| Honorific prefix | Dr[1] |
|---|---|
| Office 1 | Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
| Term start 1 | 16 June 2025 |
| Predecessor 1 | Glyn Davis |
| Office 2 | Secretary of the Department of the Treasury |
| Term start 2 | 2 September 2019 |
| Term end 2 | 16 June 2025 |
| Predecessor 2 | Phil Gaetjens |
| Successor 2 | Jenny Wilkinson |
| Birth name | Steven Kennedy |
| Alma mater | The Australian National University (PhD, MEc) University of Sydney (BEc) |
| Office 3 | Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development |
| Predecessor 3 | Mike Mrdak |
| Term end 3 | 2 September 2019 |
| Term start 3 | 7 September 2017 |
Steven Kennedy is an Australian public servant. He is the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.[2] He previously served as secretary of the Department of the Treasury from September 2019 to June 2025 and secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development from September 2017 to August 2019.[3][4][5] Kennedy helped convince the Morrison government to implement JobKeeper during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
In 2024, it was reported that Kennedy is the seventh most highly paid Australian public servant (when executives working at government business enterprises are excluded). Earning $959,257, Kennedy is behind Glyn Davis (Prime Minister and Cabinet), Jan Adams (Foreign Affairs and Trade), Greg Moriarty (Defence), Natalie James (Employment and Workplace Relations), Tony Cook (Education), and Jim Betts (Infrastructure).[7]
Early years
Kennedy grew up in the town of Murwillumbah, on the NSW north coast.[8] At age 19, Kennedy's first full time job was as a nurse. He later commented that this was an eye- opening experience for him.[9]
He listens to alternative music from the 1980s like Hoodoo Gurus and Sunnyboys, and his favourite film is Interstellar.[9]
Other issues
In early 2025, the opposition Coalition proposed a policy to enable some businesses to deduct business-related meal and entertainment expenses without incurring fringe benefits tax.[10]
The independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) costed this proposal at less than $250 million in total, but Kennedy instructed the Treasury Department to expend tax-payer resources to cost this policy as well. Treasury ultimately costed the policy at between $1.6 billion and $10 billion per year.
Some argued that using the Treasury and public service in this way was at odds with convention since the establishment of the independent PBO and veteran budget economist, Chris Richardson, argued that this amounted to using the public service in a politicised way.[11]
Honours and recognition
Kennedy was awarded the Public Service Medal in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours for "outstanding public service in the area of climate change policy".[12] He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2025.[13]
References
- ^ "Our Executive - Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, FASSA". www.pmc.gov.au
- ^ Holmes, Dan (2025-06-10). "Steven Kennedy to lead PM&C". The Mandarin. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Dr Steven Kennedy". Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Kehoe, John (25 July 2019). "New Treasury boss a nurse turned economist". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Wright, Shane (8 November 2019). "Meet the man nursing the economy back to health". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Grattan, Michelle. "Grattan on Friday: If the Albanese government did what really needs to be done, it would be a very big target". The Conversation. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "The APS Secretaries' Salaries List 2024". The Mandarin. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "One of these Seven People could be our next RBA Governor". 27 June 2023. Archived 27 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Why being a nurse and working for Kevin Rudd changed Steven Kennedy". 21 September 2023. Archived 4 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "How Chalmers weaponised Treasury on Dutton's lunch tax break". Australian Financial Review. 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Richardson slams Treasury misuse over lunch deduction costings". Australian Financial Review. 2025-02-03. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Dr Steven Kevin Kennedy". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
- ^ "Academy Fellow: Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, FASSA". Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Retrieved 2026-02-05.