Karina Soltyszewski has been appointed as Assistant Secretary of Enabling Services, and James Buttigieg as Assistant Secretary for Policy and Program Management, both within DFAT. Photos: DFAT & Self via St Patrick’s Ballarat.
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
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has appointed Chiara Porro, Ben Cas and James Buttigieg as Assistant Secretaries for Policy and Program Management. Also in DFAT, Karina Soltyszewski has been appointed as Assistant Secretary of Enabling Services.
Anne-Marie Rushby and Amy Young have been appointed as group heads at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Other federal appointments
Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has announced the appointment of Michael Barnes as the next Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), to succeed Dr Christopher Jessup for a five-year term from 7 April.
Mr Barnes is the current NSW Crime Commissioner, and has previously served as NSW Ombudsman, the NSW State Coroner, the inaugural Queensland State Coroner, the head of the School of Justice at the Queensland University of Technology, and as Chief Officer Complaint Section in the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission.
In a statement, Ms Rowland said the national intelligence community had significant powers, and that oversight by the IGIS ensured agencies acted with legality and propriety in exercising their functions.
“Mr Barnes brings extensive experience which will support the Office of the Inspector-General to continue its work providing robust oversight over the national intelligence community,” she said.
Michael Barnes has been appointed as the next Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. Chiara Porro has been appointed as an Assistant Secretary for Policy and Program Management in DFAT. Photos: NSW Crime Commission & LinkedIn.
States and territories
The Victorian Government has appointed former federal Labor senator and member Dr David Feeney as the state’s Defence Industry Advocate, succeeding Professor Regina Crameri.
Dr Feeney previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Shadow Minister for Justice, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Shadow Minister for the Anzac Centenary.
More recently, he has worked as a councillor and senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), and as an occasional lecturer at the Australian War College.
NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan has appointed former NSW MLA and federal member Linda Burney to the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Council.
Before her parliamentary career, Ms Burney worked as a teacher in Western Sydney, and later served as president of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.
Western Australia’s Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn has appointed Dr Regina Flugge to the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to replace member and former deputy chair Lee McIntosh, who completed her term in November 2025.
Dr Flugge is an environmental scientist and the current chair of the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee, and previously served as a deputy chair and member of the Biosecurity Council of Western Australia, and as a member of the Conservation and Parks Commission.
