The latest senior public sector appointments from across the country.
Band 1
Rosemaree Cracknell has moved from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to take up a new role with the Department of Home Affairs as commander trade and travel east.
Michael Hunt from the Department of Defence is now in an SES1 role with the capability acquisition & sustainment group.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has named two new SES1 group heads: Claire Sparke and Bernice Cropper.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has appointed John Barnes as a chief financial officer at the agency.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has a new assistant secretary in Leilani Bin-Juda.
Band 2
Jesse Clarke from the Attorney-General’s Department is now a first assistant secretary.
Top mandarin secures powerful Home Affairs role
Stephanie Foster has succeeded Mike Pezzullo as head of one of the most powerful departments in the APS. Her appointment is for a period of five years.
Foster moved from PM&C to Home Affairs shortly after Labor was voted into power. She has been manning the fort at the department while her predecessor, Pezzullo, was being investigated for breaches of the APS code of conduct.
Announcing the pick on Tuesday, prime minister Anthony Albanese said Foster had an extensive career in the public service.
“Ms Foster has well-established relationships across the APS and significant policy experience, which make her eminently suitable to the role of secretary,” the PM said.
Pezzullo was terminated from his role as secretary earlier this week on the advice of PM&C secretary Glyn Davis and APS commissioner Gordon de Brouwer.
New disability discrimination commissioner
Human rights lawyer Rosemary Kayess will commence at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) as disability discrimination commissioner from 29 January 2024. She replaces Dr Ben Gauntlett, who was recently appointed to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
“Ms Kayess is an accomplished human rights lawyer, academic and practitioner with an expert understanding of Australian anti-discrimination law and international human rights frameworks,” A-G Dreyfus said.
“She has extensive practical legal experience advising on disability discrimination law, including utilising the disability discrimination complaints mechanism of the AHRC.”
Kayess’ current memberships include the chair of the Australian Centre of the Disability Law; expert member, NSW Ageing and Disability Commission Advisory board; and member, Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group.
Review lead chosen to interrogate Optus outage
Richard Bean, a former deputy chair of ACMA, has been chosen to review what the government can learn from the recent Optus outage affecting about 10 million Australians. The inquiry will have a specific focus on emergency calls, customer communications, and complaints handling.
Communications minister Michelle Rowland said Bean brought a long and distinguished history of involvement with the communications sector to the role.
“Australians expect and deserve better from their communications service providers when these kinds of incidents arise and I would encourage all to have their say – from impacted businesses and industry through to consumers,” Rowland said.
“The government’s post-incident review will help industry identify where its processes need to be strengthened, and provide advice to government on potential reforms.”
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) appointees named
Elizabeth Tydd and Carly Kind have been picked as the new Freedom of Information (FOI) commissioner and privacy commissioner, respectively. Both appointments are for five years.
In a statement announcing the appointments, attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said this was the first time since 2015 that standalone roles for OAIC were fulfilled as parliament had originally intended.
“I congratulate Ms Tydd and Ms Kind on their appointments and thank them for taking on these important roles,” Dreyfus said.
Tydd will commence as FOI commissioner and Kind will commence as privacy commissioner next February.
RBA poaches Bank of England talent
Andrew Hauser, who served the Bank of England for more than 30 years, has been chosen to start as a member of the Reserve Bank board and deputy governor for the bank in early 2024.
Hauser is currently a markets executive director, where he manages the UK’s official foreign exchange reserves; and coordinates market intelligence and analytical advice to the Bank of England’s monetary and macro-prudential policy committees.
He has held senior roles across most of the Bank of England’s other major functions, including leading its inflation report, its international economic analysis and its regional agencies’ intelligence gathering.
Commenting on his appointment Hauser said he was “deeply honoured” to be appointed to the role by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
“I look forward to working closely with Michele Bullock, her senior team and the talented staff of the RBA to serve the Australian people, and to help make a reality of the recommendations of the RBA review,” he said.
RBA governor Michelle Bullock congratulated Hauser on his appointment and said she was looking forward to working with him.
“He has great experience and will bring a welcome external perspective to the bank and the Reserve Bank board,” Bullock said.