Greg Vines quit as Comcare CEO in February after a short stint. The agency is now actively seeking a replacement. Photo: X.
Comcare has put out the word for a new chief executive officer following the sudden resignation of its former boss Greg Vines.
The statutory appointment attracts a salary package of more than $450,000 a year, determined by the government’s Remuneration Tribunal (the current total remuneration is $459,760 per annum).
The full-time position for up to five years can be based in Canberra or Melbourne.
Mr Vines quit the job and the Australian Government in February after 22 months in the role to take up a new post advising the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on labour management.
Deputy chief executive officer of Comcare, Michael Duke, is acting in the role until a permanent replacement is announced.
Applications are now being sought for the appointment. The position is being advertised within the Australian Public Service and widely across a number of external platforms.
Caretaker conventions for the Australian Public Service (APS) during the federal election campaign will not affect the rollout of the recruitment process. But the successful candidate will not be decided until after the next government is voted in and a new term of parliament begins.
Recruiting firm Executive Intelligence Group is managing the search.
The Canberra-based recruiting agency specialises in senior executive assignments and has a number of Federal Government departments, as well as the ACT Government, on its books as clients.
Before Mr Vines’ appointment, Comcare was without a CEO for a year after Sue Weston resigned.
Aaron Hughes acted in the role until he left the organisation at the beginning of 2023 to become CEO of the Public Trustee and Guardian.
The CEO position was finally filled in April 2023 when Mr Vines accepted the position.
While in the top job, Mr Vines declared psychological safety at work had become a high priority for the APS and a key area of concern for Comcare.
He said bullying and harassment were the number one cause of psychological injury in the Commonwealth jurisdiction, accounting for 38 per cent of accepted claims related to mental stress over the past two financial years.
The Comcare CEO is responsible for the agency’s day-to-day operations and overall management of the organisation, including governance and reporting requirements.
Comcare is the national authority for work health and safety, as well as workers’ compensation, with several important core roles as a regulator, scheme manager, insurer and claims manager.
A corporate Commonwealth entity established under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, Comcare is a statutory agency under the Public Service Act 1999.
It’s responsible for regulating the Commonwealth’s work health and safety jurisdiction under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and managing the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation scheme established under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and asbestos-related claims liabilities under the Asbestos-related Claims (Management of Commonwealth Liabilities) Act 2005.
It also has regulatory functions in relation to workplace rehabilitation and is the claims and liability manager for several government departments and agencies.
The successful Comcare CEO candidate will need to prove high-level leadership, client and change experience.
“To be a strong contender for the role you must have a high level of judgement, leadership, professional and personal integrity, a strong client and service delivery focus and experience or capacity to manage large and/or complex operations,” the job advertisement says.
“High-level leadership experience in a regulatory environment will also be highly regarded.
“Experience in managing change is also highly desirable, noting the Review of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 is currently underway.”
The Governor-General will appoint the new Comcare CEO following a merit-based selection process.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
