Heather Joy Smith is an Australian public servant. She took up the position of

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 Australian Government

Department of Communications and the Arts The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts was a department of the Government of Australia charged with responsibility for communications policy and programs and cultural affairs. In December 2019, prime minister Scott Morrison ...

in January 2016.

Life and career

From 1984 to 1986, Smith lived at Emmanuel College, while studying at the University of Queensland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Economics, with first class honours, in 1986. In 1988 she took a job at the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

, where she worked until 1990. Commencing further education at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, Smith completed a Masters of Economics in 1990 and graduated with a PhD in 1994. She was appointed an academic at the university between 1994 and 2000, specialising in North Asia. Smith joined the

Office of National Assessments The Office of National Assessments (ONA) was an Australian statutory intelligence agency established by the ''Office of National Assessments Act 1977'' as an independent statutory body directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as ...

in 2000, where she was Assistant Director-General in the International Economy Branch until 2003. She worked at the Treasury from 2003 to 2005, before returning to the Office of National Assessments between February 2005 and August 2010. In August 2010, Smith joined the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

as a Deputy Secretary. She was responsible for IT issues, the Americas, Africa, North Asia and international security issues. She shifted to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in September 2013, also as a Deputy Secretary. At PM&C she was G20 Sherpa—the Prime Minister's personal envoy for the

2014 G20 Brisbane summit The 2014 G20 Brisbane summit was the ninth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state.

. She attended a G20 Sherpa meeting in Moscow in 2013 and chaired G20 meetings in Australia at Uluru, Sydney and Melbourne. She also led the development of the policy agenda for the event. Smith was appointed Secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts in January 2016.

Honours

Smith was awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Heather Australian public servants Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Public Service Medal (Australia) Australian National University alumni University of Queensland alumni