawyer, and is currently an Industrial Officer with extensive experience in employment and industrial relations law.
Dr Brand is an international art scholar and cultural leader who has served as the Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and previously held directorships at the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Amanda Heyworth is the new chair of the National Archives of Australia Council for a three-year term.
Ms Heyworth is the Deputy of the Archives Council and a professional company director, the chair of UniSA Ventures Pty Ltd, a non‑executive director at People First Bank, and Commissioner of the Essential Services Commission of South Australia.
Gary Quinlan and Tanya Hosch have been appointed members of the National Library of Australia Council for three-year terms.
Mr Quinlan is a Fellow at the Australian Institute of International Affairs and a board member of Advance Global Australians. He was formerly an Australian diplomat and senior public servant, serving as Ambassador to Indonesia, Deputy Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to Singapore (2001-2005), Ambassador to the United Nations, and as Australia’s Representative on the United Nations Security Council (2013-2014).
Ms Hosch has had a long career in Australian Indigenous policy, advocacy and governance. She is currently chair of the Advisory Board Centre for Indigenous People and Work at the University of Technology Sydney, a co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group of the National Australia Bank, a director of the Goodes O’Loughlin Foundation, a member of the Forum of Corporate Responsibility at BHP, and a council member of the Australian National University.
The Federal Government has announced the appointment of six new judges to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, effective 17 September. They are Kara Best, Celia Conlan, Kathryn Heuer, Sharney Jenkinson, Amy McGowan and Dr James Renwick.
Mrs Best has been appointed to the Brisbane Registry, Ms Conlan and Ms Jenkinson to the Melbourne Registry, Ms Heuer to the Adelaide Registry, Ms McGowan to the Parramatta Registry and Dr Renwick to the Sydney Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2).
States and Territories
Olympic gold medallist from Sydney in 2000 Dr Lauren Burns has been appointed as chair of the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS).
Dr Burns won the first Olympic gold medal for taekwondo when the sport made its debut at Sydney, and was a 12-time national champion between 1993 and 2000.
Deputy Secretary of the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning Andrew McKeegan has been appointed as South Australia’s first Coordinator General.
The Western Australian Government has appointed Dr Michael Schaper as deputy chairperson of the Infrastructure WA (IWA) board.
Dr Schaper has previously been deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, chair of the Gaming and Wagering Commission of WA, and chairperson of the Energy and Water Ombudsman WA.
The Queensland Government has appointed former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller as the new director of Forensic Science Queensland.
