Movers & shakers: ex judge to lead icare review

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The latest senior public sector appointments from across the country.

Senior Executive Service

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Matthew Clarke, Lisa Carmody, Sandra Mamo, William Garton, and Brendan Moon have all been named general managers at Services Australia.

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Adam Weiderman has been appointed assistant secretary at the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

Jaye Taubman has been named assistant commissioner, service delivery support and improvement at the Australian Taxation Office.

ACCC

Scott Gregson has been appointed as the ACCC’s chief operating officer. He has been acting in the role since Rayne de Gruchy retired in April.

Gregson was most recently executive general manager of the ACCC’s Merger and Authorisation Review Division. Prior to that, he was the executive general manager of the Enforcement Division, where he led teams that litigated some of the ACCC’s most high-profile cases, including Nurofen, Volkswagen, and Coles. He also helped to secure $10 million penalties for consumer protection investigations involving Telstra and Ford, and $9 million for Apple.

Gregson began his career with the Australian Public Service in 1996 as a graduate at the ACCC, which included a six-month secondment to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

ACCC chair Rod Sims said Gregson has been a mentor to many people and has shown “impressive leadership qualities”.

“Throughout his career Scott has demonstrated that he is a considered, wise and strategic leader with an impressive track record on delivering many successful ACCC court outcomes, and across other key priorities,” he said.

“I have been impressed with Scott’s leadership of the ACCC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have every confidence that he will continue to lead our agency through these uncertain times.”

icare review

Retired Supreme Court Judge Robert McDougall has been appointed to lead a “root and branch” review into icare, with the support of the New South Wales Treasury and the Department of Customer Service.

The appointment has come shortly after John Nagle and Mark Lennon resigned from the icare board.

The probe is part of a five-year review into worker’s compensation, which has been brought forward and expanded in light of the controversy which has rocked icare in recent weeks.

NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet, who is the minister responsible for icare, said the review would look at the operations, structure, finances, management and culture of the workers’ compensation scheme.

The review will be informed by the recent Compliance and Performance Review of the Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer commissioned by the regulator SIRA.

Perrottet has asked McDougall to specifically look at the structure and sustainability of the TMF and the Nominal Insurer’s workers’ compensation scheme; the relationship between icare and the regulator; and the operations, culture and governance of icare, including the effectiveness and accountability of the icare board.

McDougall retired in late 2018 after 15 years as a judge of the Supreme Court. He was one of the longest serving legal professionals in NSW with a career spanning four decades.

Women and families council

Nine new advisors with a range of experiences and skills have been appointed to the Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service.

The appointees will help the 14 current council members provide effective and timely advice to the government, and will participate in consultation and communication with veterans and their families.

See the full list of new members below.

Sharelle Mathias-Carman, who is a strategic communications professional and has held senior leadership roles within the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Department of Defence and the Victorian Local Government. She is currently the director of corporate communications for Transport Canberra and City Services in the ACT Government.

Samantha Hodges, who has served 15 years in the Australian Army. Hodges is currently posted to the Defence Force School of Intelligence and multiple deployments including domestic disaster relief and overseas operations. She holds a Masters of Clinical Psychology.

Dr Amy Johnson is a lecturer in Journalism and Public Relations at Central Queensland University, and continues to research military families and social media communications.

Kate Martin has worked in transition support and services for police, military and emergency services for 13 years. She is currently co-chair of the Frontline Mental Health Committee of the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association.

Louise Pitcher served in the ADF for 13 years, with 15 years’ experience working with trauma as a Psychologist.

Dr Dannielle Post has a PhD in Public & Population Health, and currently researches the physical and psychological wellbeing of family carers of veterans living with PTSD and mental health issues. She is a member of the Australian Veteran and Emergency First Responder Research Network, and is an Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellow.

Donna Reggett has multiple family connections to defence, and has worked as an advocate for 17 years. She set up the Ipswich Veterans Centre, the Military Kids Recognition program and Operation PTSD Support Inc. She is a former member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Ex-service Matters.

Dr Kerry Summerscales has served 30 years in the Australian Army, has been deployed multiple times and is currently transitioning out of defence while practicing as a GP. She is a participant in DVA’s Female Veterans and Veterans Families and Mental Health and Wellbeing Forums and is regional co-ordinator for Women’s Veterans Network Australia.

Penelope Twemlow has served ten years in the Royal Australian Navy, and is a current reservist suffering with PTSD. She is a survivor of domestic violence and founded Women in Power — a not-for-profit organisation aimed at advancing and empowering women across the globe. She is a participant in the Honouring Women United by Defence Service Forum and a national ambassador for multiple organisations providing mental health and domestic violence support.

Visit Victoria

Eddie McGuire and Janette Kendall have been appointed to the Visit Victoria board.

McGuire has spent four decades in media, sports and events. His range of roles have included 13 years on the board of the Victorian Major Events Corporation, chief executive of the Nine Network, and president of Collingwood since 1998.

Kendall is a company director with more than 25 years of board experience across public, private and not-for-profit organisations, as well as more than 30 years’ experience developing and implementing business and brand strategies.

She is on the board of Vicinity Centres, Costa Group, Australian Venue Co, KM Property Funds and the Melbourne Theatre Company, and has previously held non-executive director roles at Nine Entertainment, Monash Digital and the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts.

VACRC

The inaugural commissioner for senior Victorians, Gerard Mansour, has been appointed as an advisor to the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC).

He is also Victoria’s ambassador for elder abuse prevention, and was formerly chief executive of Leading Age Services Australia.

As an advisor, Mansour will provide advice and consultation for engaging with families of residents in severely COVID-19 impacted aged care facilities, and will help connect them to available supports. He will also assist with communication and provide feedback to Elder Rights Advocacy and VACRC, as well as promote further prevention measures with staff working in aged care facilities that have not had outbreaks.

Mansour will engage with the Victorian Multicultural Commission chair Vivienne Nguyen to ensure appropriate support is given to families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.