The office inside the Prime Minister’s department developing legal standards for artificial intelligence companies has swollen to 35 staff, including five assistant secretaries working under head Fergus Hanson.
The group is racing to develop Australia’s first dedicated laws for a sustainable data centre roll-out and the large-scale training of AI models, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese established the Office of AI in July.
Joining Mr Hanson – a former diplomat and member of the national security intelligence community – are two assistant secretaries for legislation, Peter Good and Rebecca Rush.
Mr Good joined PM&C in 2023 after more than a decade at the Infrastructure department. Ms Rush was also previously at the Infrastructure department with command of its Norfolk Island and Mainland Territories branch.
The double up on legislation assistant secretaries is likely temporary as the office works to an accelerating timeline to deliver the standards by Christmas.
The fledgling office also now houses an assistant secretary for international and national security in Jacob Cannon, who appears to have been seconded from the Australian Signals Directorate.
It also counts two acting assistant secretaries in Helene Banks, a communications director in PM&C, and Sue Aji. Including secondees, the Office of AI now has 35 full time staff.
The Australian Digital Health Agency, best known for delivering My Health Record, has farewelled CEO Amanda Cattermole after six years. She will join the tax office next month as chief operating officer.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet lost policy adviser Ella Hodgeman, who is off to Geneva after almost three years.
Friday was Chris Bourke’s last at the CSIRO as director of Indigenous Science and Engagement. He said the science agency’s Louisa Warren will step into the director role.
University of Newcastle Pro Vice Chancellor, Industry and Engagement Warwick Dawson is heading back to Sydney, this time for the newly created research impact role. He has previously also worked at Sydney Uni and UNSW for more than a decade.
UTS Distinguished Professor and responsible AI expert Fang Chen and AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda among almost three dozen new fellows at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
Former CEO of the Academy of Science Anna-Maria Arabia has surfaced at the new Australian Council on AI Strategy, a not-for-profit she said would connect “those who are shaping Australia’s AI future with the world’s best frontier AI analysts, researchers, evaluators and forecasters”.
CyberCX communications leader Jordan Newnham has moved into a new role as Accenture’s government and public affairs lead for ANZ, following the tech services giant’s $1 billion acquisition of the cyber outfit last year.
Counter drone manufacturer DroneShield this week announced it has added Lynne Saint as a non-executive director.
She joins just as DroneShield inks a procurement agreement with the US Department of Defense that it says could be worth more than $700 million.
Hypersonix Launch Systems cofounder David Waterhouse is on the AI train, this week announcing he is one of several cofounders of the Artificial Intelligence Australasia Association.
The association touts a new accreditation framework for AI “capability” for $1000 annually.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute;s cyber director James Corera is stepping down after two years at the think tank.
Henry Tilly has gone to work for Energy minister Chris Bowen’s office as an adviser, leaving a government relations role at Lumea, the commercial arm of Transgrid.
Danielle Woolley has been appointed CEO of the Australian Public Policy Institute. A former KPMG partner, she is currently director of government relations and policy at the University of Technology Sydney.
University of Sydney Adjunct Associate Professor Ed Steane this week began his new role as director of the Liverpool Innovation Precinct.
Australian digital twin platform, Neara, has appointed former Adobe executive Ian Wang as its new chief product officer .
The Albanese government has loaded up the board of AgriFutures with seven appointments: Dr Harjeet Khanna (reappointment), Daniel Le Feuvre (reappointment), Dr Catherine Ainsworth, Anna Cochrane, Allison Harker, Joel Kopanica and Mark Narustrang.
Agrifutures invests in the research, development and extension of the industries it collects levies on, in one of Australia’s longest running innovation mechanisms.
Mike Mrdak has been reappointed as a non-executive Director of the NBN Co Board for a 3-year term starting this week.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has welcomed the appointment of former Productivity Commission chair Peter Harris and the reappointment of nuclear medicine physician Professor Sze Ting Lee as part-time members of its board.
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