A breakdown of the latest appointments in the Australian Public Service and across the public services of the states and territories.
APS Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Four new assistant secretaries have been appointed to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA).
Lok Potticary is responsible for NSW and ACT infrastructure investment. Amanda Milczarek is heading up vehicle safety operations. Kate Feros is taking on ministerial, Parliament and cabinet.
Georgia O’Cianain is managing the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics and Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research.
Peta Hegarty has been promoted to general manager of media, communications, corruption prevention and education at the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Band 2
The DITRDCA has promoted Bridget Gannon to first assistant secretary of media policy.
Other federal
Advocate chosen for Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme
The Federal Government has appointed Justice Ruth McColl AO as the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Advocate.
A report by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry contained 15 recommendations to pay compensation to victims, and their families, where there was credible information involving allegations of property damage, assault or unlawful killing, by ADF members on operations in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, without awaiting the establishment of criminal liability.
In response, the government directed Defence to design a compensation scheme under regulation, which came into effect on 19 July.
Justice McColl served the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of NSW from 2003 until 2019. She is also known as one of the NSW ICAC assistant commissioners during the inquiry into former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Compensation provided under the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme may be monetary or non-monetary, and further information is available in both Pashtu and Dari.
Justice Ruth McColl will review claims for compensation referred by the Chief of the Defence Force, and make recommendations on payment. Photo: Justice Connect.
Tourism Australia Board appointments
Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell has announced the appointments of four new members to the Tourism Australia Board:
- Jenny Lambert OAM – Accommodation Australia’s national policy director and former policy director with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Michael Lee – Former Federal Minister for the Tourism and Resources portfolios
- Tim Yeend – Former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Associate Secretary and Australian Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation
- Peter Laurence AO – Founder and chairman of the Pivot Group, a major shareholder of Sea World and Warner Bros Movie World.
Departing members are chair Michael Issenberg, deputy chair Jeffrey Ellison AM, John Hart OAM and Annabel Dolphin.
The Tourism Australia Board will be led by serving members Penny Fowler (above) as chair and Ian Horne as deputy chair. Photo: Tourism Australia.
Experts to lead Health Technology Assessment reform
Health Minister Mark Butler has announced the members of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Review Implementation Advisory Group (IAG).
HTA is the process of reviewing the quality, safety, efficacy and value for money of new health technologies before they are funded or subsidised by government.
The IAG will help guide critical reforms in response to the findings and recommendations of the HTA Review Report, which was released in September.
Its members are:
- Dr Richard Mitchell – Head of Clinical Services, Kids Cancer Centre
- Dr Lorraine Anderson – Medical director, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services
- Nicole Millis – Chief executive officer, Rare Voices Australia
- Kirsten Pilatti – Chief executive officer, Breast Cancer Network Australia
- Elizabeth de Somer – Chief executive officer, Medicines Australia
- Anne Harris – Deputy chair, Medicines Australia Board
- Professor Emily Lancsar – Chief health economist in the Department of Health and Aged Care
- Duncan McIntyre – First Assistant Secretary, Technology Assessment and Access Division, Department of Health and Aged Care.
The HTA Review Report made 50 recommendations across a range of areas, including improving access to new technologies, ensuring equity, and making HTA processes simpler for consumers and clinicians.
It also recommended reducing the time it takes for medicines to be funded, and investing in HTA capability so it is more adaptable and futureproof.
The IAG will also consider the findings of the Enhance HTA and the new frontier – Delivering better health for all Australians report, and co-design a draft government response to the HTA review.
Cardiologist and co-director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Professor Andrew Wilson, will chair the IAG. Photo: APPC.
Part-time members reappointed to Australian Competition Tribunal
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Dr Andrew Leigh has announced the reappointments of Diana Eilert and Dr Jill Walker as part-time members of the Australian Competition Tribunal for a five-year period.
They will begin their terms on 12 December, 2024, and 30 March, 2025, respectively.
Ms Eilert is an experienced ASX director and executive who’s been a tribunal member since 2019. She is currently on the board of Domain and is chair of Keypath, but has also worked as group executive of Suncorp’s entire insurance business and group executive for its People, Technology, Marketing and Joint Ventures branch.
Dr Walker has worked across the Australian and New Zealand legal worlds, serving as a tribunal member since 2020 and a lay member of the NZ High Court. She has also been a commissioner of the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
States and Territories
Peter Brereton SC to join NSW Supreme Court bench
After practising for 27 years as a barrister, Peter Brereton SC has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of NSW.
Since his appointment to Senior Counsel in 2009, he has been nominated as a Leading Silk (Band 1 ranking) of Chambers Global for every year in the past 14.
While his main area of practice is commercial law, Mr Brereton has expertise across a range of legal disciplines. The high-profile and complex cases he has appeared in include Vodafone v ACCC, ACCC v Google, ACCC v Metcash, C7 and Wright Prospecting v Hancock Prospecting.
Peter Brereton SC has been a member of the Legal Profession Admission Board since 2022. Photo: Banco Chambers.
Victoria appoints three new magistrates
The Victorian Government has appointed three new magistrates to its Magistrates’ and Children’s Court.
Helen Dale will join the Children’s Court, having most recently worked as the principal solicitor at Dale and Younis Legal since 2021.
Rachael Hopkins is to be part of the Magistrates’ Court after working as general manager of the Drug Court since 2020, during which time she successfully led the regional expansion into Shepparton and Ballarat.
Carrie O’Shea has been put on the Magistrates’ Court following her term as associate director of summary crime at Victoria Legal Aid and as a session tribunal member at the Mental Health Tribunal of Victoria since 2023.
Olympian named Road Race Ambassador
Paris Olympic gold medallist Grace Brown has been appointed as the ambassador for the 2025 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – the event’s 10th anniversary.
Hailing from Camperdown, she will take part in the People’s Ride on 1 February, which will give more than 3000 cyclists of all ages and abilities the opportunity to ride alongside their professional heroes.
Since its launch, the race has brought together the world’s best cyclists and is now broadcast into more than 100 countries.
The 32-year-old Grace Brown won gold in road cycling in Paris at her second time on the international stage. Photo: Olympics Australia.
CPSU/CSA branch secretary Rikki Hendon to head up UnionsWA
After 12 years at the helm of CPSU/CSA, branch secretary Rikki Hendon will soon leave Western Australia’s public sector union to become secretary of UnionsWA – the peak body for the state’s trade union movement.
From 2 December, she will begin in her new role at UnionsWA, where she is president. Ms Hendon is also the national vice-president of the Community and Public Sector Union – State Public Sector Federation (CPSU-SPSF) – the overarching industrial organisation for state public sector workers – of which the CPSU/CSA represents the WA branch.
Rikki Hendon has been at the CPSU/CSA for 17 years. Photo: CPSU/CSA.
Tasmania appoints inaugural Racing Integrity Commissioner
The Tasmanian Government has appointed its first Racing Integrity Commissioner – Sean Carroll.
Mr Carroll has been the Victorian Racing Integrity Commissioner since March 2021, where he conducted an independent review into the Victorian Racing Industry Victim Support and Complaint Processes.
Before being appointed Commissioner, Mr Carroll was the head of integrity and security at Cricket Australia, where he developed and implemented an integrity framework.
When the Racing Regulation and Integrity Bill comes into effect on 1 February, TasRacing will be responsible for all three codes of racing (management, stewards and animal welfare).
Sean Carroll is a former senior police officer, AFL Tribunal advocate and head of integrity and security at Cricket Australia. Photo: Racing Integrity Victoria.
Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice resigns following guilty verdict in abuse case
Gregory Geason has tendered his resignation as a Justice of Tasmania’s Supreme Court following a year-long case that recently found him guilty of assault and emotional abuse or intimidation against a woman.
The island state’s Attorney-General Guy Barnett received confirmation on 18 November that Mr Geason would step down from his role “with immediate effect”. In the previous week, the Hobart Magistrates Court finalised charges against the puisne judge, which were initially laid in December last year.
While Gregory Geason made a commitment to the court to not hear any cases, he remained on full pay. Photo: Supreme Court of Tasmania.
Deputy Chief Magistrate named for Tasmania
Tasmania’s Governor-General Barbara Baker has appointed Ken Stanton as Deputy Chief Magistrate, a role that became vacant following the elevation of Michael Daly to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Since 2017, he has served as a magistrate for the island state following his terms as a member of the Mental Health Tribunal and the Guardianship and Administration Board.
He also worked as a barrister-at-law in Victoria and Tasmania for 18 years and in private practice for nine years.
New chair appointed to Tasmania’s leading energy retailer
Tasmania’s Energy and Renewables Minister Nick Duigan has congratulated Trevor Danos on his appointment as chair of the Aurora Energy Board.
A cornerstone of the island state’s 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future is ensuring the delivery of the lowest possible power prices, which Aurora Energy is expected to support.
Mr Danos is a highly respected commercial lawyer, company director, and strategic adviser.
He also chairs the Northern Sydney Local Health District, the NSW Treasury Social Investment Expert Advisory Group and the NSW Government Community Housing Industry Council, and sits on the boards of Endeavour Energy, the privatised NSW Land Registry Office, and the Viral Vector Manufacturing Facility.
Trevor Danos will take over from outgoing chair Mary O’Kane and acting chair Keryn Nylander. Photo: Aurora Energy.
