John Casey Taylor (2 December 193014 May 2011) was a senior Australian public servant. 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 Aboriginal Affairs The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and March 1990. History The Department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established ...

from 1981 to 1984.

Life and career

John Taylor was born on 2 December 1930 in Melbourne. He graduated from University of Melbourne with a degree in commerce. Taylor joined 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 ...

in 1952 as a clerk in the Victorian branch of the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

. Between 1974 and 1981, Taylor was a Commissioner on the Public Service Board. In 1981 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. According to Charles Perkins, who succeeded him as Secretary in the department, his departure in 1984 was against his wishes. He was made a special adviser to the Department until June 1984, when he was appointed Australia's Consul-General in New York. Between 1988 and 1995 he was Commonwealth Auditor-General. As Auditor-General, Taylor said he saw his main achievements as providing a much more efficient and focused service to the Australian Parliament and people, and keeping up with (if not getting ahead of) contemporary professional standards. Taylor died on 14 May 2011.

Awards

In 1990, Taylor was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his public service.

Life and career

Awards

References

Further reading