Judi Zielke appointed CEO of the Australian Research Council

On the eve of the election campaign, the Morrison government appointed Judi Zielke to head the Australian Research Council.

Judi Zielke is the new chief executive of the Australian Research Council.

Former CSIRO chief operating officer Judi Zielke is the new chief executive of the Australian Research Council. Her appointment breaks with the practice of putting senior academics in the ARC chief executive role, in which they advise the government on the disbursement of $800m a year in research grants.

Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert said Ms Zielke had strong public sector experience and, throughout her career, had been a champion of Australian research.

She is the first non-academic to take the chief executive job since the ARC was established as an independent body in 2001. Previously the role was often a stepping stone to a university leadership job. Two current vice-chancellors – the University of Adelaide’s Peter Hoj and Queensland University of Technology’s Margaret Shiel – are former ARC chief executives.

Ms Zielke has been acting chief executive since February, taking over from Sue Thomas, who came under intense pressure from the government and universities during her 4½-year tenure. On three occasions a Coalition education minister overturned Professor Thomas’s recommendations on research grants and the ARC angered universities by attempting to collect security information about individual researchers.

Labor senator Kim Carr, a leading critic of the ARC in recent years, welcomed Ms Zielke’s appointment. Senator Carr, who was innovation, industry, science and research minister in the Rudd government, said he had known Ms Zielke for a long time in her public service roles.

“There’s good reason for the sector to have confidence in her,” he said. He acknowledged there was disquiet about her lack of academic background. “Maybe that’s what the ARC needs at this time,” Senator Carr said.

The Group of Eight universities have called for a “root-and-branch” review of the ARC and Senator Carr said a review was needed.

Ms Zielke was appointed on Saturday on the eve of the election caretaker period.