Four fresh senior executive faces at the APSC, Regional Development Victoria’s first female CEO, and a new Public Access Deputy Commissioner. The latest senior public sector appointments from across the country.
Commonwealth senior executive promotions
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There have been two CFO appointments in the past fortnight.
Scott Brown has been appointed the Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, a role he has been acting in since March 2018. He has previously held finance leadership roles at the Department of Human Services and several ACT government agencies.
Brad Medland has been named Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Before this he was CFO at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. Cheryl-Anne Navarro has been acting in the role at Infrastructure since late last year.
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Four external appointments to the role of Group Manager have been made at the Australian Public Service Commission. Jacquie Walton is shifting from the Australian National Audit Office, where she had been Branch Director Corporate Strategy and People. Michelle Black has been appointed Chief Information Officer after acting in the role since October. She was previously CIO at the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
Callie Zorzi is coming across from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where she has been Acting Assistant Secretary, working on the APS Review. Terri Dreyer is also moving from PM&C, where she has been working in policy innovation and projects.
Two public servants have been promoted at Defence. Leonie Neiberding moves up from Finance Director to Assistant Secretary Finance — Specialist Groups. Emily Wilson has been appointed Assistant Secretary Joint and Enabler Analysis. Previously Wilson was Manager, International Policy and Engagement Division.
Rheannon Nicholson has been appointed Assistant Secretary at the Department of Home Affairs. She has previously on event operations for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit taskforce, and before that with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Simone Boulding has been promoted to General Manager at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.
Prue Monument is the new Executive Director, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Operations at the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. Previously she was Director, Compliance at the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
Emma Wood has been promoted at the Department of Health to Assistant Secretary.
And Heike Phillips has been promoted at the Department of Jobs and Small Business, moving from Director, Media and Speechwriting to Branch Manager — Election Outcomes Taskforce.
Regional Development Victoria
Beth Jones has been named as the new CEO of Regional Development Victoria.
The first woman to head up the state’s lead agency for regional economic development, Jones was most recently Executive Director Biosecurity and Agriculture Services at Agriculture Victoria, where she led the delivery of key initiatives to grow and protect the state’s agricultural sector.
With 20 years’ experience in the public sector, Jones has expertise in program delivery, regulatory reform, industry and community engagement, policy development and emergency management.
She has also been appointed Deputy Secretary for the Rural and Regional Victoria group within the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. She will commence in both roles on 13 June and be based in Ballarat.
Victorian Information Commissioner
Joanne Kummrow has been appointed Public Access Deputy Commissioner at the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.
Her five-year term commenced on Tuesday.
Kummrow was appointed as Acting Public Access Deputy Commissioner in May 2018. Before this, she was General Counsel providing legal advice across all areas of OVIC’s jurisdiction and strategic planning.
She has extensive experience as a senior lawyer advising agencies and ministers on FOI and conducting complex FOI merits review and judicial appeal matters.
South Gippsland Shire
Victoria’s South Gippsland Shire Council is going through some rough times, with a state government-appointed monitor recommending the council be suspended and an administrator appointed.
A commission of inquiry will look at the stability of the council, the behaviours of individual councillors, the process of hiring a CEO and the efficiency and effectiveness of governance arrangements in delivering services to the community. It will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Frank Vincent, joined by public servant and audit expert John Watson, and Julie Eisenbise, a former mayor at Manningham City Council.
CEO Tim Tamlin will be replaced by Bryan Sword, who will act in the role from June 25.
Sword has previously acted as CEO at South Gippsland. He has been working for local governments for 20 years, including eight years at the council. He has previously worked at the City of Hume, Melbourne City Council and the Shire of Busselton. He holds tertiary qualifications in environmental management and public health.
The government is still considering whether to suspend the council.
Tasmanian Irrigation
Andrew Kneebone has been formally appointed CEO for Tasmanian Irrigation, after acting in the role since late November 2018.
Previously he was Tasmanian Irrigation’s General Manager Water Delivery and Infrastructure.
Safe Food Production Queensland
Former director-general Debra-Lee Best has been named Chair and Director of Safe Food Production Queensland’s Board.
Best has more than 36 years of executive leadership experience in Queensland. She was DG of the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships in 2012-13.
She currently serves as Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council, Chair of the Audit Committee of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, a member of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Electoral Commission of Queensland and a member of the State Award Committee for the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.
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