John Mellors (15 April 1947 - 1 May 2021) was a former senior Australian public servant. Between 1994 and 1997 he was

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the Department of Administrative Services.

Life and career

Mellors was born in London, gained a degree in economics and accounting from the University of Bristol in 1968 and held academic positions at UK universities from 1969 to 1973. In 1973 he joined the staff of the European Commission in Brussels before being recruited to the Australian Public Service. He became an Australian citizen in 1978. Mellors was Director-General of the Victorian Department of Planning and Urban Growth between 1988 and 1990, before taking up a position as Executive General Manager in the Corporate Branch of the Department of Administrative Services. Between 1994 and 1997, Mellors was Secretary of the Department of Administrative Services. Mellors served in the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

for 22 years, but in 1997, when his department was abolished, he was given just five days' notice to leave. According to political journalist

Laurie Oakes Laurie Oakes (born 14 August 1943 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian retired journalist. He worked in the Canberra Press Gallery from 1969 to 2017, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections for print, radio, and t ...

, Mellors felt angry over the Government's decision for his department, and that he and his executive staff had been wronged by the Government of the day. Mellors subsequently worked as an international development consultant on both short- and longer -term assignments, primarily in South East Asia and the South Pacific, before retiring in 2013.

Awards

Mellors received a Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society through public service leadership.

References

Australian public servants 1947 births 2021 deaths {{Australia-gov-bio-stub