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
Glyn Davis
since 6 June 2022 (2022-06-06)
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

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

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
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
CMG
11 February 1921 (1921-02-11) 31 December 1928 (1928-12-31) 7 years, 324 days Hughes; Bruce [3]
3
CMG
1 January 1929 (1929-01-01) 2 March 1933 (1933-03-02) 4 years, 60 days Bruce; Scullin; Lyons [4]
4
OBE
3 March 1933 (1933-03-03) 10 November 1935 (1935-11-10) 2 years, 252 days Lyons
5
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
CBE
25 August 1949 (1949-08-25) 31 December 1958 (1958-12-31) 9 years, 128 days Menzies
7
CBE
1 January 1959 (1959-01-01) 10 March 1968 (1968-03-10) 9 years, 69 days Menzies; Holt; McEwen; Gorton
8
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
CBE
1 October 1976 (1976-10-01) 12 April 1978 (1978-04-12)1 1 year, 193 days Fraser [8][9][10][11]
11
CBE
18 April 1978 (1978-04-18) 10 February 1986 (1986-02-10) 7 years, 298 days Fraser; Hawke [12][13][14]
12
AC
10 February 1986 (1986-02-10) 1 December 1991 (1991-12-01) 5 years, 294 days Hawke [13]
13 Dr
AC
1 December 1991 (1991-12-01) 13 May 1996 (1996-05-13) 4 years, 164 days Hawke; Keating; Howard [15]
14
AC
13 May 1996 (1996-05-13) 20 December 2002 (2002-12-20) 6 years, 221 days Howard [15][16]
15 Dr
AC
10 February 2003 (2003-02-10) 28 February 2008 (2008-02-28) 5 years, 20 days Howard; Rudd [17]
16
AC
3 March 2008 (2008-03-03) 5 September 2011 (2011-09-05) 3 years, 186 days Rudd; Gillard [18]
17 Dr
AO
5 September 2011 (2011-09-05) 30 November 2014 (2014-11-30) 3 years, 86 days Gillard; Rudd; Abbott [19]
18
AO
1 December 2014 (2014-12-01) 23 January 2016 (2016-01-23) 1 year, 53 days Abbott, Turnbull [20]
19 Dr
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) 22 May 2022 (2022-05-22) 2 years, 262 days Morrison [22][23]
21 Stephanie Foster, PSM Acting Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 22 May 2022 (2022-05-22) 5 June 2022 14 days Albanese
22 Prof Glyn Davis AC Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 6 June 2022 1 year, 331 days Albanese [24]
Notes
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.[25][26][27][28][29] 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.[30][31][32] 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.[33]

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 [25]
2
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 [33][34]

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 [30][35]

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). "Percival Edgar (Percy) Deane (1890–1946)". Deane, Percival Edgar (Percy) (1890–1946). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ McDonald, D. I. (1986). "Sir John Gilbert McLaren (1871–1958)". McLaren, Sir John Gilbert (1871–1958). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ PM.NO.31/1968
  6. Commonwealth of Australia
    . Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  7. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia
    . Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  8. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  9. ^ Hyslop, Robert (1993). "Sir Alan Thomas Carmody (1920–1978)". Carmody, Sir Alan Thomas (1920–1978). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 30 October 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  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. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  13. ^ 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. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  17. on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  18. Commonwealth of Australia
    . Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. 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. Commonwealth of Australia
    . Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  22. ^ https://www.pmc.gov.au/who-we-are/the-secretary [bare URL]
  23. ^ "Phil Gaetjens promoted to head of PM&C, Dr Steven Kennedy to lead Treasury". 25 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Appointment of Professor Glyn Davis AC as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au.
  25. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  26. , retrieved 5 November 2013
  27. ^ "PM plans to split his department". The Canberra Times. 2 March 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ Gaul, Jonathan (12 March 1968). "PM forms a Cabinet department". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  31. ^ Solomon, David (13 March 1971). "PM sets up new departments". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ "System inefficient". The Canberra Times. 13 March 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  33. ^
    Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original
    on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  34. on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  35. Commonwealth of Australia
    . Retrieved 30 October 2013.