Kerri Gaye Hartland is the Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). She was formerly an Australian public servant for 30 years, before joining the private sector. She was the first female deputy director-general of

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...

(ASIO) and took up the position of

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Australian Government

Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business The Australian Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business was a short-lived department of the Australian Government in existence between 2019 and 2020, charged with the responsibility for employment, job services and the labour ...

in January 2017.

Early life and education

Born in

Oakey, Queensland Oakey is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. The Museum of Army Aviation is located at Oakey Airport. In the , the locality of Oakey had a population of 4,756 people. Geography The town is situated on ...

, Hartland grew up with her parents Valerie and Neville Hartland, her brother Brad and her sister Karina. From 1983 Hartland lived at

Cromwell College There are eleven residential colleges of the University of Queensland. Colleges Cromwell College * On the St Lucia campus. Was the first of the Colleges on the St Lucia campus in June 1954, and admitted men only until it became co-ed in 1973. ...

, while studying at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985 and later a Bachelor of Economics in 1991. Commencing further education at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, Hartland completed a Master of Legal Studies in 1996 and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Career

In 1985 she worked as a cadet journalist for Western Publishers. From 1986 to 1990 Hartland continued working as a journalist for Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times and News Ltd in the Parliamentary Press Gallery, while completing her second degree. Between 1990 and 1995, Hartland worked in the Department of Primary Industries before acting as head of the APEC Energy Ministerial Taskforce for the department in 1995 and 1996. Hartland moved to Canada from 1996 to 1997 to work as secondment to

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; ; )Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for natural r ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. From 1997, Hartland returned to Australia undertaking a role as Australia's representative to the

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 associatio ...

and deputy director-general of Invest Australia for the Department of Resources and Energy. Hartland shifted to the prime minister's Taskforce on Investment and Promotion in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2001. Shortly after she worked as the executive general manager of Biotechnology Australia until 2003. For the next two years Hartland was the chief information officer for the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. From 2006 to 2011 Hartland was the deputy secretary of service delivery reform for the Department of Human Services. She led a $1 billion project that saw the formation of a 40,000 strong organisation merging

Centrelink The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carer ...

, Medicare, Child Support Agency, and the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Agency, and the development of legislation for the Department of Human Services. Hartland became the first female and first external deputy director general of

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North Ameri ...

in 2011. She was responsible for counter espionage and interference, technical capability, information technology, corporate and legal services, strategic policy and stakeholder engagement. She led a major transformation of the organisation until 2017. From February to September 2017, Hartland was the deputy secretary of the Department of Finance and the chief operating officer. Hartland established the Independent Parliamentary Expense Authority and held responsibility for services to all MPs including Comcar fleet service. Hartland also developed a revamped Commonwealth Shared Services Hub that provided shared services for more than 20 Commonwealth departments and agencies. Hartland was appointed secretary of the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business (formerly the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations) in late 2017. Until May 2019, Hartland was responsible for industrial relations policies and programs including the

Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Austral ...

Fair Work Ombudsman The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) (or formally, the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman), is an independent statutory agency of the Government of Australia that serves as the central point of contact for free advice and information on the Australian ...

, Worksafe Australia and Comcare. For the first half of 2020, Hartland was appointed by the Business Council of Australia to assist Sir

Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired senior Australian Army, Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal ...

with efforts to support small businesses recovery from the bushfires and

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In late 2020 Hartland joined consultancy company Proximity as a Principal Advisor. On 9 December 2022, Hartland was announced as the incoming Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, commencing February 2023. Hartland replaced previous director-general

Paul Symon Major General Paul Bruce Symon, (born 1960) is a retired senior Australian Army officer and public servant. He served as Deputy Chief of Army from 2009 to 2011, Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation from 2011 to 2014 and, followi ...

Other roles

Hartland is or has been a board member of both the

Canberra Hospital Canberra Hospital is a public hospital located in Garran, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It is the largest district general hospital in the region with 672 beds catering to a population of about 550,000. It was formed when the Woden V ...

Foundation and Canberra Girls Grammar School. Hartland is also a

Chief Executive Women Chief Executive Women (CEW) is an Australian organisation that supports women entrepreneurs and those in leadership positions and those aspiring to be senior executives. It provides a network of women in these positions, as well as funding lead ...

member, an MS Angel (philanthropic research for

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

), and is on the advisory board of the

Brotherhood of St Laurence The Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL) is an Australian not-for-profit anti-poverty organisation. BSL has its headquarters in Melbourne but provides services and programs across Australia. It undertakes research, delivers services and advocates f ...

Awards

Hartland was awarded a Prime Minister's Gold Award for Excellence in Public Sector Management in 2009. She also earned the 2015 Australian Human Resources Institute Rob Gaffe Award for Leadership and the 2017 Institute of Public Administrations of Australia Prime Minister's Awards.

Personal life

Hartland lives in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

with husband Brian Fisher. They have two adult daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartland, Kerri Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Australian public servants 21st-century Australian public servants University of Queensland alumni Australian National University alumni