Melanie Metz (left) has been promoted to deputy commissioner for sector capability and regulatory strategy at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Dany Turner is the new assistant secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ strategic program office. Photos: LinkedIn.
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
Rebecca Smith has been promoted to assistant commissioner for fraud, technology and automation at the Australian Taxation Office.
Patrick Bryson is the new assistant secretary of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) delivery at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
Jacqueline Bisas, Leah West, Robert Cole and Sarah Mazzer have been promoted to senior executive lawyers with the Australian Government Solicitor.
Dany Turner is the new assistant secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ strategic program office.
Tamsin Jackson is the new branch manager of the Department of Social Services’ operations hub.
Band 2
Melanie Metz has been promoted to deputy commissioner for sector capability and regulatory strategy at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Suzanne McCourt has been appointed as first assistant secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Other federal appointments
Antoinette Braybrook, Philippa Davis, Zoe Rathus, Anne-Marie Rice, Nick Tebbey and Glenn Thompson have been appointed as new members of the Family Law Council.
Justice Jacoba Brasch (chair), Dr Rachel Carson, John Faulks, Judge Alexandra Harland and Julie Jackson have been reappointed to the council.
The council, established under the Family Law Act 1975, is an independent body that provides expert advice to the Attorney-General on complex family law issues. All appointments are for a three-year period.
Dr Angela Jackson has been appointed as a full‑time Social Policy Commissioner at the Productivity Commission (PC) for a five‑year period.
Dr Jackson is the lead economist at Impact Economics and Policy, has been a part‑time commissioner of the Commonwealth Grants Commission, a member of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, and chair of the Women in Economics Network, which works to build the pipeline of female Australian economists.
Don Harwin has been appointed as a member of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Professor Sarah Holland-Batt has been appointed as a member of the Council of the National Library of Australia. Photos: LinkedIn.
Michael Callaghan will be reappointed as part‑time chairperson of the Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) for a five‑year period.
He has been the CGC chairperson since June 2020. Before this, he spent 38 years in the Australian Treasury, including as the Deputy Secretary responsible for Macroeconomic Group; as chief of staff to former treasurer Peter Costello; Australia’s G20 Finance Deputy; and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, International Economy. He also spent four years on the IMF executive board in Washington, DC.
Jim Craig has been appointed as a member of the Future Fund Board of Guardians for a five‑year term.
Mr Craig spent more than 20 years at Macquarie Bank, holding numerous senior positions, and was an independent director and the chair of the Investment Committee at AustralianSuper.
Professor Sarah Holland-Batt has been appointed as a member of the Council of the National Library of Australia. Dr Shane Simpson has been reappointed to the council. Both appointments are for three-year terms.
Dr Simpson is Special Counsel at Simpsons Solicitors, was the founder of the Arts Law Centre of Australia and has served as the chair of the Bundanoon Trust Board, the New South Wales Film and Television Office (now Screen NSW), Museums and Galleries of NSW and various other boards and foundations.
Professor Holland-Batt is an award-winning contemporary poet, editor, critic and academic. Her books have won several prizes, including the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry, the Stella Prize, and the Queensland Premier’s Award for State Significance. Her poems have been widely published in international journals and magazines, including The New Yorker and Poetry, and have been translated into several languages.
Hayley Baillie and Hugo Michell have been appointed as members of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia board for two-year terms.
Penny Fowler and Jay Weatherill have been appointed, and Ilana Atlas has been reappointed, as members of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia for three-year terms.
Mr Weatherill is a former premier of South Australia. He currently leads the Thrive by Five campaign within the Minderoo Foundation and is an ambassador for Reggio Children. He will soon join the Susan McKinnon Foundation pursuing its democracy reform agenda.
Mrs Fowler is chair of the Herald & Weekly Times and News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador. She has been a member of the National Portrait Gallery board since March 2016 and served as chair since January 2022.
She also chairs the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the Tourism Australia board, and is on the advisory board of Visy/Pratt USA. In addition, she is a board member of Tech Mahindra & the Bank of Melbourne (St George) Foundation.
Defence’s deputy secretary naval shipbuilding and sustainment Jim McDowell (left) has announced his retirement effective 11 April. Jay Weatherill has been appointed as a member of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia. Photos: ADF, LinkedIn.
Lauren Moss has been appointed as a member of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia for a four-year term, replacing Christine Simpson Stokes.
Ms Moss is a former member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and Member for Casuarina. She has held portfolio positions in equality and inclusion, environment, climate change and water security, mental health and suicide prevention, youth and seniors, education, children, women, tourism, and sport and culture, including the arts.
Don Harwin has been appointed as a member of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum for a three-year term.
Mr Harwin served in the NSW Parliament for 23 years in a range of roles, including five years as the minister for the arts and six years as president of the Legislative Council.
He currently holds several board memberships, including chair of Music in the Regions Ltd and as a director of the Australia Youth Trust, which supports initiatives to secure better health and education outcomes for young people in developing Commonwealth countries. He also previously served as a member of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Assistant Commissioner Doug Boudry has resigned suddenly from the Australian Federal Police, just months after being formally recognised for distinguished service.
The Department of Defence’s deputy secretary naval shipbuilding and sustainment Jim McDowell has announced his retirement effective 11 April, just days after telling Senate Estimates that he expects delays on a decision on the new SEA 3000 multipurpose frigate.
States and territories
Shannon Durrant has been appointed to the Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) board.
Professor Alison Sheridan has been appointed as chair, and Alison Stone, David Harding, Dianna Somerville, Phil Usher and Thomas McKeon have been appointed as members, of the NSW Regional Development Advisory Council.
The appointees are experts across regional and rural economics, primary industries, natural resources, and Aboriginal economic development. They have been appointed to help guide the NSW Government as it invests in new regional businesses and job-creation projects throughout the state.
Jeff Smith has been appointed as the new NSW Ageing and Disability Commissioner, effective from 21 April.
He has held the role of CEO of Disability Advocacy Network Australia, has served as CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office NSW, and led People with Disability Australia.
Liana Buchanan has been appointed as a Deputy Commissioner of Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).
