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
The Australian Government Solicitor’s Office has appointed Meredith Allen as its national manager of general counsel.
Rachel Besley is now general counsel for corporate and information law at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR).
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has promoted Elita Barrett to branch procurement manager.
Sophie Jensen will be the next deputy director for curatorial and collections at the National Museum of Australia.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has promoted Andrew Willis to assistant secretary for farm performance, biosecurity and information.
Band 2
The Department of Home Affairs has taken on Andrew Harvey from the Department of Social Services as its new chief financial officer (CFO).
Charlotte Blundell has been promoted to assistant secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The NDIA has made Laura Wilkinson its general manager of service design.
Other federal
Tesla chair to lead review of Australia’s R&D system
The Federal Government has announced the details of its review into Australia’s research and development performance, which is to be led by Tesla chair Robyn Denholm.
For the first time in almost 20 years, this strategic examination of the nation’s R&D system will find ways to:
- Get more value from investment in research across universities, industry and government
- Harness and grow business investment in R&D
- Leverage Australia’s scientific strengths to help address national priorities and foster new industries.
Alongside Ms Denholm will be three other members of an independent review panel:
- Emeritus Professor Ian Chubb AC, former vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, former chief scientist, current chair of the Health and Medical Advisory Group and fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
- Professor Fiona Wood AO, former Australian of the Year, pioneer of “Recell” spray-on skin, director of the Royal Perth Hospital Burns Unit and Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at the University of Western Australia
- Dr Kate Cornick, CEO of LaunchVic (Victoria’s startup agency), non-executive director at the Victorian Government Innovation Panel and the Australian Information Industry Association, and former CEO of ASX-listed Rision Ltd.
The examination panel will report its findings by the end of 2025.
Robyn Denholm has been chair of the Tesla Inc board of directors since 2018. She has also been Telstra’s COO and the inaugural chair of the Technology Council of Australia. Photo: Telstra.
Inaugural CEO for Net Zero Economy Authority appointed
The Federal Government has appointed David Shankey as the inaugural chief executive officer (CEO) of the Net Zero Economy Authority.
As Deputy Director-General of Queensland’s Department of Energy and Public Works, Mr Shankey led the development of the state’s 10-year Energy and Jobs Plan.
In this new role, announced as Parliament passed its Future Made in Australia legislation, he will work closely with Dr Iain Ross AO, chair of the authority’s independent board.
The Net Zero Economy Authority will work with communities; state, territory and local governments; regional bodies; unions; industry; investors and First Nations groups to take advantage of the opportunities presented by global decarbonisation.
Before his time in Queensland’s government, David Shankey worked in the resources sector and the media. Photo: RIAC.
Fiona Nash reappointed as Regional Education Commissioner
Education Minister Jason Clare has announced the reappointment of Fiona Nash to the role of Regional Education Commissioner for another two years.
Ms Nash was the first to hold the role, following her career in politics as a NSW senator and minister for regional development, regional communications and local government and territories.
Since December 2021, she has provided a national focus and direction for regional, rural and remote education and made several recommendations to the Australian Universities Accord Panel to boost the number of people attending university.
During her time as a Nationals senator for NSW, Fiona Nash also held the role of Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education. Photo: CSU.
Sarah Bendall to be first National Student Ombudsman
The inaugural National Student Ombudsman will be Sarah Bendall, tasked with investigating student complaints and resolving disputes with universities.
Education Minister Jason Clare announced the appointment as his government passed legislation to establish the independent function within the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office.
The role forms part of the Action Plan to address gender-based violence in higher education, which was agreed to by education ministers earlier this year.
As the Ombudsman, Ms Bendall will allow students to escalate complaints about the actions of their higher education provider, including complaints about sexual assault and sexual harassment.
She will start taking complaints from 1 February next year, supported by a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, which is yet to be established.
Following her time at Victoria Legal Aid, Sarah Bendall worked at the state’s Human Rights Commission and government in various director roles largely involving complaint resolutions. Photo: Facebook.
Derek Scott reappointed as ACARA chair
Education Minister Jason Clare has confirmed that Derek Scott has been reappointed to chair the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Board for a second term of two years and two months.
After being a member of the board for 10 months, Mr Scott was initially appointed as chair in November 2021.
He is an expert member on the Federal Government Council for International Education, is on the Victorian Government’s International Education Advisory Council, and formerly served as a member of the International Education Association of Australia Board.
In addition, since 2007 he’s been the CEO and principal of Haileybury.
Steven Thomson to be next director of Classification Board
The Federal Government has appointed Steven Thomson as director of the Classification Board and reappointed Hellen Perko, each for two-year terms.
The Classification Board makes important decisions and provides advice about the content of films, computer games and certain publications to help Australians make informed choices about what they and their families watch, read and play.
Mr Thomson has previously held several roles with the former Australia Council for the Arts, including as director of strategy and planning.
His appointment allows Tristan Sharp to resume his role as deputy director, having served as acting director of the board since January. Dominique Irlinger has also returned to his role as a full-time member, after serving as acting deputy director.
Ms Perko will stay on the board, where she has been since March 2023, bringing her strong understanding of the National Classification Scheme and culturally diverse perspective.
The board has also thanked outgoing member Raphael Richards, who served on it for nearly seven years.
Most recently, Steven Thomson was the acting executive director of People and Corporate Services with the NSW Government Greater Cities Commission. Photo: LinkedIn.
Independent panel to review National Energy Market
The Federal Government has begun a review into how Australia’s largest electricity grid and market will operate in the coming decades, undertaken by an expert panel led by Associate Professor Tim Nelson.
With Paula Conboy, Ava Hancock and Philip Hirschhorn, the independent panel will handle widespread consultation and make final recommendations to energy and climate ministers in late 2025.
Ms Conboy is the former chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, Ms Hancock played a pivotal role in designing the NSW Energy Roadmap, and Mr Hirschhorn was a Boston Consulting Group senior partner who advised Australian energy businesses and government agencies.
The panel will look at the National Energy Market (NEM) wholesale market settings to ensure the market promotes investment in firmed renewable energy generation and storage capacity in the 2030s and beyond.
The NEM was originally designed to support a baseload power grid predominantly fuelled by coal generators, which is why a review is necessary to ensure the right settings are in place to meet the increasing demand for electricity as the country transitions to renewable energy.
Associate Professor of Economics at Griffith University, Tim Nelson, has held a range of senior roles with Iberdrola, AGL and the Australian Energy Markets Commission. Photo: CPD.
New members join Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel
A fresh set of members has been appointed to the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel (IEP), which provides scientific and expert advice related to the Great Barrier Reef.
The members will sit on the panel for a five-year term and have been jointly appointed by the Federal and Queensland Environment Ministers.
Professor Margaret Sheil AO remains chair of the panel, which will now include:
- Dr Katharina Fabricius
- Dr Beth Fulton
- Dr Melissa Walsh
- Professor Karen Vella
- Dr Nathan Waltham
- Dr Cass Hunter
- Dr Tracy Ainsworth
- Dr Christina Howley
- Professor John Rolfe (A/g Independent Science Panel chair, ex-officio membership).
Laura Jones to be next director of Bundanon Trust Board
The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Laura Jones as a director of the Bundanon Trust Board for a three-year term.
Bundanon Trust is an Australian cultural institution and living arts centre that supports the arts through its residency, education, exhibition and performance programs.
Ms Jones is a co-founder of the Incognito Art Show and won this year’s Archibald Prize. She has also been a finalist in the Wynne and Sulman prizes, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.
Laura Jones has taken residence in several places, including the Margaret Olley Centre, Heron Island Research Station, New York and even Antarctica. Photo: Chalk Horse.
Aged Care Transition Taskforce to be led by Anne Burgess
The Federal Government is building a transition taskforce that will help providers manage implementation of the new Aged Care Act from 1 July, 2025, which was among a great deal of legislation that passed through both houses of parliament in the last week of sittings.
It will be chaired by Anne Burgess AM, chair of the Council of Elders and member of the National Aged Care Advisory Committee.
Members will include consumer advocates, aged-care providers, ICT specialists, primary and clinical care experts, and representatives from the Department of Health and Aged Care and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Anne Burgess AM is a former acting and deputy commissioner of Equal Opportunity, and assistant commissioner for the Public Sector Grievance Review. Photo: AOTY.
States and Territories
Rachel McCallum made NSW Electoral Commissioner
Special Minister of State John Graham has announced the appointment of Rachel McCallum as the next NSW Electoral Commissioner. She takes over from John Schmidt, who retired in April after nearly eight years in the role.
The NSW Electoral Commissioner is an independent statutory officer appointed by the NSW Governor. The commissioner is responsible for administering a range of elections in NSW, including state polls, and administering the electoral funding, expenditure and disclosure scheme for those elections.
In 2018, Ms McCallum joined the NSW Electoral Commission as executive director for funding disclosure and compliance and general counsel. However, she left in March this year to be Information Commissioner and chief executive officer (CEO) at the Information and Privacy Commission NSW, until taking on her most recent appointment from 2 December.
Rachel McCallum has more than three decades of experience in the legal and public sectors. Photo: LinkedIn.
CPSU/CSA welcomes Melanie Bray as new branch secretary
The union representing public servants in Western Australia has appointed Melanie Bray as its branch/general secretary, who will take over from incoming UnionsWA secretary Rikki Hendon.
The Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association (CPSU/CSA) covers 44,000 general public sector workers, one-quarter of the WA public sector, including child protection officers, youth custodial officers, park rangers, veterinary scientists and dental technicians.
Ms Bray will be the first woman of colour to be branch secretary of the CPSU/CSA, after working her way up from being an organiser to branch assistant secretary since late 2018.
Before to entering the union, she worked at WA’s Disability Services Commission for 11 years as a client assistant. She then became a CPSU/CSA organiser in 2008 until she was elected branch assistant secretary.
Over the past 17 years, she has been heavily involved in securing a significant pay restructure and resourcing for residential colleges, along with a salary reclassification and boosted safety outcomes for youth custodial officers.
Taking over from her last position as branch assistant secretary is Ness Brett.
After 16 years as a member of the CPSU/CSA, including over a decade in various roles at the then-Department of Corrective Services, Ms Brett joined the union as an organiser in 2018. Since then, she has worked across the union’s organising and corporate services divisions, the latter of which she led before her appointment.
Before taking on a union role, Melanie Bray worked at WA’s Disability Services Commission for 11 years as a client assistant. Then she became a CPSU/CSA organiser in 2008 until she was elected branch assistant secretary in late 2018. Photo: CPSU/CSA.
WA expands Environmental Protection Authority’s board
The WA Government has expanded its Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) board from five members to nine.
Made as part of recently legislated amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1986, it will mean WA’s EPA will go from having the smallest to the largest membership in the country, bringing it into line with comparable State Government boards such as the Heritage Council of WA and the WA Planning Commission.
Conflict provisions have also been strengthened, ensuring members cannot be present at board meetings for any consideration, discussion or vote on a matter to which they are conflicted.
Following these changes, the following appointments have been made to the EPA’s board:
- Professor David Caddy, outgoing WA Planning Commission chair
- Kelly Faulkner, former state Appeals Convener and has held senior roles at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
- Anthony Sutton, former state Appeals Convener and outgoing executive director of energy transition strategies at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation
- Dr Luke Twomey, CEO of the WA Marine Science Institution and serving member of the National Marine Science Committee.
Together they will join chair Darren Walsh, deputy chair Lee McIntosh, Hamish Beck, Jane Bennett and Karen Caple on the new nine-member EPA board.
Anneke Brown to be next Tourism WA managing director
The WA Government has appointed Anneke Brown as its new managing director of Tourism WA for a five-year term.
Ms Brown has 25 years of international, national and local experience in hospitality leadership roles and has worked closely with WA hotels to elevate their offerings.
As chair of WA’s Women in Tourism and Hospitality Association and a former Tourism WA Board commissioner, she will take over from Steph Underwood, who has acted in the role since May.
Anneke Brown has held senior roles with global hotel brands including Aman Resorts and COMO Hotels & Resorts. Photo: PATA.
Large swathe of appointments to WA’s legal sector
Several major appointments have been made in the Wildflower State’s legal sector in government in the past week.
Attorney-General John Quigley has appointed WA Supreme Court Judge Gail Archer as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Archer began her legal career as a prosecutor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 1990. Between April 2008 and February 2011, she also filled the role of Acting Commissioner of the WA Corruption and Crime Commission, later being appointed to the Supreme Court General Division in May 2017.
District Court Judge Michael Gething has been appointed as a Supreme Court Justice of its General Division.
He was principal registrar of the District Court between 2004 and 2013 and of the Supreme Court across the next two years. While a principal registrar, Judge Gething served as a Commissioner of the District Court’s criminal jurisdiction from 2008 to 2013 and of its civil jurisdiction from November 2011 to July 2012.
Jean Shaw has also become the first woman appointed as State Counsel of WA’s State Solicitor’s Office (SSO).
She has been Acting State Counsel since April this year, but was also appointed as senior counsel earlier this month and is the current Commissioner of WA’s Law Reform Commission. Admitted to practice in 2005, she has more than two decades of experience at the SSO in roles including Senior Assistant State Counsel.
Finally, Stacey Wellings and Samantha Craig have been made new magistrates of WA’s Family Court (FCWA).
The experienced legal practitioners, who have spent most of their careers in the family law area, will start presiding in the FCWA on 6 January, 2025.
New director to lead Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of SA (AGSA) now has Jason Smith as its new director, bringing more than 25 years’ experience in visual arts curation and leadership.
Before his current role, he was the curatorial manager of Australian art at the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, director and CEO of Heide Museum of Modern Art, director of Monash Gallery of Art and curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Victoria.
As the current director of Geelong Gallery, Jason Smith will relocate to Adelaide and begin in his new role from February 2025. Photo: PGAV.
New Chief Government Geologist for Tasmania
Dr Rebecca Sproule will be the next Chief Government Geologist of the island state, taking over from Dr Andrew McNeill, who retired at the end of last month after more than a decade at Mineral Resources Tasmania.
The local who studied geology at the University of Tasmania now works as a principal geoscientist for Rio Tinto and is based in Utah.
Dr Rebecca Sproule has accepted the role that will see her return to her homeland and lead Tasmania’s Geological Survey. Photo: LinkedIn.
NT Government announces Approvals Fast Track Taskforce
The Northern Territory Government has appointed a raft of industry experts to its Approvals Fast Track Taskforce, which will provide it with advice on how to reform regulatory processes and reduce approval timeframes.
It will be chaired by former Property Council NT president Mark Garraway, with members:
- Michael Buckley, M+J Builders director
- Tony Smith, NT Link director
- Stuart Kenny, Territory Instruments managing director
- Dan Richards, Humpty Doo Barramundi CEO
- Andrew Dalglish, Foxalicious Fruit owner
- Hermanus Louw, Louw Group director
- And Bec Bullen, Stone House, Charlie’s of Darwin and Darwin Distillery owner.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro (above) said the taskforce would operate for six months with a mandate to reduce red tape and grow investment opportunities for the NT. Photo: Facebook.
