Neil Hawkins (left) and Tom Wilson have been named as Australia’s next Ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon, respectively. Sarah Court will be the first female chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Photos: DFAT & ASIC.
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
Jillian Flinders has been appointed as Assistant Secretary, People Systems & Payroll Services in the Department of Defence.
Joanne Hutchinson had been appointed as Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (In last week’s 3 February edition of The Water Cooler, we incorrectly reported that Ms Hutchinson’s promotion was in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. This was a reporter error and has been subsequently corrected online.)
Band 2
Ariana Kornek has been promoted to First Assistant Secretary, Financial Performance and Management in the Department of Defence.
Other federal appointments
The Federal Government has announced that Sarah Court will be appointed as the first female chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), to replace Joseph Longo from 1 June.
Ms Court is currently deputy chair, and has more than 15 years’ experience in senior statutory positions across various corporate regulators, a background in regulation, litigation, and enforcement, and expertise in upholding corporate standards and protecting market integrity.
In a statement, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Ms Court had substantially strengthened ASIC’s enforcement and investigation capabilities over the past five years and that, under her leadership, ASIC had delivered some of its strongest enforcement results on record.
Mr Chalmers thanked Mr Longo for his work as chair, saying he had made a significant contribution to ASIC’s work through his focus on enforcement and consumer protection initiatives, his work on public and private markets, and strengthening the commission’s organisational capability.
Mr Longo welcomed the appointment of Ms Court, saying she would bring regulatory expertise to the role from her career of public service.
“Sarah is an exceptional regulator with a strong record in enforcement that demonstrates her integrity and impact,” he said.
“Her work as ASIC’s deputy chair has been instrumental to the success of the agency’s structural transformation that has strengthened our enforcement posture and work, leading to better outcomes for consumers and a fairer financial system.
“ASIC will be in very capable hands under her leadership.”
Simon Duggan has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), for a five-year term effective from 16 February.
Mr Duggan has an extensive career in the Australian Public Service, most recently as the Deputy Secretary of the Energy Group at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Before joining DCCEEW, Mr Duggan was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he led the Economy and Industry Group and served as Australia’s G20 and G7 plus Sherpa.
He also spent 18 years at the Department of the Treasury, leading policy reforms relating to the domestic and international economies.
Leanne Kearins has been appointed as chair of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council.
Current chair Margot Richardson will act in the new position of deputy chair for four months while a permanent appointment is finalised.
Fiona Cornforth and Professor Edward Strivens have been appointed as new members of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council, and Andrew Brown and Julie Dundon have been reappointed as members, all for four-year terms.
The council advises and makes recommendations to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner and the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors on the operations of the national aged-care regulator.
Robyn Mudie will be Australia’s next High Commissioner to Singapore. Geoff Bowan has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador to Ukraine. Photos: University of Adelaide & OHR BiH.
Diplomatic appointments
Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has announced the appointment of new ambassadors and a high commissioner to represent Australia in Singapore, Ukraine, Israel and Lebanon. Robyn Mudie will be Australia’s next High Commissioner to Singapore, succeeding Allaster Cox.
Ms Mudie is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). She was most recently First Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia Regional and Mainland Division, and has previously served as Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Geoff Bowan has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador to Ukraine, which includes non-resident accreditation to Moldova, to succeed Paul Lehmann.
Mr Bowan is a senior career officer with DFAT. He most recently worked as Assistant Secretary, Eastern and Southeast Europe Branch, and has previously served overseas twice in Beijing.
Neil Hawkins has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Israel, to succeed Dr Ralph King.
Mr Hawkins is a senior career officer with DFAT and was most recently Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan. He has also served overseas as Ambassador to Egypt and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Tom Wilson has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Lebanon, to replace Andrew Barnes.
Mr Wilson is a senior career officer with DFAT. He has previously served overseas as Head of the Australian Representative Office in Ramallah in Palestine, and has also served on postings to Saudi Arabia and Japan.
States and territories
The Queensland Government has appointed 11 new members to its Multicultural Queensland Advisory Council for three-year terms.
The council will be made up of Beny Bol, Anna Jones, Dean Harawira, Emil Rahimov, Michael Choi, Chu-Ching Yu, Narayana Attam, Gail Paratz, Raheelah Ali, Gurpreet Singh and Vivien Hanrahan.
Three new members have been appointed to the Legal Aid Queensland (LAQ) Board for three-year terms. The government says Tanya Diessel, Marjorie Daley and Andrew Knox will join former governor and chief justice Paul de Jersey on the board.
Nicolle Kelly has been appointed as the permanent Queensland Small Business Commissioner. Ms Kelly has been acting in the role since the resignation of former Commissioner Dominique Lamb in October 2025.
Western Australia’s Government has appointed three new commissioners to the Tourism Western Australia Board and has named a new deputy chair.
The new commissioners are Maryna Fewster, Hannah Fitzhardinge and John Lee, while Perth Airport CEO Jason Waters has been named as new board deputy chair.
Current chair Di Bain will continue in the role until 2028, current deputy chair Manny Papadoulis will remain as a commissioner until July 2027, and WA Cricket CEO Christina Matthews has been reappointed as a commissioner for an additional three-year term.
The NSW Government has announced the permanent appointment of acting Children’s Guardian Rachael Ward for a five-year term.
The Tasmanian Government has appointed nine members to its new Firearms Consultative Committee.
Chaired by the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Felix Ellis, the committee includes Councillor Cheryl Arnol, Nathan Cox from TasFarmers, SGT Cam Little from the Police Association of Tasmania, Stephen Bendle from the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Andrew Judd from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, firearms dealer Geoff Hendley, Dr Phill Pullinger from Medics for Gun Control, Deborah Thomson from Engender Equality, and recreational hunter Ellen Freeman.
The Victorian Government has appointed two new directors to the Racing Victoria Board.
Minister for Racing Anthony Carbines announced that Peita Duncan and Jonathan Hardwick have been appointed until June 2028, while Mark Player and Paul Guerra have had their appointments extended to June 2028 and October 2027, respectively.
