EXCLUSIVE: ACNC commissioner selection panel revealed
5 August 2022 at 3:52 pm
Pro Bono News can exclusively reveal the composition of the selection panel that will advise the governor-general on the appointment of the next commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission.
Pro Bono News can exclusively reveal the members of the selection panel that will be choosing the next head of the ACNC, stepping to the role vacated by Gary Johns, who announced in June that he would depart the charities regulator in July.
The members of the selection panel are Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, Jenny Wilkinson PSM and Susan Pascoe AM. Kennedy will chair the panel.
The selection panel was appointed by Treasury, which is running the recruitment process.
“The government is undertaking an open and transparent process to select the next ACNC commissioner,” a spokesperson told Pro Bono News.
“Appointments of the ACNC commissioner are made by the Governor-General (as per the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012) on the advice of the government.”
Dr Steven Kennedy
Kennedy has been secretary to the Treasury since 2019. Before joining Treasury, he was Secretary for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development for around two years. He is also a trained nurse.
He has worked in the public service for 30 years, including in roles in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of the Environment. He has also served on numerous boards and is currently a member of the Reserve Bank Board.
In 2016, Kennedy received the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in climate change policy.
As Treasury secretary he played a key role in the JobKeeper program, and made headlines when he took “full responsibility” for the program costing less than originally forecast.
Jenny Wilkinson
Wilkinson is currently Treasury’s deputy secretary, Fiscal Group, a position that sees her provide advice to the government on budgetary matters and policy. Her previous roles include a stint running the Parliamentary Budget Office between 2017 and 2020.
Like Kennedy, she has worked in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Reserve Bank of Australia. She received a Public Service Medal in 2021 for outstanding public service in the development of fiscal policy.
She was also involved in the implementation of the Morrison government’s highly controversial Jobkeeper scheme, launched as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Susan Pascoe
Susan Pascoe may be best known to the sector as the inaugural commissioner of the ACNC. She is currently President of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). She has a wide range of knowledge and experience, including across the education, charities and regulation sectors.
She was formerly the commissioner of the State Services Authority in Victoria, in which she chaired and co-chaired reviews into regulation of the not for profit sector. In 2009, she was a commissioner in the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
Pascoe was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 20017 for service to education, received the Outstanding Contribution in Public Administration Award in 2016, and was named Influencer of the Year at the 2017 Third Sector awards.
