Martin Parkinson commenced as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on 23 January 2016 and stepped down from the role in late-2019.

Prior to this Martin was a professional Non-Executive Director, serving on the boards of ORICA, O’Connell Street Associates, and the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He also served as a member of the Policy Committee of the Grattan Institute and on the Australian Federal Police Future Directions Advisory Board

From March 2011 to December 2014, Martin served as Australia’s Treasury Secretary. Before this he served as the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Climate Change from its establishment in December 2007. Between 1997 and 2000 he worked at the International Monetary Fund on reform of the global financial architecture.

Martin is a member of the Male Champions of Change and has previously served as a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Chair of the Board of the Australian Office of Financial Management, and a member of Prime Minister Abbott’s Business Advisory Council and Prime Minister Gillard’s Australia’s Asian Century Strategic Advisory Board.

He has also served as a member of the Board of Infrastructure Australia, the Council of Financial Regulators, the Board of Taxation, and the Board of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation.

In 2017 Martin was made a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) “for eminent service to the Australian community through leadership in public sector roles, to innovative government administration and high level program delivery, to the development of economic policy, and to climate change strategy”.

In 2008, Martin was awarded the Public Service Medal for his contribution to the development of economic policy. He is a life member of the Australian Business Economists, National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia, Fellow of the Australian National Institute of Public Policy, recipient of the ANZSOG Institute of Governance Public Sector Award for Excellence, and was awarded the Australian National University’s inaugural Alumnus of the Year in 2013.

Martin holds PhD and MA degrees from Princeton University, an MEc from the Australian National University and a BEc (Hons 1) from the University of Adelaide. In May 2015, Martin was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University (honoris causa) by the University of Adelaide.