Our structure

View the current organisational structure.

Our divisions and Executive Leadership Team

Each division is represented on the department's Executive Leadership Team (ELT), which provides strategic direction and oversight of outcomes, financial performance and good governance of the department.

Michael De'Ath—Director-General

Michael is an accomplished senior executive with over 20-years' public sector leadership with extensive experience in education as a teacher, school principal, Regional Director and Deputy Secretary.

Throughout his career, Michael has delivered outcomes for New Zealand, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland across a variety of portfolios, including education, community services and health.

Sharon Schimming—Associate Director-General, Early Childhood and State Schools

Sharon has more than 30-years' experience in education and for over 20 years, has held numerous leadership positions, including principal, Regional Director North Queensland, and Deputy Director-General of Early Childhood and Educational Improvement division.

Sharon is responsible for leading innovative, statewide systemic reforms in early childhood education and care and state schooling in line with world-leading practice and stakeholder expectations. Sharon works in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to deliver government priorities and outstanding outcomes for children, students and young people from early childhood through to high school.

Tania Porter—Deputy Director-General, Early Childhood

Tania Porter is responsible for improving educational outcomes, by leading policy development and driving key reform to benefit Queensland children and their families.

As Deputy Director-General for Early Childhood, Tania leads the development and implementation of policy, funding and regulatory frameworks to ensure all children from birth to 8 years are engaged in high-quality programs and services that support learning and development, and successful transitions.

Key features of this work include the implementation of the Queensland Government's Free Kindy, which supports all Queensland children to participate in a kindergarten program by improving affordability and access for families and implementation of the Putting Queensland Kids First initiative.

Stacie Hansel—Deputy Director-General, Schools and Student Support

Stacie is an experienced and effective education leader who has served the Queensland state school system as a teacher, principal and system leader since 1996. Stacie provides visionary, values-based leadership and management to inspire equity, excellence and continuous improvement in education delivery across Queensland.

Stacie leads the Schools and Student Support division, which supports 1,264 Queensland state schools, delivering Equity and Excellence to position Queensland state education as a progressive, high-performing system that realises the potential of every student. The division is driven by innovation to embed future focused learning and opportunities for students and teachers to connect across Queensland.

Kathleen Forrester—Deputy Director-General, Policy, Performance, International and Intergovernmental

Kathleen is an experienced senior executive with a track record of leading policy, funding reforms and intergovernmental negotiations in education, health, and human services. Kathleen has executive experience in the Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian governments as well as the private sector.

Kathleen leads the Policy, Performance, International and Intergovernmental division, which adopts a strategic approach to policy, intergovernmental relations, performance, legislation, monitoring, reporting, and governance functions for early childhood and schooling at a whole-of-government and national level. The division also regulates services for students in non-state schools, home education and international student programs, and ensures accountable and transparent administration of funding to non-state schools and community organisations.

Megan Barry—Deputy Director-General, People, Information and Communication Services

Megan's career spans over 20-years in both the private and public sectors in Queensland and Western Australia, in a diverse range of industries including arts, tourism, retail, mining, information and communication technology and energy. Megan is a strong advocate for public purpose work and previously held the role of Deputy Commissioner with the Queensland Public Sector Commission.

Megan leads the People, Information and Communication Services division, which provides leadership and oversight across the department's human resources, information and technologies and strategic communications and engagement functions. The division supports the recruitment and retention of a diverse and capable workforce that delivers responsive services, and leverages technology and innovation to connect all students to world-class digital learning.

Phillip Brooks—Deputy Director-General, First Nations Strategy and Partnerships

Phillip has 22-years' experience in child, youth and family support in Queensland, in roles such as Deputy Director-General, Regional Director, Executive Director and Commissioner at the Queensland Family and Child Commission.

Phillip is a descendant of the Bidjara Tribe (Great Grandfather), the Kairi Tribe (Great Grandmother) and the Ducabrook Clan located at Springsure, Central Queensland.

Phillip leads the First Nations Strategy and Partnerships division, which is responsible for leading the work across government and the department to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students.

Nick Seeley—A/Deputy Director-General, Infrastructure Services

Nick's almost 40-years' public sector experience crosses areas including education, justice, First Nations, training, industrial relations and racing. With 15-years as Executive Director in the Department of Education, Nick is committed to delivering services that achieve the department's vision to realise the potential of every student.

Nick leads the Infrastructure Services Division, which plans and accounts for population growth—responding to the needs of local communities—and is responsible for driving sustainable investment to optimise, renew and maintain educational infrastructure while providing suitable, safe and contemporary learning environments that support a focus on quality teaching and learning.

Duncan Anson—Assistant Director-General, Finance Procurement and Facilities, Chief Finance Officer

Duncan has over 25-years' experience in the Queensland public sector, is a fellow member of CPA Australia, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting).

Duncan has overall leadership of the department's finance, procurement and facilities strategy, functions and systems. Through his delegated responsibilities under section 77 of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 (Qld), Duncan provides strategic advice to the Director-General on financial resource management, budget management, effectiveness of financial systems, financial risks and sustainability.

More information about our current executives and our organisational structure is available.

Governance committees

Our governance committees provide assurance through oversight and management of the department's strategic, enterprise and operational risks to ensure departmental priorities and objectives are achieved.

It is good practice for governance groups to regularly review their operations, performance and outcomes. In 2023–24, to support improved performance reporting from our key governance committees, a new annual assessment process was implemented for all strategic governance groups to review their effectiveness. The assessments assist to support ongoing governance capability building across the department.

Further information about the key governance committees is available at Appendix A. Specific information on the department's Audit and Risk Management Committee is available.