On a big day of movements at the digital transformation end of the public sector in Australia, NSW Customer Service secretary Glenn King has left the public service, while former NSW Finance Secretary Martin Hoffman has been appointed as CEO of the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Coincidentally, it was Glenn King who replaced Martin Hoffman in the secretary’s chair, as NSW restructured after the March election and re-named what had largely been the Finance department as the Department of Customer Service.
And coming just six months after the structural re-making of the NSW Government, Mr King’s departure surely comes as a surprise. He had previously spent seven years in the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, where among other things, he ran the Implementation Unit, Behavioural insights and the Customer Service Commission.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Thursday that NSW Public Service Commissioner Emma Hogan will replace Mr King as Customer Service secretary.
Ms Hogan has led the NSW Public Service as commissioner for 18 months, having come from a stellar private sector career that included stints at blue-chips like Woolworths, Qantas and Foxtel.
Ms Hogan’s corporate background is largely in people and culture – but had been executive director of customer experience at Foxtel just before joining the NSW Public Service Commission.
“Emma brings a wealth of experience in people and customer service, having worked in senior executive roles across major private sector organisations including Foxtel, Woolworths and Qantas – and is highly qualified to lead the Department of Customer Service,” Ms Berejiklian said.
The Premier said Mr King had “successfully delivered on the NSW Government’s commitment to put customers at the centre of service delivery and simplifying how citizens interact with government.”
In a private message to staff within the Customer Service department, Mr King said the decision to resign from the NSW public service to take up an opportunity in the private sector had been “very hard”.
In a private message to staff within the Customer Service department, Mr King said the decision to resign from the NSW public service to take up an opportunity in the private sector had been “very hard”.
“In terms of customer service, NSW is leading the way and is well placed to continue the considerable work completed and planned,” Mr King told staff in the message.
“With my move, I am delighted to announce that Emma Hogan has been appointed as the new Secretary, Department of Customer Service,” he said.
“Emma comes to Customer Service from the Public Service Commission, where she has been Commissioner for 18 months. She has been a driving force behind many positive changes across the public service and for our customers.”
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said Ms Hogan had “transformed the culture of the public service over the past 18 months in her role as the NSW Public Service Commissioner and will continue to drive this in her new position.”
A new Public Service Commissioner has not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, the federal Minister for National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert on Thursday announced the appointment of Martin Hoffman as the incoming chief executive officer of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
The minister lauded Mr Hoffman’s experience in senior leadership roles in service delivery in both the public and private sectors, as well as experience in digital transformation roles.
The chief executive role at the NDIA is not the first job that Martin Hoffman has done for Minister Robert. Mr Hoffman also ran the six-week, $870,000 strategic planning taskforce to set up Services Australia, the rebadged Department of Human Services.
“Mr Hoffman has the dedication, vision, and expertise to lead delivery of the transformational National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for the benefit of each eligible participant,” Mr Robert said.
“He will build on the ground-breaking work already underway and will make a real difference in delivering on the Government’s commitment to realising the full benefits of the Scheme for participants.”
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