(From left) Tracy Flintoff has been appointed to the Brisbane Registry of Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Hilary McGeachy has been promoted to CEO of the Centre for Australia-India Relations in DFAT. Judge Sandra Taglieri has been appointed to the Hobart Registry of Division 1 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Photos: Attorney-General, DFAT & Mentor Walks.
A breakdown of the latest appointments and moves in the Australian Public Service, the public services of the states and territories, and the wider public sector.
APS Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Sarah Wang has been appointed General Manager Strategy & Engagement in Defence Housing Australia.
Vaughan Baxter has been promoted to Commander, Removal Operations in the Department of Home Affairs.
Nigel Muir has been appointed Assistant Secretary, Status Resolution Network in the Department of Home Affairs.
Zoe Scanlon has been named as Assistant Secretary, Legal in the Department of Home Affairs.
Fiona Cruise has been promoted to Assistant Secretary, Enabling Services in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Hilary McGeachy has been promoted to CEO of the Centre for Australia-India Relations in DFAT.
Sarah Neville has been appointed executive director, Pricing and Analytics Branch in the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Band 2
Carli Shillito and Dougal McInnes have been promoted as First Assistant Secretaries in DFAT.
Miranda Lello has been appointed as a division head in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Other federal appointments
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has announced new appointments to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Divisions 1 and 2).
Judge Steven Middleton has been appointed to the Brisbane Registry of Division 1, Judge Sandra Taglieri has been appointed to the Hobart Registry of Division 1, and Tracy Flintoff has been appointed to the Brisbane Registry of Division 2, effective 10 August.
Judge Middleton has been a judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in Brisbane since 2015. Judge Taglieri has been a judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in Hobart since 2021, and Ms Flintoff has been a Senior Judicial Registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia since 2021.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has expanded the expertise of Wine Australia’s leadership, with two new directors appointed to the Wine Australia board. Darryn Hakof and Stephen Strachan have been appointed for three-year terms and will help strengthen Wine Australia’s role in supporting Australia’s wine sector to respond to emerging opportunities and challenges across domestic and international markets.
The appointments come at a time when Australia’s wine sector is continuing to navigate global oversupply, changing consumer preferences and shifting international market conditions.
Fiona Cruise (left) has been promoted to Assistant Secretary, Enabling Services in DFAT. Miranda Lello has been appointed as a division head in DCCEEW. Photos: LinkedIn.
States and territories
ACT Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry has stepped down from the role in the wake of the release of the ACT Integrity Commission report on Operation Kingfisher. Rachel Stephen-Smith was named on 27 July as the new Deputy Chief Minister.
Former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Lloyd Babb SC has been appointed as a Deputy President and Judicial Member of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. He will be sworn in on 28 July.
Mr Babb first joined the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1993 as a solicitor and was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1995. He has served as a Crown Prosecutor, Public Defender and Crown Advocate, and was the Director of Public Prosecutions in NSW from 2011 until 2021, and in the NT between 2022 and 2025.
NSW Mental Health Commissioner Jennifer Black has announced she will leave the role on 11 September. Ms Black is moving to Victoria and has been named as that state’s next Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner, effective from 29 September.
Executive director of Lived Experience at Mind Australia, Katie Larsen, will be Victoria’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Deputy Commissioner.
The Victorian Government has also appointed a new board of the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, effective 2 August. Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon has been appointed as chair, new members are Harsh Bansal, Heather Pickard and Associate Professor Simon Stafrace, while returning members are Gill Callister and Sheree Lowe.
The Western Australian Government has announced the appointment of Bev East and Paul Steel as non-executive directors of the Gold Corporation Board for two-year terms from 31 December. Current members Sally Langer, Dean Nalder, Julie Harris and Michael McNulty have had their terms extended to 31 December, 2029.
