About the Department

Secretary

Professor Peter Dawkins

Peter Dawkins is Secretary of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. He joined the Department in 2006 following a period as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance. Image of Professor Peter Dawkins, Secretary of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Since 2007, Peter has had responsibility for overseeing the integration of early childhood development and education into the one department, and the development and implementation, by the Department, of the Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development, on behalf of the Minister for Education and the Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development.

He has also been active on the national stage, for example as Chair of the committee that produced the Melbourne Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, and a member of the Productivity Agenda Working Group, that developed the National Productivity Agenda for COAG.

Prior to joining the public service, Peter held a number of university positions, including Director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne (1996-2005). He remains an honorary Professorial Fellow of the Melbourne Institute.

Peter is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration (Victoria).