Secretary
Jeremi Moule was appointed as the Secretary of DPC in October 2020. Before this role, Jeremi was Deputy Secretary of Governance Policy and Coordination at DPC, a position he held from August 2018.
Jeremi has held various executive positions in the Victorian and South Australian public services over a 17-year period. He started his career as a journalist and was the CEO of a registered training organisation. Jeremi lives in Bendigo and has worked extensively in regional Victoria.
He holds a journalism degree from the University of South Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Legal and Governance
Toby Hemming was appointed as General Counsel in May 2018 and was the Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Legal and Governance from July 2022 to April 2023, when he joined another VPS department.
Toby has significant experience in the Victorian public sector, having held senior positions in organisations including the County Court of Victoria, the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority and the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.
Toby holds degrees in the areas of law, arts and corporate governance. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed Executive Fellows programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.
Jennifer Barton was Acting Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Legal and Governance from April to June 2023. Jennifer substantively serves as Executive Director, Governance Branch, DPC.
Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity
Tim Ada was Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity until March 2023, when he was appointed as Secretary of another VPS department.
Tim began in the DPC role in April 2019. Previously, Tim was Deputy Secretary at the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, where he was responsible for the strategic development of key industry sectors including manufacturing, life sciences and international education and for delivering telecommunications and employment programs.
Tim has a Master of Agriculture Sciences from the University of Melbourne.
Heather Ridley was Acting Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity from March to June 2023.
Jason Loos began in the role of Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity and Land Coordinator General in June 2023. Jason has a Master of Business Administration from RMIT and an honours degree in economics from Monash University.
Deputy Secretary, First Peoples – State Relations
Elly Patira was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of First Peoples – State Relations in April 2021. Elly is a lawyer and policy adviser with broad experience across constitutional, Indigenous and minority rights law and policy, both domestically and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a JD (Juris Doctor) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford.
Elly has held various executive positions in the Treaty and First Peoples portfolio at DPC. She previously worked as an academic, in the corporate sector, for Aboriginal organisations and as an adviser during the Fijian constitution-making process. As Deputy Secretary, Elly oversees an extensive program of priority work with First Peoples in the areas of treaty, truth and transitional justice, self-determination and cultural rights and protection.
Deputy Secretary, Industrial Relations Victoria
Matt O’Connor was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of IRV in April 2015.
Matt has worked in the Victorian Government since 2003. He has overseen the development of significant industrial relations legislative and policy reforms including wage theft, labour hire licensing, long service leave, child employment and gig worker supports.
Matt provides strategic input on a range of whole of government industrial relations matters. He has overseen the government’s participation in significant legal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission, including advocating for secure and fair employment through increases to the national minimum wage and a work value review of aged care workers. He also represents the Victorian Government in consultations with the Commonwealth Government on federal industrial relations legislative proposals, including amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009, with a view to maintaining fair and productive workplace arrangements for Victorian employers and workers.
Matt has led the implementation of the government’s public sector industrial relations strategy for several years and, more recently, played a pivotal role in developing enduring flexible working arrangements for the VPS and reviewing the Victorian public sector wages policy.
Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Interdepartmental Relations
Emma Cassar was appointed Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations in March
2023, following more than 20 years’ experience in local and international roles spanning government, private and
non-profit organisations.
Emma holds a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology from the University of Melbourne and began her distinguished career as a forensic psychologist with Corrections Victoria in 1999. She went on to become General Manager at several Victorian prisons and acted in various senior executive roles before becoming CEO of non-profit Open Family Australia in 2010 and State Director for Mission Australia from 2011 to 2013. A stint in the private sector saw Emma as Business Development Director of Serco Australia and then a number of years at KPMG as a Partner, leading the National Justice and Security sector.
Emma returned to Corrections Victoria in June 2018 as Commissioner. In July 2020 Emma took on the role of Deputy State Controller for the COVID-19 Accommodation program and at the end of 2020 was appointed COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner.
Kate Houghton was Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations until December 2022 when she was appointed Secretary of another VPS department.
Emma Catford was Acting Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations from December 2022 to March 2023.
Updated