The Water Cooler: Comings and goings in the APS

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

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Bernadette Murphy is the new Assistant Secretary of Parliamentary Audit and Risk at the Department of Education.

Jason Flanagan has been promoted to Assistant Secretary of Strategy in the Department of Home Affairs.

Sally Dennington has been announced as a new Assistant Secretary in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Fred Nucifora has been promoted to General Manager of Major Projects, and Caroline Turnour will be the new General Manager of Strategic Policy and Partnerships, at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Claire Larter has been promoted to head of the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme in the Department of Health and Aged Care.

Other federal

Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has announced Professor Mimi Tang as the inaugural chair of the ASEAN-Australia Centre Advisory Board.

The new body, established last November, is designed to deepen government engagement with Southeast Asia and support the implementation of the government’s Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

Professor Tang is an immunologist allergist and an expert in food oral immunotherapy. She is head of the Allergy Immunology Research Group and director of the Allergy Translation Centre at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, Consultant Immunologist Allergist at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, and the CEO and scientific founder of Prota Therapeutics.

The Federal Government has appointed Georgina Somerset AM as the deputy chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Board for six months, to replace non‑executive director and deputy chair Peter Tonagh, who resigned in December.

Ms Somerset has served on the board as a non-executive director since 2017.

Army Brigadier Troy Francis has been appointed as the new Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra.

BRIG Francis has enjoyed a 30-year career in the army. He completed his officer training at the Royal Military College (RMC) in 1995 before being posted to the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Brisbane.

He has served in the 6th Engineer Support Regiment in Brisbane, as Commanding Officer of the Warrant Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, and as Deputy Director of Global Operations for the Afghanistan and Pakistan desk in the Military Strategic Commitments Branch.

BRIG Francis served on exchange in the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. He also held senior positions in the Directorate of Soldier Career Management – Army and the Army Capability Branch, and was the inaugural Director General of the Military Personnel Branch in the new Military Personnel Organisation.

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Dr Nell Greenwood as director, and of Debra Richards as member, to the Council of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) until March 2030 and March 2028, respectively.

Minister for the Arts Tony Burke said: “Debra has an extensive knowledge of screen content policy and production industry issues. Nell has been a leader in Australian screen education for over a decade.

“Both have a long history of association with AFTRS and I’m glad their valuable work with the council will continue.”

Mr Burke has also announced two appointments to the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council: Amanda Heyworth as deputy chair until 19 September, 2027, and Joseph Roach as a council member for three years.

Ms Heyworth is a professional company director who currently holds chair positions at UniSA Ventures Pty Ltd and the Centennial Park Cemetery Authority. She is a non‑executive director at People First Bank and Commissioner of the Essential Services Commission of South Australia.

Mr Roach is the principal of Better Public Policy, which conducts research and advocacy across a range of public policy issues. He has previously held senior executive positions within the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance.

States and Territories

John Graham MLC has been given the Transport folio in NSW following the resignation of Jo Haylen on 3 February.

Mr Graham has retained his other portfolios, Special Minister of State, Minister for Roads, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, and Minister for Jobs and Tourism.

Ms Haylen stepped down from the NSW front bench after it was found she had used taxpayer-funded transport to private events.

Anne Jolic has been appointed the new CEO of Development Victoria. She has previously held senior roles at Lendlease, Mirvac, and the Property Council of Australia.

The Victorian Government has appointed Matt Carrick as Secretary of the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) from 28 February, succeeding Tim Ada in the role.

Mr Carrick has been the CEO of V/Line since 2021 and was previously the CEO of State Trustees Limited, Deputy Secretary in Investment & Economic Projects, Investment & Trade, State Development, and executive director of Invest Victoria.

Jenny Atta PSM has been appointed as Secretary of the Victorian Department of Health from 28 February, to replace Professor Euan Wallace AM.

Ms Atta has been the Secretary of the Department of Education for the past six years and was a deputy in the department before that. She has previously held senior roles in the Department of Treasury and Finance and the former Department of Human Services, and is a Victorian fellow of the Institute of Public Administration.

Supreme Court Justice Tim Stanley has been appointed to the South Australian Court of Appeal, effective 18 February, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice David Lovell.

Barrister Dr Rachael Gray KC has been appointed to replace Justice Stanley in the general division of the South Australian Supreme Court.

South Australian District Court Judge Michelle Sutcliffe has been designated as the Judge of the Youth Court, replacing long-serving Judge Penny Eldridge.

South Australian Deputy State Coroner Ian White will leave his position in the Coroner’s Court to take up a role as a Judge of the District Court from 18 February.

Professor Jeff Morrell has been appointed as the first director of South Australia’s Forestry Centre of Excellence (FCoE).

Professor Morrell has spent more than three decades leading the wood durability program at Oregon State University. From 2018 to 2023, he was the director of the Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, based at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister for Corrective Services Laura Gerber has appointed Michael Woodford as the new Parole Board president following the resignation last June and subsequent referral to the state Crime and Corruption Commission of former president Michael Byrne.

Justice Kate Cuthbertson SC has been sworn in as a new judge for the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

Justice Cuthbertson had been a judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court since 2024. She was admitted to practice in 1999, and has worked as a barrister and solicitor with the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania.