Patricia is a Meriam Neur (Meriam woman), from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. Her family lineage is primarily from the Meriam and Dauareb clans on Mer (Murray) and Dauar Islands. Her professional career has been expansive. Over the past 18 years she has worked in a variety of business and management roles in local and state government agencies in Queensland, focussing on community services and operational service delivery.

Most recently, she has worked for the Commonwealth Department of Health in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs, service delivery, policy formulation and implementation spaces. Her goal as a leader and as a Pat Turner Scholar is to ensure the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations’ peoples directly inform, shape and influence national health policy for all Indigenous Australians.

Peter joined the APS in 2012. He has provided advice on program design, program management, strategic policy and regulatory administration for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. While doing this, Peter has embedded strategies to enhance Indigenous outcomes across the breadth of his work.

Peter is using his postgraduate study to continue to enhance Indigenous outcomes by applying economics to policy formulation and evaluation. He is also hoping to develop embedded understanding of issues involved in the coordination of economic policies, and better analyse the economic effects of policy changes and communicate them to a public, business or government audience.

Cris works at the Department of Education, Skill and Employment. He leads a team responsible for reporting and overseeing state and federal government investment in the vocational education and training sector. The first ten years of Cris’ public service career focused on Indigenous employment and economic development, policy development and program implementation. More recently, Cris has worked in strategic policy and corporate governance roles.

Studying a Master of Leadership, Cris is looking to extend his knowledge and understanding of the complex systems and relationships that drive organisational performance. Through his studies, Cris will be exploring how emerging organisational performance frameworks and leadership models can best be applied in the public service context, helping to ensure the APS retains its ongoing relevance to both the government of the day and to the public it serves.

Lisa has worked for the Australian Government for the past 15 years in a variety of roles, including service delivery, social work, community engagement, fraud prevention and human resource policy. Lisa has been recognised by her department for her work helping them better communicate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers and by the APS more broadly for her research and development of the Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness program for social workers.

Lisa’s research will focus on applying cultural responsiveness to policy design to enable innovative solutions to closing the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She hopes to identify opportunities and strategies to improve the cultural responsiveness of the APS.

Anna has been a social policy director in the Department of Social Services since 2016. She previously spent many years working for government and non-government welfare services in the homelessness, domestic violence, mental health and disability sectors. Anna’s current focus has been on regulatory systems for welfare services. Most recently, she led work to develop the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission, which was established in 2018.

Anna’s involvement in NDIS policy has informed her research topic, with a particular focus on the regulatory implications in welfare models, which include consumer-directed funding. Her thesis will examine how consumers of welfare services interact with a regulatory system and whether their representative civil society organisations become regulatory actors. The research will use a case study approach to construct network/node models, comparing the impact of consumers on welfare regulation in Australia to other, more mature commodified care markets in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Cathy joined the Australian Public Service in 2001. Since then, she has had a broad range of policy and program roles in the health portfolio in the areas of primary care, legislation, performance reporting, and data analytics. More recently, Cathy’s work has focused on big data strategy. She co-led the establishment of the Social Health and Welfare Analytic Unit, in partnership with colleagues from the Departments of Education and Social Services. She also led Health’s cross-portfolio engagement on big data analytics projects through the Data Integration Partnership for Australia. Prior to joining the public service, Cathy was a medical researcher at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.

Cathy’s research focuses on how to fast-track governments’ ability to translate big linked data into policy and social impact. She aims to uncover the critical conditions and elements of policy analytics and how these can be embedded within the data system and APS processes, roles and organisational structures.

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.

Prior to joining the Department of Health in 2010, Katrina worked on clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies both nationally and internationally. Whilst working for government, she has helped patients with rare, life-threatening conditions to access effective treatments; improve the sustainability of future PBS drug supply via pricing reviews; increase patient access to new and expanded pharmacy programs and protect public health through the scheduling of medicines and poisons.

Katrina’s research aims to evaluate the impacts of current medicines policy, regulatory processes, prescriber behaviour and clinical guideline content on ‘off-label’ prescribing and the potential repurposing of medicines. Australian and international policy perspectives will be studied. Katrina will use a mixed-methods approach to investigate factors that influence decision making in order to inform future policy development.

Adina joined the Public Service as a graduate in 1999, working in a range of offices across the Human Services and Social Services portfolios. She has worked in the Department of Social Services on family policy and in the department’s program performance reporting area. Adina has also worked across strategic, corporate and program areas in high level projects.

Adina will undertake a masters by coursework with a focus on public policy. In her study, Adina will consider the influence public policy has on complex policy systems, the trends shaping leaders and levers for guiding decision making and leadership. This study will enhance Adina’s previous study and broad work experience.

Michelle has spent the past decade working on climate change policy for the Australian Government. She most recently worked in the International Climate Change Branch of the Department of the Environment and Energy, where she led the global analytics function and supported Australia’s involvement in the G20 Climate and Sustainability Working Group. She was an emerging leader at the 2017 EU-Australia Leadership Forum and an inaugural recipient of the 2019 JWLand research fellowship for the ANU Grand Challenge Zero Carbon Energy in the Asia-Pacific. Her research will focus on the opportunities and risks for Australia’s energy exporting regions under the Paris Agreement.

Andrew comes 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. Through this experience Andrew has developed a passion for understanding how to prioritise policy investment and conditions that sustain long term benefits to builds public trust in policy making.

Andrew’s PhD seeks to establish how government reforms in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore influence and inform policy investment and decisions in different contexts over time. Through comparative analysis this project will build a model for a systematic understanding of policy investment and benefits that provides a whole-of-government lens to policy prioritisation and evaluation.

Claire is a proud Torres Strait woman who grew up on Badu Island. In 2007, Claire moved to Canberra to work at the Department of Education, Science and Training. She has worked in Indigenous affairs for the last 12 years.

Claire currently works at the National Indigenous Australians Agency and leads the Teaching and Learning Policy Team. She is responsible for the development of policy and strategies to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students through national leadership and management of a number of flagship government initiatives.

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.

In his role in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Martin plays a key role advancing Australia’s sustainable forest management objectives in the Asia-Pacific region, and promoting the free trade in sustainably and legally harvested wood-based products.

Martin is studying a Master in Forestry, with a view to progressing into a research year to explore the economic and regulatory barriers faced by managers of private and
Indigenous-owned forests that inhibit the commercial utilisation of these forests. Better understanding of these inhibiting factors can lead to potential actions taken by governments at various levels, ultimately enhancing the economic and social prospects of rural, resource-dependent communities.

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.

Deborah currently works at the National Indigenous Australians Agency. She more than 15 years’ experience in the APS, working in contract management, policy and coordination roles. Her most recent position was working in the Indigenous Affairs Group of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, overseeing delivery in the East Kimberley.

Deborah will complete a Master of Public Policy at Charles Darwin University. The Master of Public Policy is designed with a focus on northern contexts that will provide a strong theoretical and practical understanding of the design, implementation and evaluation of public policy in remote, regional, Indigenous and northern contexts.

Therese joined the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (now Group) in 1999. She has helped design, develop and deliver science and technology outcomes to the Austalian Defence Force, which are critical for ensuring capability relevance is maintained in an increasingly complex, ambiguous environment. During that time, she expanded her professional skills by undertaking further biotechnology study, combining a personal passion with improving her ability to contribute to ADF and whole of government options in this rapidly evolving field.

Therese’s doctoral research will investigate new genetic sequencing technologies and complimentary development of bioinformatic tools to improve discovery and monitoring of pathogenic, emerging and engineered viruses of national security concern. These improved capabilities will be critical in informing policy and response development for known and emerging pathogens, contributing to the whole-of-government ability to avert catastrophic bioterrorism events or minimise their impact.

Craig joined the Department of Human Services in 2016, having worked in four other APS departments and agencies and the ACT Government over a period of 20 years. With experience across policy, program administration and human resources in central, state and regional roles, Craig has purposely remained in Indigenous Affairs throughout his career.

Craig’s most recent role in Indigenous Employment Strategies has focused on positioning Services Australia as an employer of choice for Indigenous employees. Craig’s has combined his professional experience, qualifications in strategic HR, and interest in cultural proficiency in his research. Craig’s research will use a mixed methods approach to investigate where unconscious bias impacts practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment in the Australian Public Service. With his research, Craig’s wants to turn the organisational focus inward by investigating how Australian Government bureaucracy functions from a culturally proficient perspective.

Steve has worked at the Department of Human Services since 2004. He most recently worked in the Assessment Services Branch, with responsibility for health & allied health professionals who undertook job capacity and employment service assessments, as well as specialist professional assessments in Northern Australia, North, Central and South East QLD. Steve’s background is in forensic psychology, having worked and studied in various forensic environments both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Steve’s previous postgraduate studies have been in the areas of Cognitive Neuroscience, Forensic Psychology and Public Administration. Steve is a proud Bundjalung man with his mob being from Grafton in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.

Steve’s research aims to understand the nature, prevalence and severity of customer violence and aggression perpetrated against frontline APS staff. He’s exploring the factors associated with the risk of violence and aggression through an understanding pre-incident factors, including staff and customer behaviour, as well as operational and physical environments. His research uses a multi-phased, mixed methods approach. He hopes the outcome of this research will determine what factors or responses are most promising in preventing aggression and deliver an evidence based to develop proactive risk mitigation polices that could reduce the number of physical and psychological injuries incurred by public servants.

Timothy joined the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2015.  Between 2015 and 2019, Timothy supported the Prime Minister’s engagement in the G20; was the Australian Government’s lead representative on the G20 Digital Economy Taskforce; and undertook secondments to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, the Policy Evaluation Branch in the Indigenous Affairs Group, and the Office for Women. He has published original economic research with colleagues in peer reviewed journals and conference volumes, and presented at numerous conferences. Prior to joining PM&C, Timothy spent almost a decade providing advice on multinational taxation, economic and financial policy in the Commonwealth Treasury, the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and in the private sector.

Timothy’s research will investigate output and unemployment fiscal multipliers in Australia, and how these vary based on capacity utilisation and the stance of fiscal policy. It will also explore cross-country evidence concerning how multipliers differ based on these factors, with reference to differences in exchange rate regimes, economic openness, government debt, and monetary policy settings.

Penny joined the Australian Public Service in 2010 to work at the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) Authority on the MDB Plan, one of the most significant Australian Government interventions in water policy since Federation. The experience gave her a passion for solving national scale natural resource management problems, combined with an understanding of the challenges of ensuring appropriate regional and state participation in policy solutions.

Penny’s research examines the techniques and strategies governments in federations use to influence each other to adopt and implement water resource management policies. She is taking a particular focus on cases where exploiting fiscal gaps alone has not been sufficient to secure lasting agreement. Penny will use her experience working on the MDB Plan as an initial example comparing it to experiences in the Colorado River Basin in the United States, and the Jucar River Basin in Spain.

Working at the Department of Social Services, Tess provided advice on children’s policy, family policy and programs, homelessness policy, family safety, gambling, welfare quarantining and financial wellbeing.

Tess’s research explores the concept of employability from the perspective of mothers in the social security system. She is also investigating mothers' views on the impacts of family services, such as playgroups and parenting programs. In her thesis, Tess argues many mothers build confidence and social connections through participation in family services which in turn increases their employability, both real and self-perceived.

Joseph began his career in the APS as an ABS graduate in 2001. Prior to starting his PhD, Joseph worked in the Methodology Division and was responsible for data integration, access and confidentiality methodology. Joseph also spent three years in the Economics Directorate at the OECD working on global macro simulation models.

Joseph’s research is analyses complex labour market dynamics to better understand the micro drivers of productivity. He has combined semantic web and network analysis methods to study the connections between firms and employees, and their impacts on productivity. Joseph hopes that his research will shed insights on productivity drivers and help the APS make better use of administrative data.

Joseph has published several ABS working papers.

Szabina Horvath joined the Directorate of Operations and International Law at the Department of Defence in 2009. Szabina has provided advice on detainee management issues, maritime operations, domestic implementation of international legal obligations, gender issues, interrogation doctrine, and a range of other international humanitarian law issues, as well as human rights matters relevant to military operations.

Szabina’s research will examine Australia’s extraterritorial human rights obligations. Specifically, the research will consider Australia’s human rights obligations when engaged in extraterritorial armed conflict, with reference to other extraterritorial situations which may enliven Australia’s human rights obligations. The research will postulate on the means and mechanisms that could reasonably satisfy Australia’s human rights obligations extraterritorially.

Katy joined the public service in 2006 at what is now the Department of Social Services. An interest in the well-being of Indigenous people, particularly in remote areas, led her to take on work for the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in Sydney, and also with the Indigenous Coordination Centre in Darwin. Since 2012, Katy’s work has been on the evaluation and policy development of income management.

Katy’s research will explore the historical, political, social and economic context of the non-attendance of Indigenous primary school-age children in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. It will take a multi-method approach, investigating attendance trends through use of school attendance data, and will use qualitative data to explore, on individual and community levels, the reasons why some policies may, or may not, support or improve school attendance.

Martine has been employed by the Department of Defence since 2007. Her research explores the Australian Defence Force’s strategic approach to mental health and wellbeing and how this influences the development of positive mental health in adults. Martine wants her research to inform the development of policy and interventions so as to promote positive mental health outcomes across the life-course and facilitate healthy transitions across the military lifecycle.

Shane’s research interests include domestic and international tax policy and fiscal policy. His current research is focused on examining taxpayers’ understanding of, and responses to, the Australian taxation system. Shane hopes his research will provide insights for the future design, implementation and administration of the tax system.

Shane has also contributed his time and skills to the Australian Taxation Office to produce the Australian Longitudinal Individuals File, a 10 per cent sample of tax records available for researchers in academia and public service. He was also instrumental in helping produce the Australia’s Future Tax System review. Based on his research from that review, he has co-authored a paper with international expert, Peter Sorensen.

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’s 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 the Treasury in 2004, Jennifer’s work experience has involved rigorous analysis of Asian economies, a deep understanding of the Australian economy and an appreciation of the importance of effective international economic engagement.

Jennifer’s study examines the dynamics of the Chinese labour market and links to an analysis of China’s broader economic growth prospects.  A deeper understanding of the Chinese economy is of critical policy relevance, with China’s overall growth trajectory of particular importance to Australia’s prosperity.