Simon Draper will run the federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources from 6 October on a five year appointment, announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.
Draper is currently Secretary of the New South Wales Premier's Department. Before that he was chief executive of the NSW Reconstruction Authority, chief executive of Infrastructure NSW, and Secretary of the NSW Department of Industry. He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2022 for his work at Infrastructure NSW, including coordinating the construction industry's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commonwealth job has been held by an acting secretary since May, when Meghan Quinn moved from Industry to run the Department of Defence. Julia Pickworth has covered it since.
“I am pleased to announce the Governor-General has appointed Mr Simon Draper PSM as Secretary of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources," Albanese said. He thanked Pickworth for acting in the role.”
The department Draper inherits decides where a large share of federal industry money goes. Its responsibilities include implementation of the Future Made in Australia program, the National Reconstruction Fund, the Critical Minerals Office and the Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve. Administration of parts of the Future Made in Australia Act 2024 moved to the department in May 2025.
The sums attached to those programs are large. The Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund is worth $1.7 billion, of which $750 million has been directed to green metals projects. A further $566.1 million over ten years from 2024-25 goes to the Resourcing Australia's Prosperity program for critical minerals exploration. The National Reconstruction Fund is delivering a $5 billion Net Zero Fund. The department administers or advises on all of it.
Departmental secretaries are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, after a report from the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. There is no parliamentary confirmation step and no public hearing. A five year term from October runs well past the next federal election.
In Sydney, Premier Chris Minns confirmed Draper's last day in the NSW role is 4 September. Michael Coutts-Trotter will act as Secretary of the Premier's Department until April 2027, with Liz Livingstone acting as Secretary of NSW Treasury during the shuffle.
"Simon has been an outstanding leader of the NSW public service and someone I've relied on every day since becoming Premier," Minns said. He credited Draper with work on housing delivery, the Investment Delivery Authority, the response to the Bondi terror attack and public sector pay negotiations.
The sequence leaves two governments carrying acting appointments at once. NSW hands its central agency to an acting secretary for seven months from September. The Commonwealth industry portfolio will have gone about five months without a permanent secretary by the time Draper starts on 6 October.
