Secretary (CEO) – Department of Health (Tasmania)
Commissioner of Ambulance Services
BA(Hons) LLB(Hons) LLM, Barrister and Solicitor (HCA, SupCt VIC), Solicitor (SupCt Qld)
Kathrine’s 20 plus year career as a lawyer and executive has spanned the private and public sectors, including 14 years travelling throughout Australia and overseas with Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with senior executive responsibility for various operational divisions (Enforcement, Consumer Protection, Corporate Services and Registry Operations (Digital Transformation)) across ASIC.
A move to Tasmania brought with it the opportunity to shift from the Commonwealth to the State Service, and in February 2014 she commenced as Deputy Secretary (Budget and Finance) at the Department of Treasury and Finance, one month prior to Tasmania’s first change in State Government for over 16 years. Kathrine led her Treasury Division through the delivery of four State Budgets in just over three years, whilst quickly coming up to speed with the Tasmanian business and community context.
In 2017, Kathrine was appointed as Acting Secretary for the Department of Justice and was confirmed in the role in early 2018. In the role, Kathrine was responsible for overseeing 1400 plus employees across 29 locations, with portfolios spanning the Courts, Corrections, Worksafe Tasmania, Consumer Protection, Planning and Building Regulation and a $340M capital programme.
In September 2019, Kathrine was appointed as Secretary for the Department of Health and is now responsible for the delivery of a $2B health service including public hospitals, district health services, Tasmania Ambulance, mental health and public health, encompassing over 14,000 employees across Tasmania.
In addition to her legal qualifications, Kathrine has completed graduate courses in business and leadership with the Melbourne Business School and Harvard Leadership Program.
Corporate Governance, financial management and transforming organisations to customer-centric delivery are at the heart of Kathrine’s service-oriented career, culminating in 2020 with her role as State Health Commander for Tasmania during the COVID-19 pandemic.