Nuala Bethell has been appointed Assistant Secretary Implementation in the Department of Defence. Matt Garbutt has been appointed CEO of the Australian Energy Regulator. Photos: LinkedIn & Australian Energy Regulator.
A breakdown of the latest appointments and moves in the Australian Public Service, the wider public sector and across the public services of the states and territories.
APS Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Nuala Bethell has been appointed Assistant Secretary Implementation in the Department of Defence.
Jennifer Perrin has been promoted to general manager, Privacy Case Management in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Lachlan McGovern has been promoted to a Band 1 role in the Department of Defence’s Defence Intelligence Group.
Band 2
Simon Quarrell has been appointed deputy chief executive officer (CEO), Digital Investment Advice and Sourcing in the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).
Robert Day has been promoted to First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Jacqueline Hrast has been appointed as group manager, Family Wellbeing in the Department of Social Services.
Band 3
Matt Garbutt has been appointed as CEO of the Australian Energy Regulator in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Other federal appointments
Graeme Head has been appointed as the new CEO of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for a three-year term, to succeed Rebecca Falkingham from 24 November.
The NDIA says Mr Head brings decades of experience in public administration and social policy to the role.
He previously served as the inaugural National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commissioner from 2018 to 2021, and is currently secretary of the NSW Department of Customer Service.
As CEO of the NDIA, he will be responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the agency, including administration of the NDIS.
Julie-Ann Guivarra has been appointed as the next CEO of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) for a five-year term from 1 December.
The government says Ms Guivarra — an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman — is a proven senior leader within the Australian Public Service and has been a senior executive with the NIAA since 2021.
During her time with the NIAA, Ms Guivarra has led the coordination of Commonwealth policy development, program design, and implementation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She has been acting as CEO since August 2025.
She has also held several senior positions at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, being the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia as an ambassador when she served as Ambassador to Spain, Andorra and Equatorial Guinea from July 2018 to January 2020, and from March 2020 as Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality.
Shaun Angeles Penangke has been appointed to the National Cultural Heritage Committee for a three-year term.
Mr Angeles Penangke, an Indigenous man of Arrente, Gurindji, Kungarakan and Waramunga heritage, will join a committee that advises the government on matters of cultural heritage, including whether permits should be provided to enable the export of items of cultural significance.
Julie-Ann Guivarra has been appointed as the next CEO of the National Indigenous Australians Agency. Graeme Head has been appointed as the new CEO of the National Disability Insurance Agency. Photos: LinkedIn & NSW Government.
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on PS News.
