Print Page

Joanne Blackburn

Canberra

Joanne Blackburn joined CPM Reviews as a Principal Reviewer in July 2010 following a thirty year career in the APS. Her areas of professional competence include public sector strategic policy and program development; review and evaluation; effective organisational structures; coaching and mentoring. She has a wealth of public sector experience, across several departments and a wide range of functions including policy, legislation, litigation, program development, and national and international negotiations.

Joanne joined the APS in 1980 and worked in the Attorney-General's Department, and the Departments of Immigration, Territories and Prime Minister and Cabinet, as both a Government lawyer specialising in public administrative law and as a policy adviser. In 1989 Joanne joined the Senior Executive Service and managed legal and policy branches in both the Department of Primary Industries and Energy and the Department of Transport and Infrastructure. In these positions Joanne managed major organisational reviews, significant procurement projects, development of new legislation, and sensitive litigation and compensation arrangements. Joanne also led Commonwealth delegations in Commonwealth/State forums responsible for developing international maritime trade and training arrangements and Australian delegations to the International Maritime Organisation and the APEC Transportation Working Group.

In August 2001 Joanne was appointed as First Assistant Secretary, Criminal Justice Division, in the Attorney-General's Department. Joanne led the Division through seven years of headline policies and programs covering illicit drugs, handgun reform, people trafficking, international child sex offences, anti-money laundering, extradition, mutual legal assistance, international prisoner transfers, foreign bribery, crime prevention and establishment of the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Commissioner for Law Enforcement Integrity. This involved her in working closely with Ministers, stakeholders, clients, and international institutions. She has managed major national policy and program consultation processes, and led Australian negotiating teams in both bilateral and multilateral international forums.

Joanne has managed large, professionally diverse organisations through significant structural change, involving the addition of new programs and functions, extensive recruitment and training of new staff, and the building of more flexible team management arrangements. Her senior positions in the APS have involved her in providing advice and counsel to staff, supervisors and managers on personnel issues related to the transfer of functions and people, recruitment and promotion procedures, performance appraisal outcomes, and grievance processes.

Joanne has extensive experience in preparing administrative decision-making documents supporting ministerial and agency decisions subject to external scrutiny, including both judicial review by the High Court and Federal Court of Australia and review by the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission and the Privacy Commissioner. Joanne has an Arts/Law degree, with majors in law and political science, and a Graduate Diploma in Public Administration, from the Australian National University. She is an Accredited Executive Coach with the Institute of Executive Coaching, Sydney and is also a Director of Home Help Services, ACT.