Dr Steven Kennedy
Secretary to the Australian Treasury
Dr Kennedy was appointed Secretary to the Treasury with effect from 2 September 2019.
Prior to his appointment as Treasury Secretary, Dr Kennedy was Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development between September 2017 and August 2019.
During his nearly 30 years in the public service, Dr Kennedy has held other senior positions including Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Deputy Secretary at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science; Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Environment; Deputy Secretary at the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Head of Secretariat of the Garnaut Climate Change Review – Update 2011.
Dr Kennedy began his public service career in 1992 as a cadet at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Prior to joining the public service, he trained and worked as a nurse.
Dr Kennedy has served on a number of boards and is a member of the Reserve Bank Board, Council of Financial Regulators, Trans-Tasman Council on Banking Supervision, Board of Taxation, New Zealand Treasury Board, the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation and the Centre for Market Design Advisory Board.
He is also the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) ACT President.
Dr Kennedy was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2016 for outstanding public service in the area of climate change policy.
Dr Kennedy holds a PhD and a Masters in Economics from the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney.
Mr Simon Atkinson
Deputy Secretary, Fiscal Group
Simon Atkinson commenced as Deputy Secretary, Fiscal Group in August 2018.
Mr Atkinson has extensive government and public policy experience. Since joining the Australian Public Service as a graduate, he has held senior roles in many Commonwealth Departments, including Treasury, Infrastructure and Regional, Finance, Defence, and Prime Minister and Cabinet. Mr Atkinson has held leadership roles delivering major policy reforms, including the establishment of Infrastructure Australia in 2007, the 2009 Defence White Paper and 24 Commonwealth economic updates. Mr Atkinson also led the Budget and Fiscal element of the Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands in 2003-04.
Mr Atkinson is an alumnus of the University of Queensland with bachelor degrees in Science and Law. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of NSW. Mr Atkinson holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Before joining the Australian Public Service, Mr Atkinson commenced his career with the Queensland Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Matt Flavel
Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services and Business Strategy Group
Matt Flavel was appointed Deputy Secretary of Corporate Services and Business Strategy Group (CSBSG) in July 2017. Prior to this role Matt was the Division Head of Budget Policy Division in Treasury, assisting in the delivery of three Federal Budgets.
In addition Matt has worked across a range of areas of Treasury including business taxation, government balance sheet management, and international policy.
Matt was the Australian Treasury representative at Australia’s Permanent Delegation to the OECD in Paris from 2010 to 2012. In this role Matt represented Australia on a range of economic matters at the OECD.
Prior to Treasury, Matt worked with the Department of Finance on budget and fiscal policy issues. Matt holds a Master of Financial Management from Australian National University and an Honours degree in Economics from Adelaide University.
Mr Paul Verschuer
Deputy Secretary, Markets Group
Paul Verschuer commenced as Deputy Secretary, Markets Group in February 2019.
The Markets Group provides the Government with policy advice that promotes dynamic, well-functioning markets, a strong and fair financial system, and openness to international capital. They are responsible for reforms that enhance competition and safeguard the public interest in key areas such as consumer policy, financial system, business and corporations law, and foreign investment.
Paul brings 30 years of industry experience to Treasury, having commenced his career with Macquarie Bank in 1987. Paul led global financial markets businesses for Bankers Trust, Zurich Capital Markets and Westpac. Moving to the government sector in 2017, Paul was the General Manager, Financial Markets, for the NSW Treasury Corporation. Paul was an advisor to the NSW Secretary of the Treasury through his membership of the NSW State ALCO. He also serves on the Policy Council of the Banking and Finance Oath and is a member of the UNSW Science Advisory Council.
Paul has extensive governance experience including previous roles as Chair of the Australian Foreign Exchange Committee for the Reserve Bank of Australia, and as Australia’s representative at the annual Global Central Banks FX Committees meetings through the financial crisis. He has also served as a Trustee of the Westpac Foundation, and as a member of the Governance Committee of the Australian Financial Markets Association.
Paul is an alumni of UNSW, having completed a Bachelor of Science degree (Pure Mathematics) in 1987. Paul also holds an MA (Communication) and MIR (International Relations) from Macquarie University and has also completed the INSEAD Advanced Management Program in Fontainebleau, and the University of Cambridge Business and the Environment Program.
Ms Maryanne Mrakovcic
Deputy Secretary, Revenue Group
Maryanne Mrakovcic commenced as Deputy Secretary, Revenue Group in May 2016.
In this position, Maryanne provides advice to the Government on revenue and taxation policy matters. The work of the Group includes the provision of revenue forecasts and costings of taxation policies, analysis of the economic and social effects of taxation policy proposals, undertaking consultations and advising on taxation policy options, instructing parliamentary counsel on the design of taxation laws and supporting the passage of taxation legislation through Parliament. The Group also contributes to public understanding of revenue matters through contributions to budget and other government publications.
Prior to her current role, Maryanne was Associate Secretary of the Fiscal and Economic Group at the NSW Treasury. Maryanne held this position from February 2013 to May 2016. The Group advised on the State’s fiscal and economic strategy and played a key role in coordinating high-impact policy issues with state-wide economic implications. Maryanne was also responsible for the Financial Management Transformation Project involving significant reforms to financial reporting in the NSW public sector.
Prior to joining NSW Treasury, Maryanne’s career spanned 30 years with the Australian Treasury including five years spent at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Maryanne has worked across all areas of Treasury and held senior roles including Chief Advisor (International) and Division Head roles including Tax Analysis Division, Industry, Environment and Defence Division, International Finance Division and Retirement and Personal Income Division, as well as Principal Advisor (Budget).
While at the IMF, Maryanne spent the first two years as an Advisor in the Office of the Australian Executive Director, before joining the European Department where her time was spent advising countries undergoing the transformation from centrally planned to market economies.
Maryanne holds a Masters of Economics from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) (Economics) from the University of Sydney. Maryanne has also completed the INSEAD Advanced Management Program.
Ms Meghan Quinn PSM
Deputy Secretary, Macroeconomic Group
Macroeconomic Group advises the Treasury ministers on a wide range of matters relating to the performance of the Australian economy. These matters include current economic conditions and the outlook for the Australian economy, macroeconomic policies (i.e. monetary and fiscal), and current and prospective international economic issues.
Prior to commencing this role in January 2019, Meghan was the Deputy Secretary, Structural Reform Group, Division Head, Financial System Division in Treasury’s Markets Group, Head of Secretariat for the Government’s Australia in the Asian Century White Paper (based in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet), Division Head of the Macroeconomic Modelling Division and Principal Adviser for Forecasting, both based in Treasury. Meghan has extensive macroeconomic modelling and policy experience developed through her time in the Australian Treasury and the Bank of England (1996-2004). Meghan has a Masters of Economics from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Economics (1st honours) from the University of Western Australia.
Meghan was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2009.