Lisa Marian Paul is the seventh

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

and a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. She was the

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 Department of Education and Training until February 2016.

Personal life

Lisa Paul was born in California,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the daughter of two teachers. When she was young, Paul and her family moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand and then to

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

following her father's job opportunities. Paul holds an Arts degree she obtained from 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 ...

Career

After a first-job working at Target Newton in Adelaide, Paul's first public service role was in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

(ACT) Government Housing Trust. Her career in the ACT public sector included the time during the ACT's transition to self-government. Paul led the Commonwealth's domestic response to the

2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...

while a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Family and Community Services. Paul was appointed Secretary of the

Department of Education, Science and Training The Department of Education, Science and Training (also called DEST) was an Australian government department that existed between November 2001 and December 2007. Scope Information about the department's functions and government fundi ...

in October 2004. The Department then became the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. It was split into two in 2013 after the

Abbott government The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...

took power and Paul was appointed Secretary of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. She was also named to head the new Department of Education and Training when the Department was formed in December 2014, encompassing much of the previous department. In December 2015, Paul announced her intention to leave her role at the Department of Education and Training in February 2016. In December 2016 Paul was appointed a member of the Australian Government's Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board. Paul has served as the chair of

headspace Headspace may refer to: Science and technology * Headspace gas chromatography, a technique in analytical chemistry * Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container * Headspace technology, the gaseous constituents of a closed space abo ...

since 2018 and is a member of Raise Foundation's Patron's Advisory Council.

Awards and honours

In October 2003 Paul was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service as Chair of the Commonwealth Bali Interagency Taskforce in the development of the Commonwealth's response in support of the victims of the bombings which occurred in Bali on 12 October 2002. In June 2011 Paul was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for distinguished service to public sector leadership in key policy and program implementation, particularly through driving reform in education, employment and workplace. In the same year Paul was named as Federal Government Leader of the Year. In September 2024 Paul was awarded th
Academy Medal
by the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

for advancing the cause of science and technology in Australia by means other than research.

Notes

References and further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Lisa Australian National University alumni Chancellors of the University of Canberra Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Public Service Medal (Australia) Secretaries of the Australian Government Education Department Year of birth missing (living people)