DPS CEOs roundtable: Meeting the needs of our clients and communities

Peter Lochert has held the position of Secretary with the Department of Parliamentary Services since 2010 and has worked for Parliament of Victoria for nearly 17 years. As Secretary, Peter is responsible for service provision to Members, the House departments and Parliamentary committees, including finance, human resources, information technology, Hansard, broadcast services, library services, electorate office property services, security services, catering, building and maintenance of the Parliament House precinct. The position of Secretary forms part of the Parliamentary Executive Group with a focus on strategic planning, governance and policy for the Parliament of Victoria.

Mr Smith has previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister from 30 January 2007 to 3 December 2007, and in a range of Shadow Ministerial positions in the 42nd and 43rd parliaments. Mr Smith has served on numerous parliamentary committees, with his most recent role serving as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Corporations and Financial Services in the 46th Parliament.

Mr Smith studied a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne. He is married with two sons.

Elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Casey in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019
First elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on 10 August 2015, re-elected 30 August 2016, and 2 July 2019
Current Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services
Former President of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister from 30 January – 3 December 2007
Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training (2007-08)
Shadow Assistant Treasurer (2008-09)
Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy (2009-10)
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tax Reform (2010-13)

Mr Smith has been a member of a range of Parliamentary Committees including:

• Member of Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (2004-06, 2013-15), (Chair from 2004-06, 2014-15)
• Member of Joint Statutory Committee on: Public Accounts and Audit (Chair) (2006-07)

Rob Stefanic was appointed Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament of Australia in December 2015. In his capacity as Secretary, Rob chairs the Parliament of Australia Security Management Board and the Parliamentary ICT Advisory Board and is Secretary to the Historic Memorials Committee. Rob also holds roles on Boards of the Canberra Convention Bureau, Chair of the National Capital Education Tourism Project Stakeholder Council and the Canberra Region Tourism Leaders Forum. Before joining DPS, Rob headed the DPS at the Parliament of NSW, implementing service reforms and overseeing a major program of capital works. In addition Rob forged a strong cooperative relationship with the heads of the parliamentary departments to develop successive strategic plans for the parliament and to achieve ‘whole of parliament’ outcomes. Prior to that role, he served as Chief Information Officer, overseeing the delivery of ICT, library, archival and Hansard services to the NSW Parliament.

Rob also served in various senior roles with the NSW Department of the Legislative Council, including that of Clerk Assistant leading the corporate support function and committee secretary. Before working in the parliamentary environment he worked in the chartered accounting and legal fields. Rob has Bachelor degrees in Law (Hons) and Commerce and an Executive Master in Public Administration.

Mark Webb is the Chief Executive of the NSW Department of Parliamentary Services, one of the three agencies that supports the operation of the NSW Parliament. He has worked across the private and public sectors, including 17 years in senior executive roles in the federal and NSW public sectors. Mark is also actively involved in the not-for-profit sector, through his roles on the boards of Community First Step (a NFP organisation supporting the south-west Sydney community) and the Institute of Public Administration Australia (NSW chapter).

Rob Hunter is the Executive Manager Parliamentary Services and as the department’s chief executive officer is responsible for providing overall management and leadership of the Parliamentary Services Department’s diverse range of staff. The Executive Manager is also the secretary of the Parliamentary Services Committee and the Parliamentary Reserve Board.

Rafael Gonzalez-Montero is the Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service, a role he has held since January 2019.

The Parliamentary Service is the largest of the agencies housed in the parliamentary precinct. As of 30 June 2019, the Service employed 718 staff. 63.5% of staff are employed to support members of Parliament or the parliamentary party offices and 36.5% provide corporate support services and advice on behalf of the Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service.

Rafael holds a Bachelor of Business Studies in International Business (2006) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (2008) from Massey University. He started working at the Office of the Clerk in 2006, as a Senior Parliamentary Officer (Inter Parliamentary Relations). In 2014 he became a Clerk-Assistant, and still works shifts as a Clerk-at-the-Table in the House. From 2015 to 2019 Rafael served as Deputy Clerk and then moved into his current role as Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service.

Julia has extensive experience across publicly funded NFPs and government agencies.  She began her executive career in a national genomics facility at an exciting point in time when next gen technology reshaped medical discovery.  It was this experience that sparked her passion for the NFP sector. Since then she has held executive roles in large regulators in health and construction, human services and health providers leading their transformation around consumer-directed care, new funding models, new standards and ongoing reform.  

Julia was closely involved in the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce and senate enquiries into Family Violence.  She is Chair of Project Respect and Chair of Finance and Audit at Connect Health. She is a past Director of Lorne Community Health, sitting during a period of rapid growth in that business. She is a qualified Chair of Advisory Boards, supporting edutech, property, tourism and professional services businesses to scale. Her expertise spans governance, strategy, HR, finance, risk and digital transformation, giving her a diverse perspective and deep understanding of shaping culture around the customer experience, business improvement and growth.