Mark Ian Paterson (born 16 March 1954) is a senior Australian public servant. He is currently the Chief Commissioner of Australian Skills Quality Authority. He was the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services from June 2011 until April 2015. He also served on the board of

Infrastructure NSW Infrastructure NSW is an agency of the Government of New South Wales that provides independent advice to assist the NSW Government in identifying and prioritising the delivery of critical public infrastructure across the Australian state of New ...

Background and early life

Mark Paterson gained a Bachelor of Business from the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

, having studied at four different universities around Australia but found trouble when seeking recognition for prior learning, which he saw as a failure of Australia's higher education system.

Career

Between 1996 and 2002 Paterson was head of the

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is Australia's largest and most representative business association, comprising state and territory chambers of commerce and national industry associations. ACCI represents Australian busines ...

.During 1998 – 2002 Paterson was also the Director of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) Board. His next role was as

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 Industry, Tourism and Resources The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources was an Australian government department that existed between November 2001 and December 2007. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation cou ...

(later

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (also called DIISR), was a department of the Australian Government that existed between December 2007 and December 2011. The Department was charged with further developing gro ...

), to which he was appointed by Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

, who praised his knowledge and experience. Paterson was the Director General of the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services from June 2011. His dismissal from the role, and abolition of the Department was reported on Tuesday 7 April 2015 Paterson commenced as Commissioner, Regulatory Operations, of Australian Skills Quality Authority on 30 May 2016. The Commissioner, Regulatory Operations, is responsible for the effective implementation of ASQA’s regulatory operations. This includes the initial assessment of regulatory matters, ASQA’s extensive audit program and the growing focus on investigations and enforcement action in serious cases. The Commissioner also has oversight of ASQA’s course accreditation process which accredits new courses to be nationally recognised, and ASQA’s regulatory reporting functions.

Awards

Paterson was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2007 for service to business and industry through policy development and economic research. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

in 2019.

References

References and further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Mark 1954 births Living people Australian public servants Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales