Daniella Di Girolamo has been appointed as a senior executive lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor. Jim McDowell has been appointed deputy chair of the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), and will assume the role of chair in December. Photos: LinkedIn and ASC.
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.
APS Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Daniella Di Girolamo, Nithya Ramesh, Catherine Ellis, Lisa Hemingway, Michelle Stone, Charine Bennett and Louise McConnell have all been promoted to the roles of senior executive lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor.
An unnamed person has been promoted to the position of chief of staff at the Office of National Intelligence.
Cathie Kennedy has been appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.
Band 2
Nicola Colbran has been appointed as Deputy Principal Registrar – Executive Leadership & Registrar Coordination at the Federal Court of Australia.
David Cooke and Cody Smith have been appointed as Chief Counsels of Corporate at Services Australia.
Other federal appointments
Victoria Weekes has been appointed chair, with Anthony Brittain as deputy chair and Annette Spencer, Sebastien Bonvalet-Nicolle and Andrew Couper as members of the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) within the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Ms Weekes will replace Simon Gray, who is retiring. She has served as a member of the MDP for 14 years, including several as deputy chair, and is also an independent director at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
ASIC chair Joseph Longo has advised he will not seek reappointment when his term finishes in May 2026.
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) deputy chair Margaret Cole has advised she will not seek an extension beyond the end of her current term, which ends in June 2026.
Jim McDowell has been appointed a deputy chair of the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), and will assume the role of chair upon the retirement of Bruce Carter at the end of the year.
Mr McDowell was previously the CEO of BAE Systems Australia, CEO of BAE Systems Saudi Arabia, and Group CEO of Nova Group. He has also served as Deputy Secretary Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group in Defence, as chief executive of the South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and as chair of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Mr Carter has been a director of ASC since 2010 and chair since 2012.
Victoria Weekes has been appointed chair of the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) within ASIC. ASIC chair Joseph Longo has advised he will not seek reappointment when his term finishes in May 2026. Photos: Australian Gender Equity Council and ASIC.
States and territories
The Queensland Government has appointed Andrew King as chair, and Christine Maher, Nick Minchin and Philip Noble as directors, of the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), while Robert Jones has been reappointed as a director.
Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers CEO Rachel Chambers has been appointed as the Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner.
Former Western Australian government minister and leader of the Legislative Council Sue Ellery has been appointed to the board of Synergy as a non-executive director.
Criminal lawyer Ruth Dineen has been appointed as a magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Western Australia to replace the retiring Kevin Tavener.
Kyam Maher MLC has been elected Deputy Leader of South Australia’s Parliamentary Labor Party and appointed as Deputy Premier of South Australia after Susan Close announced she would not be contesting the next state election in 2026.
Stephen Mullighan has also announced he will not stand for re-election next year, and has been replaced as South Australian Treasurer by Tom Koutsantonis.
Rhiannon Pearce has been elevated to Cabinet to become the South Australian Minister for Emergency Services & Correctional Services, and Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. She will retain her role as Assistant Minister for Junior Sport Participation.
Lucy Hood has also been elevated to Cabinet and will assume the role of South Australian Minister for Climate, Environment and Water.
Darren Cleary has been announced by the NSW Government as the new chief executive of Sydney Water, effective 17 November. Mr Cleary has been chief executive of Hunter Water since 2020 and has more than 10 years’ experience in executive leadership.
