No Government is Like the Last

With each passing day, the first sitting week of the 48^th Parliament draws nearer. And like a snowflake, no two parliamentary terms are ever quite the same.

Changes can be as minor as the alteration of a department’s name or a minister’s title, or as significant as former Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison AC’s decision to reduce the number of departments from 18 to 14.

Often, these changes also include the appointment of new departmental secretaries, with four departments set to welcome new leadership.

With exactly eleven days until the first Question Time, join us at Nexus APAC as we explore the changes to the departmental secretaries and the Machinery of Government.

New Secretaries

Finance

Unlike the other departments in this list, the Department of Finance does not yet have a confirmed secretary. It is currently headed by Mr Richard Windeyer, who was appointed Acting Secretary of Finance in June 2025.

Mr Windeyer previously served as the Deputy Secretary of the Commercial Group. Before joining the Department of Finance in March 2024, Mr Windeyer worked in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts as Deputy Secretary of the Communications and Media Group.

Prior to this, Mr Windeyer held senior roles in transport security and national security.

Before entering the public service, Mr Windeyer managed a classical music retail store, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the Australian National University (ANU).

Treasury

Ms Jenny Wilkinson PSM was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Treasury in June 2025.

Before taking on this role, Ms Wilkinson served as the Secretary of the Department of Finance. She was previously Deputy Secretary, Fiscal Group, at the Department of the Treasury.

During her career in the public service, Ms Wilkinson has held senior positions at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Industry, the Department of Climate Change, and the Reserve Bank of Australia. She was also the Parliamentary Budget Officer from 2017 to 2020.

In these roles, she has advised on a broad range of economic policy matters. Most notably, Ms Wilkinson was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2021 for her contributions to fiscal policy development, particularly for playing a key role in the formulation of the Government’s economic response to COVID-19 and the implementation of JobKeeper.

Ms Wilkinson has also served on several advisory boards, including with the ANU Tax Transfer Institute, the ANU College of Business and Economics, the Grattan Institute Public Policy Committee, and the Melbourne Institute.

Ms Wilkinson holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from ANU.

Prime Minister and Cabinet

Dr Steven Kennedy PSM was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in June 2025.

Since 2019, Dr Kennedy served as Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, and was previously Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development from 2017 to 2019.

In a public service career spanning over 30 years, Dr Kennedy has held a series of senior positions. These include Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Environment, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Head of Secretariat of the Garnaut Climate Change Review.

Dr Kennedy was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2016 for outstanding public service in the area of climate change policy.

Dr Kennedy’s first role in the APS came in 1992 as a cadet at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Before this, he trained and worked as a nurse.

Dr Kennedy holds a PhD and a Master of Economics from ANU, and a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney.

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

On 8 July 2025, Prime Minister the Hon Anthony Albanese MP announced that Mr Mike Kaiser would be the new Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), commencing on 14 July.

Unlike the other secretaries, Mr Kaiser began his career in politics rather than the public service. Mr Kaiser served as an ALP Party Organiser in Queensland from 1990 to 1993, and was subsequently elected ALP State Secretary, a position he held from 1993 to 2000.

Mr Kaiser was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the Member for Woodridge in 2000, but resigned in 2001 after admitting that he had been involved in branch stacking in 1986.

After leaving politics, Mr Kaiser worked as the Chief of Staff for former Queensland Premier, the Hon Anna Bligh AC and the former New South Wales Premier, the Hon Morris Iemma.

Mr Kaiser left politics in 2009 to join the newly established NBN Co, where he held various executive roles until joining KPMG as a partner in 2013. At KPMG, Mr Kaiser worked closely with the Queensland Government on its COVID-19 response and economic recovery plan.

From 2021 to 2024, held several departmental leadership roles in Queensland Government including Director-General of the Department of Resources, Director-General of the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Queensland Coordinator General, and Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Following the 2024 Queensland state election, Mr Kaiser was stood down by Premier the Hon David Crisafulli MP.

While there was speculations that Mr Kaiser would move to Western Australia and serve the Cook government, he has instead been appointed the new Secretary for the DCCEEW.

Mr Kaiser holds bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from the University of Queensland.

What is an Administrative Arrangements Order?

Every time a government is elected, whether it be a returning government or a new government, the Prime Minister will advise the Governor-General on the changes to the Machinery of Government for the term.

Following this, the Governor-General will sign an Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) that outlines the allocation of executive responsibilities among ministers and departments in the Australian government.

It names the departments, the specific matters they deal with, and the  legislation administered within each portfolio.

It is essentially a Machinery of Government document that defines the structure and function of the executive branch.

Changes to the Machinery of Government in the 48^th Parliament

Governor-General, Her Excellency the Hon Sam Mostyn AC, on the advice of Prime Minister Albanese, signed into effect the 48^th Parliament’s AAO on 13 May 2025.

Below are the most significant changes to the Machinery of Government.

• Responsibility for law enforcement policy and operations transferred from the Attorney?General’s portfolio to the Home Affairs portfolio.
• Responsibility for bankruptcy, personal property securities and consumer credit reporting transferred from the Attorney-General’s portfolio to the Treasury portfolio.
• Housing, rental and homelessness policy (formerly Social Services), land and planning policy and cities and urban policy (formerly Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (ITRDCSA)) and construction industry policy and regulation (formerly Industry, Science and Resources) transferred to the Treasury portfolio.
• The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Foundational Supports transferred from the Social Services portfolio to the Health, Disability and Ageing portfolio.
• Sport and recreation policy and functions transferred from the Health, Disability and Ageing portfolio transferred to the ITRDCSA portfolio.
• The Net Zero Economy Authority transferred from the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio to the Industry, Science and Resources portfolio.

The most significant change has been the relocation of the NDIS to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. This change also means that the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, the Hon Mark Butler MP, is responsible for one-third of the Government’s entire Budget.

In addition, changes to the Attorney-General’s Department restore the original responsibilities previously allocated to Home Affairs. This includes returning oversight of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation to the Home Affairs Minister, the Hon Tony Burke MP.

With some new departmental leaders and redefined departmental mandates, the Machinery of Government enters the 48^th Parliament poised for both continuity and change.

Photo credit: Nick Pitsas