Appendix 4 - Secretaries Board
Established under the Public Service Act 1999, the Secretaries Board is responsible for stewardship of the Australian Public Service, including:
- identifying strategic priorities and issues that affect the APS
- developing and implementing strategies to improve the APS
- drawing together advice from senior leaders in government, business and the community.
The Secretaries Board achieves this while working collaboratively and modelling leadership behaviours.
The chair of the Secretaries Board is the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C). Its membership comprises secretaries of all Australian Government departments and the Australian Public Service Commissioner. The Chief Executive Officer of the National Indigenous Australians Agency is co-opted to board meetings to report on First Nations reforms and any related agenda items.
Since October 2022, the Secretaries Board has published communiques following meetings to increase transparency of its priorities and decisions. These are available on the PM&C website.
At 30 June 2023, the Secretaries Board had these subcommittees:
- Chief Operating Officers Committee
- Future of Work Committee
- Secretaries’ Digital and Data Committee
- Partnerships Priorities Committee
- Strategic Leadership Group.
Table A4.1: Members of the Secretaries Board 2022–23
For 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, members of the Secretaries Board were:
| Board position | APS title | Member |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | Professor Glyn Davis AC |
| Deputy Chair | Australian Public Service Commissioner | Mr Peter Woolcott AO (to 10 May 2023)Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM (from 11 May 2023) |
| Member | Secretary of APS Reform | Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM (to 10 May 2023) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | Mr Andrew Metcalfe AO |
| Member | Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department | Ms Katherine Jones PSM |
| Member | Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | Mr David Fredericks PSM |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Defence | Mr Greg Moriarty |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Education | Ms Michele Bruniges (to 3 April 2023)Mr Tony Cook (from 4 April 2023) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations | Ms Natalie James (from 11 July 2022) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Finance | Ms Rosemary Huxtable PSM (to 8 August 2022) Ms Jenny Wilkinson PSM (from 9 August 2022) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Ms Jan Adams AO PSM |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Health and Aged Care | Professor Brendan Murphy AC |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs | Mr Michael Pezzullo AO |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources | Ms Meghan Quinn PSM (from 22 August 2022) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts | Mr Jim Betts (from 11 July 2022) |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Social Services | Mr Ray Griggs AO CSC |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of the Treasury | Dr Steven Kennedy PSM |
| Member | Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs | Ms Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC (to 22 Jun 2023)Ms Alison Frame (from 23 Jan 2023) |
| Other | Chief Executive Officer of the National Indigenous Australians Agency | Ms Jody Broun |
See also
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (n.d.) Secretaries Board corporate reporting, PM&C website, https://www.pmc.gov.au/about-us/accountability-and-reporting/corporate-, accessed 11 October 2023.
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (n.d.) Secretary appointments to departments of state, PM&C website, https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/administration/secretary-appointments, accessed 11 October 2023.