Employment department first assistant secretary Melissa Ryan has vacated her role leading Workforce Australia for Individuals after a series of technology issues in recent months.
A department spokesperson confirmed on Friday that Ms Ryan was no longer overseeing the job seeker service provider network and “has taken up a new opportunity”, but declined to comment further.
During Senate estimates last month, Ms Ryan apologised for automated emails that threatened to cut off payments if job seekers did not work around an IT issue that was slowing reporting on the government’s side.
“In retrospect, it wasn’t a very clear message,” she told Senators after the issue was reported by InnovationAus.com.
It was one of a series of IT issues impacting job seekers, according to The Saturday Paper, which last week revealed the Employment department allowed the incorrect cancellation of welfare payments in the privatised employment services.
As of December 2, assistant secretary for Funds and Payments, Quyen Tran, is acting as the first assistant secretary leading Workforce Australia for Individuals, according to the latest organisational chart.
Elsewhere, the new secretary of the Department of Social Services is Michael Lye, who moves from the Department of Health and Aged Care after serving as deputy secretary for ageing and aged care since 2019.
Mr Lye’s five year term as secretary will begin on December 11, marking a return to the department he held several senior positions at between 2013 and 2019. Incumbent Social Services secretary Ray Griggs will retire on December 10.
DeepTech venture capital fund Salus Ventures has appointed three strategic advisors. They are former Australian Secret Intelligence Service and Deputy Chief of Army Paul Symon, former ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos and former head of Operation Sovereign Borders Rear Admiral Lee Goddard.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has appointed seven new members and reappointed eight members, including chair Professor Caroline Homer, who will serve until the end of June 2027.
The full list of National Health and Medical Research Council members can be found here. They join following the establishment of new research committees to align the council with the Medical Research Future Fund.
This week, the federal government announced its strategic review of the research and development ecosystem would be led by Tech Council of Australia and Tesla chair Robyn Denholm. The other review panel members are the head of Victoria’s startup agency Kate Cornick, MedTech pioneer Fiona Wood and former chief scientist Ian Chubb.
At the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Water, former International Climate and Energy division head Kushla Munro has been made deputy secretary. Ms Munro was already acting in the deputy secretary role.
The Western Australian government has established an Innovation Expert Committee (IEC) to advise the state’s Health department and Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Advisory Council on health and medical innovation priorities.
The eight members of the IEC will also be joined by FHRI Advisory Council’s Dr Marcus Tan. The Innovation Expert Committee is different to the FHRI Fund Research Expert Committee and the Innovation Advisory Committee, which has a broader remit.
With Joseph Brookes
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