Vanessa is a research psychologist and Director with 18 years of experience in the Australian Public Service (APS) across Defence and the Australian Public Service Commission. During her time at Defence, Vanessa led research covering military recruitment and retention, cultural reform, mental health, diversity, and organisational leadership. Since joining the APSC in 2021, she has held Director roles responsible for APS-wide workforce data reporting and research to inform APS workforce policies and strategies.

A 2024 Senate inquiry noted a need for research on whether menopausal symptoms may prompt women to reduce work hours, change job roles, forego promotion or leave work altogether. Vanessa’s research aims to explore this within the APS, and to uncover factors that may help workplaces to address this. She hopes that outcomes from her research will help the APS to maximise the potential of this experienced and important cohort.

View Mitchell's scholarship summary poster.

Mitchell is a proud Kamilaroi man, born in Tamworth NSW.

Mitchell commenced in the Australian Public Service in 2010, working for Services Australia (formerly Department of Human Services), and was part of the agency’s first intake of the Indigenous Apprenticeship Program. Mitchell’s apprenticeship was front-line service delivery, assisting Australians in accessing essential social welfare payments and services.

After four years, Mitchell relocated from his home community, Tweed Heads NSW, to Canberra to further pursue his public service career. Since moving to Canberra, Mitchell worked in a variety of roles such as: Team Leader of front-line service delivery staff, Assistant Director/Director, leading governance and coordination teams; Departmental Liaison Officer, a conduit between the Minister’s office and Services Australia; Executive Officer, supporting senior executive with strategic and operational matters; Ministerial Adviser, advising Ministers on various portfolio matters. In each role held, Mitchell has advocated for creating opportunities for Indigenous people.

Mitchell has a passion for leadership and commenced in the Pat Turner Scholarship Program in Semester 2 2023, studying a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, specialising in leadership.

Kylie Bishop is a Bundjalung woman from northern NSW. She grew up in the bush where her love for Country originated. Kylie has worked in the public service for over 25 years in various roles, working on environmental issues including First Nations matters and is devoted to the wellbeing of others. Kylie has worked on First Nations Water, cultural capability and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.  

Kylie is completing a Master Arts, Indigenous Knowledge at Charles Darwin University. Her interest in linking First Nations knowledge with Western science and how we can incorporate First Nations research methodologies into policy development. Her passion lies in bridging Indigenous knowledge with Western science to enhance policy making. By integrating Indigenous knowledge into departmental work in a culturally respectful and practical manner, Kylie aims to improve environmental stewardship and foster positive intergenerational change for Indigenous communities.

Conrad is a Director in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Over his 15 year career in the Australian Public Service, Conrad has contributed to the development of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, the Emissions Reduction Fund, the National Energy Guarantee, the Safeguard Mechanism, and transport emissions policy. Conrad also worked on the 2008 and 2011 Garnaut Climate Change Reviews.

Through his PhD research at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, Conrad is examining factors that support upscaling the stringency of countries’ climate change mitigation policy instruments. During his PhD candidature, Conrad has represented The Australian National University at the 2024 Raisina-IE Global Student Challenge in India, and contributed as an author to the World Bank’s 2024 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing Report.

Lynette has worked in the public service for over 30 years in in a range of areas including population health, sport, mental health, disability, aged care, agriculture, family and advocacy services; in both program and policy roles. Lynette has worked overseas, in regional areas and was outposted to state government where she was responsible for fostering closer ties between the Commonwealth and the state. Prior to commencing the scholarship she was overseeing hospital programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Lynette’s research will examine the positive and negative impacts of hybrid work on workers and managers and what they need to ensure these arrangements foster wellbeing, knowledge sharing, team cohesion and productivity. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of these types of arrangements will help to set best practice public policy for Australian workplaces.

Lynette has previously completed tertiary studies in social work, legal studies, sociology and public health.

Anthony works at the Department of Social Services, contributing to the design and integration of performance and partnership functions under the Department of Social Services Grants Hub. He has over 20 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service, spanning several portfolios including Industry, Education, Health, Social Services and the Australian Public Service Commission. Seventeen of these years have been dedicated to working in Indigenous Australian policy and program delivery areas.

Anthony’s research uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the values and priorities that drive decision making by Australia’s federal public servants as they make critical choices about public spending (through grants) for social welfare.

Fiona joined the APS in 2002, working as a psychologist across both state and federal government. Fiona’s experiences have broadly focused on risk assessment and driven her interest in better understanding extremist violence. She is passionate about applying research to real-world contexts and improving evidence-based knowledge to inform decision making. 

Fiona’s doctoral research investigates the use of structured professional judgement to indirectly, but reliably, identify, triage and manage risk associated with extremist violence. Being able to better differentiate factors salient to risk in an Australian context provides opportunities for early identification, intervention and disengagement.

Through her research, Anna Fieldhouse considers the regulatory governance of welfare services and the role of civil society as intermediaries representing marginalised welfare service users. Her PhD thesis looks at regulatory governance eco-systems as a way of understanding how actors come together to drive or impede reform, how discourses move across governance spaces. Her thesis raises normative questions about whether the democratic ideals of representation and participation embedded governance sites are realised in the regulatory welfare state.

Anna's research focuses on two regulatory communities – disability and aged care in Australia. It draws evidence from civil society submissions to recent Australian Royal Commissions into the abuse and neglect to identify governance narratives and networks. Interviews with civil society leaders adds to the empirical study examining the mechanisms and processes of representation used to bring the voice of marginalised welfare service users into the regulation of critical social services. Her research takes a normative case study approach to shed light on the democratic ideals that are little challenged in non-majoritarian governance environments.

Anna has extensive experience in social policy design, including in the development of responsive regulatory systems. She holds a position as Policy Director in the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS). Her career has included policy and operational leadership roles in government and non-government organisations in the homelessness, domestic violence, mental health and disability sectors. Anna’s more recent focus has been on designing regulatory systems for welfare services, including developing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission, established in 2018.

Troy is a proud Wonnarua man from the Hunter Valley region in NSW. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as a Corporate Graduate in 2011. He has held various corporate enabling roles in DFAT including in finance and human resources, as well as consular and passports service delivery. Troy has also been posted overseas to Bangkok and Kabul. Most recently, he was Assistant Director, Financial Policy in Finance Division. He is an Associate Member of CPA Australia, aiming to attain full membership status by the end of 2024.

Troy is completing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ANU. His interest in this space was reignited through his CPA study and while working to support Indigenous business engagement with DFAT.

Ronald has worked in the public service for the past 20 years, for agencies in Canberra and at the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) managing programs that deliver natural resource management across the Torres Strait Region. His most recent role at the TSRA involved working in the Governance and Leadership program managing legislative processes and policies, supporting effective regional communication, and coordinating the integration of the delivery of government services to the region.

Through the Pat Turner scholarship and Master of Public Policy program at CDU, Ronald will look for opportunities and pathways to help him gain a deeper understanding of complex policy, especially arrangements and implementation in the Northern Australian context. In addition, he will explore how policy arrangements can improve essential and critical service delivery in the Torres Strait, improving the lives of Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people in the region.

James is a Special Counsel at the National Indigenous Australians Agency and has worked in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio for over six years, primarily practicing in public law. During this time, he has led teams of lawyers to advise on major legislative reforms (including to native title, land rights and higher education) and the design and establishment of new statutory bodies and reparatory schemes. He has also managed significant litigation on behalf of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

Australian public law requires some Indigenous entities to make decisions in accordance with traditional processes. James’ research will critically map and evaluate how Australia’s public law and institutional framework accommodates traditional decision-making in Indigenous entities and recommend where this can be improved.

Emma joined the Attorney-General’s Department in 2011 and has worked in a variety of legal policy roles across native title, constitutional law and human rights. In that time, Emma has provided advice to government on the implications of native title litigation, including a number of complex appellate matters. Emma prepared and was a member of the Australian delegation that appeared before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2017. She also prepared the delegation for its appearance before the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2019.

Emma’s research will explore women’s experiences of discriminatory job loss, including its contributing causes and the effectiveness of current prevention and redress schemes. The research will analyse mechanisms that hold potential for addressing discriminatory job loss, including measures implemented in comparable jurisdictions and any barriers or enablers to their effective implementation in the Australian context.

Josh is a Senior Analyst in the Trials Research and Evaluation Team within the Employment Evaluation Branch at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). Within this role, he’s been working with administrative data as part of several randomised controlled trials that evaluate the effectiveness of Australia’s online employment services settings. Prior to joining DEWR, Josh worked in Treasury’s microdata team where his labour market analysis supported several budgets, the participation chapter of the 2023 Intergenerational Report, and the Employment White Paper.

Josh’s thesis will focus on place-based inequality in the Australian labour market. He will explore how communities experience economic transition, and the ways that local industry structure and employer characteristics influence the wages and employment opportunities available to individuals. The use of administrative data – including ALIFE and PLIDA/BLADE – for this research will add a more detailed and precise understanding of these issues, supporting improved policy design and targeting. Josh hopes that his research will help support cross-agency efforts to target entrenched disadvantage, promoting policies which boost regional resilience and support those cohorts who are most vulnerable in the labour market.

Timothy joined the Australian Public Service in 2009 and has seen first-hand the importance of good policy and how it impacts the lives of Australians. He has a vested interest in discussions on social and Indigenous policy. Timothy brings to the table a unique perspective in relation to public policy that will have an impact on the people closest to him.

Through his PhD research, Timothy will examine Australian Public Service data governance frameworks and practices. With this knowledge, he will explore how the Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles can be applied to an Indigenous Data Governance model for the Australian Public Service. The research will contribute to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's socioeconomic outcomes by moving towards economic empowerment and forming a pathway to self-determination. 

View Jennifer's scholarship summary poster.

Jennifer is a Senior Adviser in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s National Security and International Policy Group. Jennifer has experience advising government on a range of cross-cutting policy issues, including foreign interference, critical infrastructure, international defence engagement, and counter-terrorism.

Jennifer’s research will examine US-China competition for leadership over advanced and emerging technologies, and the implications for US allies including Australia. The findings of Jennifer’s research will inform the development of a policy framework which integrates security, economic and social considerations, and supports government decision-making in the long-term national interest.

Jennifer holds a Master of National Security Policy from the ANU’s National Security College. She was awarded First Class Honours and the University Medal for her research on urbanisation in India, as part of her Bachelor of Liberal Studies at Sydney University.

Kelsie is a proud Wiradjuri woman with a career at Services Australia spanning over a decade. Since commencing in 2010, she has worked across service delivery, welfare modernisation, project management, and digital transformation. Passionate about creating accessible and inclusive government services, Kelsie has a strong focus on human-centred research and design, informed by firsthand experience of the challenges people face when navigating complex government systems.

In Semester 2 2024, Kelsie began her Pat Turner Scholarship, undertaking a Masters of Anthropology and Planetary Futures. Her studies have explored what it means to be human, from cultural practices and daily rituals to the power structures, policy, and technology that shape our lives. Her postgraduate studies have deepened her commitment to designing services that are not only effective and efficient, but also equitable, just, and grounded in lived experience.

Kelsie will return to Services Australia July 2025, eager to apply her insights at the intersection of technology and anthropology. She is dedicated to co-designing culturally safe, accessible services that centre Indigenous voices and support self-determination.

Genna’s policy experience has focused on geostrategic issues in our region, including advising on Australia’s relationship with ASEAN and the Quad, and a posting to Bangkok. She also has trade policy experience, including in the Office of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Her combination of expertise sparked her interest in the increasing intersection between trade, foreign and security policy. She speaks Thai and Japanese.

Genna’s PhD thesis aims to draw lessons for Australia on ways our close partner, Japan, is managing geoeconomic dynamics. Her thesis will examine how Japanese industry has responded to geopolitical risks and the Japanese Government’s economic security policies. She plans to evaluate policy options for Australia to manage geoeconomic risks and will identify opportunities for Australia and Japan to enhance cooperation on geoeconomic issues.

Stuart joined the Department of Health and Aged Care as a Director in 2018, bringing with him 20 years' experience across the spectrum of health provision both in Australia and overseas. Most recently, His work has focused on blood borne viruses, sexually transmissible infections and Torres Strait health policy. Stuart holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy, a Master of Health Services Management and is a Fellow with the Australasian College of Health Services Management. He is a reservist officer in the Australian Army.

Stuart's research will examine the models of care across Australia for testing, treatment and prevention of sexually transmissible infections with a particular focus on congenital syphilis. Stuart hopes to use this research to then implement new policy and fulfil the government's aim to eliminate congenital syphilis and eliminate sexually transmissible infections as a public health threat.

Aaron is an economist with over a decade of experience in economic policy and applied research roles across Treasury, the Productivity Commission and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. His most recent role was as a Director leading a team of economists and data analysts conducting research on the infrastructure portfolio’s key strategic priorities. Aaron has experience across a wide range of public policy topics, including indirect tax, productivity measurement, veterans’ affairs, foreign investment, competition policy, aviation policy, transportation decarbonisation, and regional policy.

Aaron’s PhD research employs quantitative approaches to examine how work from home arrangements impact labour market outcomes. Aaron’s project is focused on the effect that work from home and remote work arrangements have on career progression and life outcomes for employees in the public and private sectors, as well as the indirect effects on regional economies and housing markets.

Andrew is from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. He is a 2015 Churchill Fellow and has worked in safety, health and environmental policy development, governance, planning and evaluation.

Andrew’s thesis seeks to describe the role of the public service in stewarding policy outcomes. His research examines the tension between linear accountability and multi-dimensional accounts of policy that engage with uncertainty and contradictory evidence in thinning markets. This is the location of ‘policy crafting’, which was heightened during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrew is examining the problem across regional thin market challenges to understand how policy analysis supports delivery of outcomes through uncertainty.  

Since joining the Department of the Environment in 2007, Eliza has contributed to a wide range of biodiversity and climate change policies, from national parks and forests to light bulbs and landfills. In this, Eliza played an instrumental role in the design of Australia’s Carbon Farming Initiative. Eliza has also worked as the director of International Climate Change Negotiations at the Department of the Environment and Energy. She is currently the acting General Manager at the Climate Change Authority.

Her research investigates inter-governmental cooperation on carbon markets and whether emissions trading could contribute to a more coordinated and effective global response to the threat of climate change.

Agnieszka has worked for various agencies in the Australian Public Service and in the UK Department for Work and Pensions. Her experience is in the area of social policy development, research and evaluation. In the UK, she lead a team of economists, social researchers and statisticians to deliver groundbreaking research to support policy development. At the Department of Social Services, Agnieszka works on strengthening the Department’s research and evaluation capability and culture. To do this, she developed and Evidence Strategy and established an International What Works in Social Policy Working Group between DSS and the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK.

Agnieszka’s research includes an examination of income support dynamics among vulnerable Australian youth, with a focus on changing economic conditions and welfare to work reforms. She is also a Fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy and a Board Member of the Foundation for International Studies on Social Security (FISS).

Since starting as a graduate at Comcare in 2011, Holly’s work experience has spanned corporate and enabling functions, specialising in strategy formulation, governance and evaluation frameworks, and non-financial performance measurement design. Prior to commencing as a Sir Roland Wilson Scholar, she was the Director Governance, Planning and Performance at the Department of Finance.

Holly’s PhD research program examines the drivers of meaningful Australian Public Service (APS) non-financial performance reporting, and how the service may move from reporting for regulatory compliance to commitment to regulatory intent. Holly’s research explores the roles regulatory accountability tools play in shaping APS perceptions of accountability requirements’ value, cultures, and entity responses. Holly’s research aims to mitigate unintended consequences of accountability reforms and harness positive drivers to support the APS’ desire to achieve the highest standards of integrity and performance.

Heidi is a proud Wakka Wakka and Gubbi Gubbi woman born in Brisbane, Queensland.

After leaving school at 13, she returned to education, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the allied health field. In 2015, she entered the Australian Public Service as an APS2 via the Indigenous Apprenticeships Program, going on to complete the National Graduate Program. She is an Assistant Director in the National Indigenous Australians Agency with years of experience in the HR space in inclusion and diversity, entry level programs, and First Nations employment.

Both of Heidi’s grandmothers are survivors of the Stolen Generations, and it is their story of resilience after losing connection to family, identity, land, language, and culture that ignites her passion for inclusive policy. As a Pat Turner scholar studying a Master of Public Policy, she intends to give back to the APS, working to create and implement policy built on inclusiveness, empowerment, and shaped by the voices of those it affects.

Dolly Nye is a Walbunga/Yuin woman from Mogo on the New South Wales south coast.

Dolly moved from her home town to Canberra and began her career in the APS in 1993. She has forged a career in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs across the areas of diversity and inclusion, employment entry programs, policy, program, contract management, and relationship management.

In her most recent position in the Office of the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner, Dolly is responsible for managing external engagements and consultations with aged care providers and services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, older people, and their carers and families.

Through her experiences as a carer for her mother, Dolly saw firsthand the challenges her Elders, older people, families, carers, and communities face when accessing and navigating the aged care system.

Dolly will undertake a Master of Project Management at ANU, including a research project on navigating culturally safe aged care.

Ben is an experienced economist and international lawyer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), with specialist expertise in geoeconomics and economic security. Ben has represented the Australian Government overseas in Mexico City, The Hague and Beijing, and served as legal advisor for Australia in two major international disputes. He holds an MSc Economics from the London School of Economics and joins ANU from DFAT's Geoeconomics Unit, where he played a leading role in building government policy on economic security and shaping Australian strategy at the intersection of economics and strategic competition. Ben's PhD research uses economic methodologies to define economic security risks and explain variation in countries' policy preferences.

Aiden is a proud Murawari man, who was raised on Wiradjuri country in Dubbo NSW. Aiden commenced his public service career in 2019 at the Department of Agriculture after completing a dual Bachelor of Agribusiness and Applied Science majoring in equine management. He joined the Department of Finance in 2020 in the budget group and has worked across infrastructure, emergency management and home affairs portfolio's where he supported key government responses during COVID-19, the 2022 flood season and more recently on immigration and visa policies.

Aiden aims to use the Master of Project Management from The Australian National University to acquire specialised knowledge and skills in the area of project management to support the implementation of APS-wide project governance, and portfolio management and major projects delivery. Aiden also aspires to support the creation of a dedicated project management stream within the APS to ensure leading edge thinking on management practice, policy design, implementing and evaluating policies is readily available in-house.

Thaarramali Pearson is a Bama Bagarrmuguwarra from the Kalpowar, Jeannie River and Starke region of Cape York.

Thaarramali commenced his public sector career in the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in early 2016. Since 2018, Thaarramali has been actively involved in shaping significant Commonwealth policies, supporting reforms in apprenticeships from both the central agency and line agency perspectives. Thaarramali’s substantive role is as a Director in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, where he develops complex financial and behavioural modelling to inform Australian apprenticeship policy development. Since 2022, Thaarramali has been working remotely from Cape York.

Thaarramali is undertaking a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at the Australian National University. Through the MPA, he intends to broaden his public administration capability and explore potential future research topics relating to Commonwealth budget process and policy development.

Tracey is a proud Gomeroi yinnar hailing from the North West region of New South Wales.

Tracey started within the Australian Public Service in 2019, where she found her niche at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. In her role within the Research and Development Tax Incentive Division, she provides expert assessment to support company innovation and progress. With a keen eye for detail and a steadfast commitment to excellence, she ensures that cutting-edge ideas are not only nurtured but also strategically harnessed to drive economic growth.

Fuelling her endeavours is an unwavering commitment to positive transformation. Tracey has embarked on a quest for knowledge, pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Tracey is on a mission to interlace First Nations perspectives into the fabric of both domestic and international policy development. With unwavering determination and a profound understanding of cultural nuances, she aspires to forge a more inclusive and equitable future.

Monty is on leave from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), where his last assignment was as deputy head of mission in Baghdad. He has also previously served with DFAT in Jakarta, Baghdad and New York. In Canberra he has worked on international issues in a range of policy and analytical roles, including most recently on initiatives to advance economic ties with India.

Monty’s PhD research examines Indonesia’s approach to defence policy in an era of increased strategic competition.

Sharon is Principal Behavioural Scientist and Director of the Behavioural Science Unit at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

For nearly a decade, Sharon has played a leadership role in promoting the use of behavioural science to put people at the centre of public policy.

Despite a range of inclusion initiatives, APS employees who identify as living with disability have lower rates of promotion at all levels, even when controlling for experience and education. Research is needed to better understand barriers to promotion and the under-representation of this cohort in leadership positions. Sharon’s research will employ a unique behavioural science and mixed methods approach to examine barriers and enablers, and develop an evidence-based behavioural intervention that can be applied across the APS to help crack the promotion ceiling and improve career equity for workers living with disability.

Bec is a proud Wiradjuri woman born and raised In Wagga Wagga NSW. Bec commenced her public service career in 2014, in service delivery at Services Australia. She joined the Department of Environment and Energy as a graduate in 2017 after completing a Bachelor of Environmental Science. She has also worked for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, with a focus on improving Indigenous Engagement and Partnerships in the Murray-Darling Basin. 

Bec aims to use the Master of Arts to gain a better understanding of Indigenous Engagement and Policy development in different contexts across Australia, and use these learnings to support the Australian Public Service to enhance Indigenous engagement practices.

Carrie has worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) since 2010. Most recently, she was a Director in the Data Integration Services Branch, leading a team of data engineers to build, maintain and enhance the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA, formerly known as MADIP). In this role, Carrie oversaw significant expansion and enhancement of PLIDA to increase the frequency and timeliness of data updates and improve the usability of the data for researchers.

Through her work at the ABS, Carrie developed an appreciation of some common challenges experienced by government and academic researchers working with data from PLIDA. This inspired the topic of Carrie’s PhD research in the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at ANU, which aims to develop methods to identify cohorts of interest in integrated data assets such as PLIDA. Carrie hopes this work will assist government researchers to make better use of PLIDA for policy formulation and evaluation.

Jami-Lee is a proud Biripi woman born and raised on Biripi country, NSW.

She has been working for the Australian Public Service for 11 years – starting her career in Services Australia as an Indigenous apprentice. Shortly after finishing the apprenticeship, Jami-Lee commenced a Bachelor of Social Work and her commitment to service and her agency were recognised through being awarded an internal Indigenous scholarship. She was then successful in securing a place in the agency’s national graduate program and has been working on country, as a Services Australia Social Worker for the past four years.

Jami-Lee is studying a Master of Public Policy through Charles Darwin University and has a passion for policies that apply to First Nations peoples. She is an essential agent of change who is committed to influencing the policies, programs and services that directly impact the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Dana joined the Australian Public Service in 2014, bringing with her over ten years’ experience in social policy and gender equality both domestically and abroad. Dana has worked internationally in the UK, US, Asia and the Pacific for government, non-government organisations, and social enterprise. Outside of her work, Dana has sat on several Boards whose mission is to eradicate gender based violence and to promote gender equality.

Dana’s research will examine Australian fathers' roles in the gender divide in paid work and care. By identifying the prevalence and nature of discrimination and stigma against men with caring responsibilities, Dana hopes to use this as an untapped lever to advance gender equality. Research on the ‘fatherhood penalty’ will significantly help to improve outcomes for working dads, reduce parental work-life conflict, help organisations to manage the future of work, assist Australia to prepare for the increased caring required as a result of our ageing population, address the gender pay gap, and ultimately improve family life for parents and children.

Dana holds a Master of Politics and Public Policy from Macquarie University, a Master of Human Rights from the University of Sydney, a qualifying Masters of Social Work from James Cook University, and a Bachelor of Social Science from Sunshine Coast University. She has been awarded numerous academic medals, a Vice Chancellor's Commendation, and a High Distinction for her Master's thesis on women and gender equality.

Jennifer is a registered psychologist who commenced work with the Department of Defence in 2001. Between 2001 and 2010 Jennifer undertook the roles of Research Psychologist and Senior Research Psychologist within the Psychology Research and Technology Group, with responsibility for Personnel Selection Research. She was an Australian representative on The Technical Cooperation Program (a collaborative five-nation forum) between 2004 and 2010.  In 2010, Jennifer commenced in the role of Director Navy Psychology, within Navy Health Services. In this role, she managed and oversaw the delivery of psychology services in Navy, in addition to the development of psychology policy and programs.

Jennifer’s PhD research examines Post Traumatic Growth (PTG), following exposure to a traumatic event. This research will measure the level of PTG literacy in an Australian population, in addition to identifying key predictive factors of growth following exposure to trauma. This knowledge will inform the development and subsequent trial of a preventative PTG psychoeducational program to promote growth and wellbeing, in the aftermath of a future traumatic event.

Jackson is a proud Wiradjuri man, born in Blacktown NSW.

Jackson joined the Australian Public Service (APS) in the Department of the Treasury as a graduate in 2019 after completing a Bachelor of Arts with a Bachelor of Commerce at Macquarie University.

During his time in the APS, Jackson has worked in various policy roles which includes the topics of competition, energy, corporate and international tax as well as commonwealth-state relations. In September 2022, Jackson joined the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the First Nations Policy Branch, working on Closing the Gap.

Jackson is undertaking a Master of Public Administration at ANU and is interested in exploring procedural policy more broadly to understand if there are more effective methods the APS can use to develop policy, especially for disadvantaged communities. While undertaking this study, Jackson hopes to develop the leadership and communication skills to be the effective advocate for systemic change that he strives to be.

Nu Nu joined the Department of Treasury in 2005 and has a broad range of experience across tax policy and legislation as well as macroeconomic policy, modelling and forecasting. She has also worked in the Department in Industry’s business tax incentives area and at the ANU Crawford School as a research fellow. Nu Nu led the BHP’s macroeconomic team in Singapore to develop a new forecasting system to underpin commodity price forecasts, and worked in the World Bank’s macroeconomic modelling team in Washington DC.  

Nu Nu’s research will leverage administrative datasets to look at business investment and the labour market in Australia. First, the research will examine the effectiveness of business tax policies in achieving macroeconomic stabilisation objectives and increasing business investment, taking explicit account of firm heterogeneity. Second, the research will look at intersectionality in the Australian labour market, including analysing the impact of diversity on promotion and wage outcomes.