Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)

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Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Incumbent
Phil Gaetjens
since 2 September 2019 (2019-09-02)
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
AppointerPrime Minister
Inaugural holderMalcolm Shepherd
Formation1 January 1912 (1912-01-01)

The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is the public service head of Australia's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the most senior public servant in the administration of Government in Australia.

The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet should not be confused with the Cabinet Secretary, a ministerial position within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio responsible for assisting the Prime Minister in the procedural and operational matters of the Cabinet of Australia.

The Secretary of the DPMC is Australia’s highest-paid bureaucrat, earning more than $914,000, as of 2019.[1]

List of Secretaries of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet[]

Below is the list of Secretaries, since the first appointment was made on 1 January 1912.

Order Name Title Date appointment
commenced		 Date appointment
ceased		 Term in office Prime Minister(s) Ref(s)
1 Malcolm Shepherd, CMG Secretary to the Prime Minister's Department 1 January 1912 (1912-01-01) 27 January 1921 (1921-01-27) 9 years, 26 days Fisher; Cook; Fisher; Hughes [2]
2 Percy Deane, CMG 11 February 1921 (1921-02-11) 31 December 1928 (1928-12-31) 7 years, 324 days Hughes; Bruce [3]
3 Sir John McLaren, CMG 1 January 1929 (1929-01-01) 2 March 1933 (1933-03-02) 4 years, 60 days Bruce; Scullin; Lyons [4]
4 John Starling, CMG, OBE 3 March 1933 (1933-03-03) 10 November 1935 (1935-11-10) 2 years, 252 days Lyons
5 Frank Strahan, CVO, CBE 11 November 1935 (1935-11-11) 25 August 1949 (1949-08-25) 13 years, 287 days Lyons; Page; Menzies; Fadden; Curtin; Forde; Chifley
6 Sir Allen Brown, CBE 25 August 1949 (1949-08-25) 31 December 1958 (1958-12-31) 9 years, 128 days Menzies
7 Sir John Bunting, CBE 1 January 1959 (1959-01-01) 10 March 1968 (1968-03-10) 9 years, 69 days Menzies; Holt; McEwen; Gorton
8 Sir Lenox Hewitt, OBE 11 March 1968 (1968-03-11) 12 March 1971 (1971-03-12) 3 years, 1 day Gorton; McMahon [5]
n/a Sir John Bunting, CBE Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 17 March 1971 (1971-03-17) 31 January 1975 (1975-01-31) 3 years, 320 days McMahon; Whitlam [6][7]
9 John Menadue 1 February 1975 (1975-02-01) 30 September 1976 (1976-09-30) 1 year, 242 days Whitlam; Fraser [7][8]
10 Sir Alan Carmody, CBE 1 October 1976 (1976-10-01) 12 April 1978 (1978-04-12)1 1 year, 193 days Fraser [8][9][10][11]
11 Sir Geoffrey Yeend, AC, CBE 18 April 1978 (1978-04-18) 10 February 1986 (1986-02-10) 7 years, 298 days Fraser; Hawke [12][13][14]
12 Mike Codd, AC 10 February 1986 (1986-02-10) 1 December 1991 (1991-12-01) 5 years, 294 days Hawke [13]
13 Dr Michael Keating, AC 1 December 1991 (1991-12-01) 13 May 1996 (1996-05-13) 4 years, 164 days Hawke; Keating; Howard [15]
14 Max Moore-Wilton, AC 13 May 1996 (1996-05-13) 20 December 2002 (2002-12-20) 6 years, 221 days Howard [15][16]
15 Dr Peter Shergold, AC 10 February 2003 (2003-02-10) 28 February 2008 (2008-02-28) 5 years, 20 days Howard; Rudd [17]
16 Terry Moran, AC 3 March 2008 (2008-03-03) 5 September 2011 (2011-09-05) 3 years, 186 days Rudd; Gillard [18]
17 Dr Ian Watt, AO 5 September 2011 (2011-09-05) 30 November 2014 (2014-11-30) 3 years, 86 days Gillard; Rudd; Abbott [19]
18 Michael Thawley, AO 1 December 2014 (2014-12-01) 23 January 2016 (2016-01-23) 1 year, 53 days Abbott, Turnbull [20]
19 Dr Martin Parkinson, AC, PSM 23 January 2016 (2016-01-23) 2 September 2019 (2019-09-02) 3 years, 222 days Turnbull, Morrison [21]
20 Phil Gaetjens 2 September 2019 (2019-09-02) incumbent 2 years, 143 days Morrison [22][23]
Notes
^1 Sir Alan Carmody CBE died suddenly of coronary vascular disease on 12 April 1978; during the term of his appointment.[10][11]

Historical arrangements[]

Within days of John Gorton becoming Prime Minister, the functions of the Prime Minister's Department was split and a Department of the Cabinet Office was established.[24][25][26][27][28] On taking office as Prime Minister in 1971, William McMahon reversed Gorton's changes and restored earlier changes via the creation of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. A lesser role of Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council was established for a short time; abolished in the early days of the Whitlam government.[29][30][31] Upon election to office in 1996, John Howard established a separate Cabinet Office within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Cabinet Office was a small unit, staffed from within and outside the public service, which provided the Prime Minister with advice on issues before Cabinet as well as strategic policy directions.[32]

Secretary to the Department of the Cabinet Office[]

Order Name Title Date appointment
commenced		 Date appointment
ceased		 Term in office Ref(s)
1 Sir John Bunting CBE Secretary to the Department of the Cabinet Office 11 March 1968 (1968-03-11) 17 March 1971 (1971-03-17) 3 years, 6 days [24]
2 Michael L'Estrange AO Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Cabinet Policy Unit 8 March 1996 (1996-03-08) 30 June 2000 (2000-06-30) 4 years, 114 days [32][33]

Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council[]

Order Name Title Date appointment
commenced		 Date appointment
ceased		 Term in office Ref(s)
1 Sir Lenox Hewitt Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council 17 March 1971 (1971-03-17) 20 December 1972 (1972-12-20) 1 year, 278 days [29][34]

References[]

  1. ^ "Minimum wage up as penalty rates trimmed".
  2. ^ CA 12: Prime Minister's Department, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 23 March 2014
  3. ^ Murray-Smith, S. (1981). Deane, Percival Edgar (Percy) (1890–1946). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  4. ^ McDonald, D. I. (1986). McLaren, Sir John Gilbert (1871–1958). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. ^ PM.NO.31/1968
  6. ^ McMahon, William (12 March 1971). "New Administrative Arrangements – Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr William McMahon". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b Whitlam, Gough (23 August 1974). "Appointments approved by the Executive Council". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b Fraser, Malcolm (6 September 1976). "Senior government appointments". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  9. ^ Hyslop, Robert (1993). Carmody, Sir Alan Thomas (1920–1978). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Sir Alan Carmody: at the top of the bureaucracy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 April 1978. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Obituary: Sir Alan Carmody: a controversial initiator of government activity". The Canberra Times. 13 April 1978. p. 2. Retrieved 4 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ Fraser, Malcolm (18 April 1978). "Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  13. ^ a b Hawke, Bob (10 February 1986). "For media". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Yeend named to head PM's". The Canberra Times. 19 April 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 4 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ a b Howard, John (9 April 1996). "Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. ^ Howard, John (20 December 2002). "Retirement of Max Moore-Wilton AC". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  17. ^ Howard, John (2 February 2003). "Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  18. ^ Rudd, Kevin (6 February 2008). "Secretary of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ Abbott, Tony (20 October 2014). "Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015.
  21. ^ Turnbull, Malcolm (3 December 2015). "Departmental Secretaries". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  22. ^ https://www.pmc.gov.au/who-we-are/the-secretary
  23. ^ "Phil Gaetjens promoted to head of PM&C, Dr Steven Kennedy to lead Treasury". 25 July 2019.
  24. ^ a b Gorton, John (11 March 1968). "For press: PM. No. 31/ 1968 Department of the Cabinet Office - Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr John Gorton". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  25. ^ Browne, Geoffrey; Millar, Ann; Evans, Harry (2010), "Gorton, Sir John Grey (1911–2002)", The biographical dictionary of the Australian Senate. Volume 3, 1962-1983, University of New South Wales Press, pp. 22–23, ISBN 978-0-86840-996-2, retrieved 5 November 2013
  26. ^ "PM plans to split his department". The Canberra Times. 2 March 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ Gaul, Jonathan (5 March 1968). "A think-tank and a Secretariat". The Canberra Times. p. 2. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ Gaul, Jonathan (12 March 1968). "PM forms a Cabinet department". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ a b McMahon, William (17 March 1971). "Permanent Head of Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council – Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr William McMahon". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  30. ^ Solomon, David (13 March 1971). "PM sets up new departments". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^ "System inefficient". The Canberra Times. 13 March 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ a b Howard, John (8 March 1996). "Statement by the Prime Minister designate, The Hon John Howard MP". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  33. ^ Howard, John (2 February 2000). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to the United Kingdom". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  34. ^ Whitlam, Gough (20 December 1972). "Appointment of Permanent Heads". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
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