8 July 2025

The Water Cooler: Comings and goings in the public service

| By Andrew McLaughlin
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Sally-Ann Vincent has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Türkiye to succeed Miles Armitage, who will be Australia’s next Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Photos: DFAT.

A breakdown of the latest appointments in the Australian Public Service, the wider public sector and across the public services of the states and territories.

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Julia Bowen has been appointed as Assistant Secretary for Policy and Program Management in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Tim O’Mahoney has been appointed as the Executive Director of Data Analytics and Intelligence in the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Olga Liavas has been appointed as the Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services in the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.

Aaron Kirby has been appointed as the head of the Climate Operations Branch in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEW).

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Stephen Jones has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OECD. Photo: Keeli Dyson.

Other federal appointments

Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has announced the appointment of six new ambassadors and high commissioners.

Dave Vosen has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland, to succeed Kerin Ayyalaraju.

Mr Vosen is a senior career officer with DFAT and has served as Assistant Secretary of the Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Branch. He was also Ambassador to Mongolia and had postings in Laos and Papua New Guinea.

Marc Innes-Brown has been appointed as Australia’s new Ambassador to the Philippines, and will succeed HK Yu.

Mr Innes-Brown is a senior career officer with DFAT, serving as First Assistant Secretary Middle East and Africa Division, and as Australia’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Iran and Iraq. He has had postings in Thailand and the United States.

Miles Armitage has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, succeeding Mark Donovan.

Mr Armitage is a senior career officer with DFAT and is currently Australia’s Ambassador to Türkiye. He has previously served as Ambassador to Jordan and to Timor-Leste, and as Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism. He has had postings in the Philippines, Pakistan and the United Nations.

Matthew Duckworth has been appointed as Australia’s next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, taking over from Paul Stephens.

Mr Duckworth is a senior career officer with DFAT and was most recently Assistant Secretary United States Trade Taskforce, and Deputy Chief Negotiator Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement. He has also previously served in Indonesia and Cambodia.

Sally-Anne Vincent has been named as Australia’s next Ambassador to Türkiye, succeeding Miles Armitage.

Ms Vincent is a senior career officer with DFAT and was most recently chief of staff to the Secretary. She has previously served as Deputy High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh, in Afghanistan, and as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

Former Labor federal member for Whitlam Stephen Jones has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Mr Jones served as a Member of Parliament from 2010 until he retired before the 2025 federal election, and served as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

Professor Larissa Behrendt has been appointed as chair of the newly established Writing Australia Council.

Rachel Bin Salleh, Professor Sarah Holland-Batt, Sally Rippin, Dr Tim Jarvis, Tommy Murphy, Julie Pinkham, Claire Pullen and Christos Tsiolkas have been appointed as members of the Writing Australia Council.

Aaron Kirby & Professor Larissa Behrendt

Aaron Kirby has been appointed as the head of the Climate Operations Branch in the DCCEW. Professor Larissa Behrendt is the chair of the newly established Writing Australia Council. Photos: LinkedIn & Film Australia.

States and territories

Jay Weatherill and Pamela White will lead the Victorian Government’s urgent review into child safety in early childhood education and care settings and the Working with Children Check in Victoria.

Felicity Zimmermann has been appointed to the board of DevelopmentWA.

Amber Ugle-Hayward, Tremane Baxter-Edwards and Ryan Rawlinson have been appointed to Western Australia’s Ministerial Youth Advisory Council (MYAC).

Neema Premji will chair the Vasse Taskforce, which plays a key role in managing the health of the Geographe waterways near Busselton in Western Australia.

Shane Doyle KC and Christopher Johnstone KC have been appointed as judges of Queensland’s Supreme Court.

Janet Schorer has been appointed as the inaugural SafeWork NSW Commissioner.

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