Meghan Quinn – new Industry dept secretary

A deputy secretary from Treasury who played a central role in the the landmark Asia Century Whitepaper during the Gillard Government, Meghan Quinn is the new secretary to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Ms Quinn, who takes up the role from August 22, has most recently been deputy secretary for Markets Group in Treasury, where she has also held positions as deputy secretary of the Macroeconomic Group and deputy secretary of the Structural Reform Group.

She has been a member of the Treasury’s Executive Committee and was Treasury’s Indigenous Champion.

Ms Quinn, who holds a honours degree in economics from the University of Western Australia and a masters from the London School of Economics spent seven years as a senior economist at the Bank of England and has spent time in senior executive role at BHP.

She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2009 for outstanding in the development of climate change policy.

Ms Quinn’s five-year appointment as secretary of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources was announced through a statement from the Prime Minister’s office late on Thursday. She is the last departmental secretary to be appointed since the election of the Albanese government in May.

Previous secretary David Fredericks moved to take up the role as secretary to the newly created Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. In the interim period, Deputy Secretary David Williamson has been serving as Acting Secretary. Earlier this year, Ms Quinn’s name had been raised in reports about possible appointees to the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

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