26 June 2020

Chairperson of the Commonwealth Grants Commission appointment

The Treasurer is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Michael Callaghan AM PSM as the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Grants Commission (the CGC) for a five-year period.

The CGC provides advice to the Australian Government on the relative fiscal capacity of State and Territory governments to inform the GST distribution.

Mr Callaghan will bring a high level of skills and experience to the role, including a deep knowledge of domestic and international economic policy. He spent 38 years in the Australian Treasury and served from 2008 to 2012 as the Deputy Secretary responsible for Macroeconomic Group. He also served as Australia’s G20 Finance Deputy and the Prime Ministers Special Envoy, International Economy. From 2005-2007, he was Deputy Secretary of Treasury’s Revenue Group. Mr Callaghan also spent four years on the IMF Executive Board in Washington DC.

In 2017, Mr Callaghan chaired the Government’s review of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax and the review of the Economic Impact of the Government’s Regulation Agenda. He also chaired the Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce. From 2013 to 2014 he was Director of the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute.

The Treasurer congratulates Mr Callaghan on his appointment and looks forward to his contribution to the important work of the CGC.