Qld Education’s bureaucratic restructure still not complete

The impact of an exodus – or “deliberate shake-up”, say insiders – of Education Department executives nearly a year ago is still being felt, with four roles yet to be filled.

A major overhaul of bureaucratic Education Department positions is in its final stages of recruitment following an exodus of executives nearly 12 months ago.

Four key deputy director-generals positions of Queensland Education are still being filled by people in acting roles months later, according to the department’s publicly available operational structure.

An education department spokesman said several recruitment processes to fill critical roles had been completed, with the remainder in their final stages.

The spokesman said the department had full confidence the structure would support “excellence and equity across its frontline early-childhood and schooling services moving forward”.

A review of the department’s operations was launched early this year by director-general Michael De’Ath following his December 2021 appointment – to look at how it could better support “excellence and equity” across frontline services.

Education Queensland director-general Michael De’Ath.

Mr De’Ath took over from Tony Cook, who stepped down in 2021 to take up a commonwealth role.

Other high-profile departures included former deputy director-generals Peter Kelly, Shannon Cook, Annette Whitehead and Craig Allen.

The education department spokesman said the “internal alignment review” had recently finished and confirmed it had resulted in structure changes.

The newly-created First Nations Strategy and Partnerships portfolio is currently being filled by Christopher Evers in an acting role.

Other key acting positions include Lesley Robinson (policy, performance, international and intergovernmental), Duncan Anson (people, information and communication services) and Alison Mohr (finance, procurement and facilities).

It comes after The Courier-Mail revealed four of the seven positions had left the department late last year, in what insiders described as a “deliberate shake-up”.

Former Education Department director-general Tony Cook with Education Minister Grace Grace during an Estimates hearing. Picture: AAP

A department spokesman at the time confirmed Mr Kelly, Mr Cook, Ms Whitehead and Mr Allen had “formally separated from the department”.

Three of the seven deputy director-general positions have been filled by bureaucrats in permanent positions.

Former deputy director Sharon Schimming (early childhood and education improvement) is now an associate director-general overseeing early childhood and state schools portfolios.

Ms Schimming brings three decades of experience in education, including more than 20 years as a principal.

She replaces the state school’s position previously held by Mr Kelly.

Former deputy director Sharon Schimming (early childhood and education improvement) is now an associate director-general overseeing early childhood and state schools portfolios.

Former Queensland Urban Utilities executive Kym Bancroft replaced Mr Allen as the deputy director-general (office of industrial relations).

Tooey Elliott, who has a 25-year career in state and federal government, was also named as the deputy director-general (infrastructure services).

Ms Elliott is a qualified architect who has previously worked on the Cross River Rail delivery authority.