Departmental secretary

Departmental secretary
Occupation
Names Departmental secretary
Occupation type
 Public servant
Activity sectors
 Australian and State government
Description
Competencies Strategic advice; Public administration
Related jobs
 Government minister; Director general; Chief Executive
Peter Shergold (right) in his capacity as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; with then Prime Minister John Howard at a 2005 meeting in the United States.

In the administration of government in Australia, a departmental secretary (or just Secretary) is the most senior public servant of a Commonwealth or state government department, charged with leading the department on a day-to-day basis.

Role

A departmental secretary is the non-political non-elected public servant heads (and "responsible officers") of government departments, who generally hold their position for a number of years.[1] A departmental secretary works closely with the elected government minister that oversees the Commonwealth department or state government department in order to bring about policy and program initiatives that the government of day was elected to achieve. A departmental secretary works with other departments and agencies to ensure the delivery of services and programs within the nominated area of responsibility.

The secretary is also known as the chief executive of the department; the position is equivalent to the Permanent Secretary of a government department in the United Kingdom, and similar to director general in some non-Commonwealth countries, or (very roughly) chief executive officer (CEO) in a private company.

In the Australian government, Secretaries are the responsible officers for departments, meaning that they are answerable to the Australian Parliament for ensuring that the department performs the functions assigned to it and spends money appropriately, as granted by the Parliament. Secretaries are frequently called for questioning by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, the House of Representatives committees and the Senate committees.

Appointment and termination

The Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth) requires the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to provide a report to the Prime Minister of the day about the suitability of potential candidates as departmental secretary. The report is prepared in conjunction with the Public Service Commissioner. Appointments and terminations as departmental secretary are made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister; under Sections 58 and 59 respectively of the Act.[2][3]

Since the removal of tenure under Prime Minister Paul Keating, departmental secretaries are generally aware that while dismissals are not common, following a change of government, failure to re-appoint a secretary is certainly a frequent occurrence.[4] In the first Rudd government, secretaries were appointed for a five-year term; prior to this a term of three years was common.[5] In 1999, the Howard government sought to remove Paul Barratt AO as Secretary of the Department of Defence after Barratt fell out of favour with his Minister.[6] Despite being offered a diplomatic post, Barratt refused to vacate the role and commenced legal action,[7] claiming unfair dismissal and that the government had failed to follow due process.[8] Barratt had a temporary stay,[9] but was dismissed within 14 days,[10] and subsequently lost, on appeal in the Federal Court.[11]

The most senior Commonwealth public servant is the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, currently Dr Martin Parkinson.[12]

Current Australian government departmental secretaries

There are currently 22 individuals in Australian government departments with the grade of Secretary, though not all use these titles.

Department Jobholder Title Effective date
of appointment		 Ref(s)
Australian government departments
Prime Minister and CabinetDr Martin ParkinsonSecretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet23 January 2016[13]
AgricultureDaryl QuinlivanSecretary of the Department of Agriculture10 June 2015[14][15]
Attorney-General'sChris Moraitis PSMSecretary of the Attorney-General's Department1 September 2008[16]
CommunicationsMike MrdakSecretary of the Department of Communications7 September 2017[17]
DefenceGreg MoriartySecretary of the Department of Defence28 July 2017[18]
Education and TrainingMichele Bruniges AMSecretary of the Department of Education and Training4 April 2016[19]
Tony CookAssociate Secretary (Early Childhood, Schools and Youth)[20]
EmploymentKerri HartlandSecretary of the Department of Employment7 September 2017[15][21]
EnvironmentFinn Pratt PSMSecretary of the Department of the Environment7 September 2017[15]
FinanceRosemary Huxtable PSMSecretary of the Department of Finance22 December 2016[1]
Foreign Affairs and TradeFrances AdamsonSecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade2016[18]
HealthGlenys Beauchamp PSMSecretary of the Department of Health7 September 2017[22]
Professor Chris Baggoley AOChief Medical Officer for the Australian Government30 August 2011[23]
Human ServicesRenée Leon PSMSecretary of the Department of Human Services7 September 2017[24]
Immigration and Border ProtectionMike PezzulloSecretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection13 October 2014[25]
Infrastructure and Regional DevelopmentSteven KennedySecretary of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development7 September 2017[26]
Department of Industry and ScienceHeather Smith PSMSecretary of the Department of Industry7 September 2017[15]
Social ServicesKathryn Campbell CSCSecretary of the Department of Social Services7 September 2017[27]
The TreasuryJohn FraserSecretary to the Treasury7 March 2011[28]
Veterans' AffairsSimon Lewis PSMSecretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs11 July 2013[29]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rudd, Kevin (13 August 2009). "Departmental secretaries and statutory office-holders, Canberra". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth) s 58
  3. ↑ Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth) s 59
  4. ↑ Podger, Andrew (20 September 2013). "Abbott and the public service: where now on department heads?". The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Howard, John (18 January 2002). "Senior appointments: Departmental secretaries". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Waterford, Jack (September 1999). "Defence losing its moorings" (PDF). Eureka Street. 9 (7): 7. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. ↑ Colvin, Mark; Epstein, Rafael (6 August 1999). "Defence dismissal goes to court" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio). Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Barratt, Paul (19 August 1999). "Paul Barratt returns to work". 730 (Interview: transcript). Interviewed by Kerry O'Brien. ABC TV. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Reynolds, Fiona (28 July 1999). "Defence head gains injunction" (transcript). AM (ABC Radio). Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Colvin, Mark; Reynolds, Fiona (31 August 1999). "Barratt sacked" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio). Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  11. ↑ Colvin, Mark; Reynolds, Fiona (10 March 2000). "Barrett loses appeal against dismissal" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio). Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Tingle, Laura; Riordan, Primrose (24 November 2015). "Martin Parkinson returns as Australia's most senior bureaucrat". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Gillard, Julia (4 August 2011). "Departmental Secretaries". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  14. ↑ Bettles, Colin (18 September 2013). "Metcalfe sacked from DAFF". Farm Weekly. Western Australia: Fairfax Agricultural Media. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Packham, Ben (18 September 2013). "Tony Abbott puts broom through bureaucracy". The Australian. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  16. ↑ Abbott, Tony (3 September 2014). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
  17. ↑ Gillard, Julia (8 February 2013). "Appointment of Departmental Secretary". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  18. 1 2 Gillard, Julia (17 September 2012). "Diplomatic Appointment and Appointment of Secretaries of the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  19. ↑ Cabinet, Department of the Prime Minister and (10 March 2016). "Dr Michele Bruniges AM".
  20. ↑ "Associate Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries". Department of Education. Commonwealth of Australia. October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Secretary". Department of Employment. Commonwealth of Australia. October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  22. ↑ Martin Bowles PSM: Secretary of the Department of Health, Department of Health, 13 October 2014, archived from the original on 2 November 2014
  23. ↑ "Australia's New Chief Medical Officer Announced". Department of Health and Ageing (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Secretary of the Department of Human Services". Department of Human Services. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  25. ↑ Morrison, Scott (2 October 2014). "Appointment of the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and CEO of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service" (Press release). Archived from the original on 1 November 2014.
  26. ↑ Rudd, Kevin (15 May 2009). "Appointment of Departmental Secretary". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "Organisation Charts". Department of Social Services. Commonwealth of Australia. October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  28. ↑ Balogh, Stefanie; Kelly, Joe (21 December 2010). "Ken Henry's Treasury replacement to be climate department head Martin Parkinson". The Australian. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  29. ↑ "Our structure". Department of Veterans' Affairs. Commonwealth of Australia. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
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