The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is the

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

of Australia's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the most senior

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in the administration of Government in Australia. The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet should not be confused with the Cabinet Secretary, a ministerial position within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio responsible for assisting the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

in the procedural and operational matters of the

Cabinet of Australia The Cabinet of Australia (or Federal Cabinet) is the chief decision-making organ of the executive branch of the government of Australia. It is a council of senior government ministers, ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament. Minist ...

. The Secretary of the DPMC is Australia’s highest-paid bureaucrat, earning more than $914,000, as of 2019.

List of Secretaries of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Below is the list of Secretaries, since the first appointment was made on 1 January 1912. ;Notes : Sir Alan Carmody died suddenly of coronary vascular disease on 12 April 1978; during the term of his appointment.

Historical arrangements

Within days of

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

becoming Prime Minister, the functions of the Prime Minister's Department was split and a Department of the Cabinet Office was established. On taking office as Prime Minister in 1971,

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

reversed Gorton's changes and restored earlier changes via the creation of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. A lesser role of Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council was established for a short time; abolished in the early days of the Whitlam government. Upon election to office in 1996,

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 ...

established a separate

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...

within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Cabinet Office was a small unit, staffed from within and outside the public service, which provided the Prime Minister with advice on issues before Cabinet as well as strategic policy directions.

Secretary to the Department of the Cabinet Office

Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council

References

{{reflist, 30em Department of the Prime Minister (Australia)