(From left) Pallavi Sharda has been reappointed to the Board of Screen Australia. Jamie Isbister has been appointed as Australia’s next High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. Siobhan McKenna has been named as Australia’s next Consul-General in New York. Photos: Instagram, DFAT, Facebook.
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
William Mueller has been appointed Assistant Commissioner of the Australian Electoral Commission.
Stuart Gibson has been promoted to Assistant Director-General — Engineering and Technical in the Australian Submarine Agency.
David Lancaster has been appointed as Assistant Parliamentary Budget Officer in the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Band 2
Kathleen Denley has been appointed First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Finance.
Diplomatic appointments
Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has announced four new senior diplomatic appointments, to Egypt, New York, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Joel McGregor has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Egypt, with accreditation to Eritrea and Sudan, to succeed Axel Wabenhorst.
Mr McGregor is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and has previously served in Jordan, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Siobhan McKenna has been named as Australia’s next Consul-General in New York, to succeed Heather Ridout, who has held the post since 2023. Ms McKenna is the current chair of Australia Post, and has previously worked as CEO of Broadcasting at News Corp. She has also held senior public sector roles, including chair of the National Broadband Network Company and Commissioner of the Productivity Commission.
Currently visiting New York for the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ms McKenna would bring a great deal of financial and economic capacity to the role.
“Following on from our previous appointment of Heather Ridout, both strong women with strong economic credentials, to fulfil the role here in New York, which is, of course, one of the centres of global finance,” he said.
“And I’m very pleased that Siobhan has accepted my invitation to take up this position, which, when Heather finishes at the end of this year, Siobhan and her family will be moving to New York to take up this post.”
Jamie Isbister has been appointed as Australia’s next High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea to succeed Ewen McDonald.
Mr Isbister is a senior career officer with DFAT and most recently served as Deputy Secretary, Development, Multilateral and Europe Group. He has previously served as Australia’s Ambassador for the Environment, the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Coordinator, and as Minister Counsellor (Development) in Africa.
Lucienne Manton has been appointed Australia’s next Ambassador to Timor-Leste to succeed Caitlin Wilson.
Ms Manton is a senior career officer with DFAT and most recently served as Assistant Secretary, Mainland South and Central Asia Branch. She has previously served as Ambassador to Counter Modern Slavery, People Smuggling and Human Trafficking, overseas in the United Kingdom, and on a short-term mission as Special Representative on Afghanistan.
Linda Burney has been appointed to the Board of the Museum of Australian Democracy. Rod Henderson has been appointed to the Board of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation. Photos: Facebook & LinkedIn.
Other federal appointments
Arts Minister Tony Burke has announced one appointment and two reappointments to the Boards of the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) and Screen Australia.
Former Labor state and federal politician Linda Burney has been appointed to the Board of MoAD for a three-year term, and is the first First Nations representative on the board.
Iin 2003, Ms Burney was the first Aboriginal person elected to the NSW Parliament, and served as Deputy Leader of the NSW State Opposition. In 2016, she was the first Indigenous woman elected to the Federal House of Representatives, and served as Minister for Indigenous Australians.
Former chair of the Board of the Museum of Australian Democracy Barrie Cassidy has been reappointed to serve as a board member for an additional three years. Mr Cassidy is a former political journalist and television presenter. He also worked as press secretary and senior political adviser to prime minister Bob Hawke, and was president of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Pallavi Sharda has been reappointed to the Board of Screen Australia for a three-year term. Ms Sharda is an Australian-born actor who has worked in Bollywood, Hollywood, British television, Australian screen, and French cinema. She is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer, a distinguished alumna of the University of Melbourne (LLB, BA Media & Communications, Diploma in Modern Languages), and founder of Bodhini Studios.
The Federal Government has appointed Helen Grinbergs as the CEO of the Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA) for a five-year term from 1 October to succeed Lucinda Barry AM, who has led the OTA since 2017. Ms Grinbergs has held high-profile roles in aged care, and national and international health. Most recently, she led the work to establish the Australian Centre for Disease Control, and was instrumental in leading efforts to support aged care during the pandemic.
Rodney Henderson and Anna Shave have been appointed to the Board of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC). Mr Henderson is the CEO of electrical engineering firm Colterlec, is a former CEO of Ampcontrol, and currently serves on the boards of Beyond Zero Emissions and the University of Newcastle.
Ms Shave is the former managing director of the Resource Capital Funds Innovation Fund, a member of the WA Government Innovation Advisory Board, and chair of the Audit and Risk and the Remuneration and Nomination Committees for Catalyst Metals.
The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Enrico (Ric) De Santi as a part‑time Business Member of the Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board (CADB) for a three‑year term, to succeed Kerrie Howard. Mr De Santi has experience in audit, public sector governance and risk management, and served for more than 15 years as Deputy Auditor‑General of Tasmania.
States and territories
The NSW Government has appointed five new Assistant Commissioners in the NSW Police Force.
Superintendent Gina Bostick has been appointed Assistant Commissioner Innovation and Projects Command, and Superintendent Paul Dunstan has been appointed Assistant Commissioner State Operations and Emergency Management Command.
Superintendent Kylie Endemi has been appointed Assistant Commissioner Health, Safety and Wellbeing Command, Superintendent Michael McLean has been appointed Assistant Commissioner Professional Standards Command, and Superintendent Greg Moore has been appointed Assistant Commissioner Western Region.
The Victorian Government has announced the appointment of Justice Rowena Orr as the new president of the Victorian Court of Appeal to succeed Justice Karin Emerton.
The Western Australian Government has announced the appointment of Correne Bartlett as the new director of the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO), effective 1 October, following the retirement of Sarah Cowie.
Western Australia’s Attorney-General Dr Tony Buti has announced the appointment of Dr Brenda McGivern as a judge of the District Court of Western Australia, effective from 5 October.
Former Western Australia National Native Title Tribunal member Glen Kelly has been appointed chair of the newly established Native Title and Heritage Standards Working Group, which will help drive the next stage of reforms to native title and Aboriginal cultural heritage processes in Western Australia.
