The secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is the public service head of Australia's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the most senior public servant 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 in the procedural and operational matters of the Cabinet of Australia.
The secretary of the DPMC is Australia’s highest-paid bureaucrat, earning more than $914,000, as of 2019.
List of secretaries Below is the list of secretaries, since the first appointment was made on 1 January 1912.
Order Name Title Date appointmentcommenced Date appointmentceased Term in office Prime Minister(s) Ref(s)1 Malcolm Shepherd, Secretary to the Prime Minister's Department Fisher; Cook; Fisher; Hughes 2 Percy Deane, Hughes; Bruce 3 Sir John McLaren, Bruce; Scullin; Lyons 4 John Starling, Lyons 5 Frank Strahan, Lyons; Page; Menzies; Fadden; Curtin; Forde; Chifley 6 Sir Allen Brown, Menzies 7 Sir John Bunting, Menzies; Holt; McEwen; Gorton 8 Sir Lenox Hewitt, Gorton; McMahon n/a Sir John Bunting, Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet McMahon; Whitlam 9 John Menadue Whitlam; Fraser 10 Sir Alan Carmody, Fraser 11 Sir Geoffrey Yeend, Fraser; Hawke 12 Mike Codd, Hawke 13 Dr Michael Keating, Hawke; Keating; Howard 14 Max Moore-Wilton, Howard 15 Dr Peter Shergold, Howard; Rudd 16 Terry Moran, Rudd; Gillard 17 Dr Ian Watt, Gillard; Rudd; Abbott 18 Michael Thawley, Abbott, Turnbull 19 Dr Martin Parkinson, Turnbull, Morrison20 Phil Gaetjens Morrison21 Stephanie Foster, Acting Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 5 June 2022 Albanese 22Prof Glyn Davis ACSecretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 6 June 202216 June 2025 Albanese23Steven Kennedy, PSM16 June 2025Albanese
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 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 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 established a separate Cabinet Office 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
Order Name Title Date appointmentcommenced Date appointmentceased Term in office Ref(s)1 Sir John Bunting Secretary to the Department of the Cabinet Office 2 Michael L'Estrange Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Cabinet Policy Unit
Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council
Order Name Title Date appointmentcommenced Date appointmentceased Term in office Ref(s)1 Sir Lenox Hewitt Secretary to the Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council
References