Commissioners

On advice from the Federal Executive Council and under the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1973, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia has appointed a Chair and three Members.

Chairperson

Mr Michael Callaghan AM PSM

Mr Michael Callaghan has a long career in public policy, including 38 years in the Australian Treasury. From 2008 to 2012 he was Deputy Secretary, Macroeconomic Group, Australia’s G20 Finance Deputy and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, International Economy. From 2005-2007, Mr Callaghan was Deputy Secretary, Revenue Group.

Mr Callaghan spent four years on the IMF Executive Board in Washington DC and served as Chief of Staff to the Australian Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello.

Mr Callaghan has chaired a number of reviews for the Australian Government and international organisations. In 2020, Mr Callaghan chaired the Retirement Income Review.  In 2017, Mr Callaghan chaired the review of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax and the review of the Economic Impact of the Government’s Regulation Agenda. Mr Callaghan also chaired the Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce. Mr Callaghan chaired the 12th and 13th replenishment of the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Fund.

From 2018 to 2020, Mr Callaghan was Chair of the Aged Care Financing Authority. From 2013 to 2014, Mr Callaghan was Director of the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute and is now a non-resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. Mr Callaghan served on the Board of the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation from 2017 to 2019.

Mr Callaghan is a Member of the Order of Australia and has been awarded the Public Service Medal and Centenary Medal. Mr Callaghan has economics and law degrees from the Australian National University, and is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Current term: 25 June 2020 to 24 June 2025

Members

Dr Lynne Williams AM

Dr Lynne Williams worked as an economist in the public sector for over 30 years, and has since been a non-executive director and Commissioner on several Commonwealth and state government bodies. Dr Williams is currently a member of the Victorian Legal Services Board, where she also chairs the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. 

Dr Williams was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2017 for her contributions to economic and public policy and awarded the Faculty of Business and Economics (University of Melbourne) Alumni of Distinction Faculty Award in 2019.

Dr Williams previously held senior executive positions in both the Victorian and Federal public services, including the Victorian Treasury and Finance, Premier and Cabinet and Industry departments, and the Federal Productivity Commission, Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research and Bureau of Labour Market Research.

Dr Williams has degrees in economics from the University of Melbourne, the London School of Economics and Monash University. Dr Williams is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and Principal Fellow of St Hilda’s College (University of Melbourne), where she is also Deputy Chair of the College's board.

Current term: 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2026

Professor Anne Tiernan 

Professor Anne Tiernan is Head of Research and Professor of Political Leadership at the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership - an independent, non-partisan organisation whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness of our political leaders by building the capacity of federal, state and territory members of parliament. 

A political scientist whose career spans higher education, federal and state government, consultancy and teaching, Professor Tiernan’s research focuses on the work of governing. She has written extensively on the political–administrative interface, governmental transitions, policy capacity and executive advisory arrangements - particularly the support needs of ministers, the role of the public service, intergovernmental coordination and public policy agenda-setting. She has published extensively in Australia and internationally.

Professor Tiernan is a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, and a Fellow of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) and has held a range of Board appointments. 

An Adjunct Professor with Griffith University, and previously a member of the University’s senior leadership team, Anne served as inaugural Dean (Engagement) of the Griffith Business School, where she led development of the Group’s internationally acknowledged Engagement Strategy and operating model. She is Managing Director of mission-led consultancy firm Constellation Impact Advisory.

Current term: 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2027