The executive for the Department of Education.
Secretary of the Department of Education
Tony Cook PSM
Tony is Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Education, having previously held the position of Deputy Secretary of the Higher Education, Research and International Group.
Prior to commencing with the department, Tony was the Director General of the Department of Education, Queensland between April 2018 and September 2021. Tony previously held the role as Associate Secretary for Schools and Youth in the former Australian Government Department of Education and Training and has held senior executive positions within the Victorian public service.
In October 2013, Tony was made Honorary Fellow of the Australian Council for Education Leaders. In January 2014, he was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in driving school policy and funding reform in Australia.
Tony is a registered primary school teacher with a major in early childhood education. He holds a Bachelor of Education from the Queensland University of Technology.
Deputy Secretaries
Kylie Crane PSM, Deputy Secretary Early Childhood and Youth
Kylie Crane is a proud career public servant with over 30 years’ experience in service delivery, policy development, program and project management, and implementation.
Kylie started her public service career in an entry level role with the Department of Defence before taking on a range of service delivery and operational roles in the Department of Social Security and Centrelink.
Since 2014, Kylie has held senior roles in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. She has led large-scale transformation projects, worked across a range of social policy issues and programs, driven reform through bilateral arrangements and led the Care Workforce Labour Market Study, the first ‘whole of sector’ examination of the care and support workforce.
Kylie is passionate about public service and was elected to the Institute for Public Administration Australia ACT Council in 2021. In January 2022, she was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) for contributions to the Disability Taskforce and to the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kylie has a Master of Business Administration and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Meg Brighton, Deputy Secretary Schools Group
Meg Brighton commenced as Deputy Secretary, Schools with the Department of Education in March 2023.
Prior to joining the Department, Meg was the inaugural Head of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) – an independent and confidential function that was established in response to high profile, complex and highly sensitive issues in Australia’s Parliament House. The function is focused on strengthening the workplace culture in Commonwealth Parliamentary workplaces.
Meg has also held a number of senior roles in the ACT Government. As the Deputy Director-General in ACT Health she had a senior role in the ACT Government’s COVID response as well as being responsible for leading strategic policy, health funding reform, system planning and jurisdiction-wide approaches to clinical leadership, education and health research.
Prior to this, as Deputy Director-General and Acting Director-General of the ACT Education Directorate, Meg was responsible for strategic policy and service delivery reform, education programs, school funding and the operations of all the ACT’s public schools.
Meg has more than 20 years’ experience across economic and social policy portfolios, regulation, corporate services and service delivery in the ACT, NSW and Canadian public sectors. She has also held a number of non-executive director roles in the non-government sector and has served on the Boards of ACARA and the ACT Teacher Quality Institute.
Meg holds a Master of Commerce (major in Law) and a Bachelor of Arts (major in Public Relations).
Ben Rimmer, Deputy Secretary Higher Education, Research and International Group
Ben Rimmer is the Deputy Secretary, Higher Education, Research and International Group in the Department of Education.
He returned to the Australian Public Service in April 2023 following roles as Associate Secretary in the Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and Chief Executive Officer of Homes Victoria, and before that as Chief Executive Officer of the City of Melbourne.
Ben is a committed and passionate public servant, focused on building strong, capable, diverse and inclusive teams to provide excellent service to Ministers and the government, and through them the Australian community.
His previous roles with the Australian Government include Associate Secretary in the Department of Human Services (now Services Australia) and Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and for the Victorian Government include leadership roles in the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
He is a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration, a recipient of the James Wolfensohn Public Service Scholarship, and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Ben was a member of the Champions of Change Coalition between 2015 and 2019, spent 2002 working to support Cape York First Nations organisations through a secondment with Jawun, and is Chair of the Australian Youth Orchestra. He holds an MBA from the University of Oxford, and Arts and Law degrees from the University of Melbourne.
Marcus Markovic, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Corporate and Enabling Services Group
Marcus Markovic is the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Corporate and Enabling Services Group.
Marcus has a long career in the Australian Public Service and has held senior finance and technology executive roles in the Department of Education, Department of Human Services, ComSuper and the Australian Taxation Office.
He has extensive experience in leading large operational, finance and information technology teams and implementing change programs.
Marcus’ academic qualifications include a Master of Business Administration, Graduate Diploma (Information Systems) and Bachelor of Commerce.
He is also a fellow of CPA Australia and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.