September 2009

Our Secretaries

Fran Thorn has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Health after heading the Department of Human Services since March 2007.

Between 2005 and early 2007, Fran was Secretary of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development.

Prior to this, she was with DSE as Under Secretary, Portfolio Performance. 

From 2002 to mid-2004, she was a Deputy Secretary of the Policy and Cabinet Group in the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Between 1996 and 2001, Fran Thorn was a Director of KPMG Consulting in Australia and then Hong Kong.

While at KPMG, Fran primarily consulted to the education sector and government, providing advice on policy implementation, program evaluation strategy, costing and refocusing service delivery and future directions at government and the funded-institution level.  

Before joining KPMG, Fran spent 17 years in public sector administration—with about half of that in post compulsory education and training—where she held senior management roles with major policy development, budget, staffing, program management and strategic planning functions.

She has been actively involved in managing implementation of reforms in government service delivery in education and training at a system-wide level and in the management of human resources at a public sector-wide level.

Gill Callister has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Human Services.

Between 1981 and 1991, Ms Callister worked in non-government services undertaking roles such as counselling and group work, management roles in foster care/residential care and early parenting support services. 

Since 1991, Ms Callister has held a range of senior Department of Human Services roles including Child Protection Program Manager, Service Policy and Legislation Manager and Community Care Manager.

In May 2001, Ms Callister was appointed as Community Care Executive Director and, on the establishment of the Office for Children in March, 2005, she became the inaugural Executive Director of this new Division. 

Under her stewardship, the new Children, Youth and Families Act—acknowledged nationally as cutting-edge policy reform, shifting the focus of children’s services to the ‘best interests of the child’—was developed.

In 2006 Ms Callister was awarded an Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) in Victoria Fellowship.

Ms Callister headed the Department of Human Services’ Mental Health and Drugs Division from 2007 to 2009 as Executive Director and led the development of the new mental health 10-year Because Mental Health Matters reform strategy. 

In 2009, Ms Callister was appointed Deputy Secretary of Skills Victoria.