Professor Brendan Murphy AC has been Secretary since 2020, after joining the Department as Chief Medical Officer in 2016.
Although he rose to public prominence during the outbreak of COVID-19, Prof Murphy’s time as Secretary was broader than just COVID-19. He has overseen the start of aged care, mental health, primary care and health workforce reform. He also appeared at the Royal Commission into Aged Care Safety and Quality, giving evidence multiple times including on the Department’s response to COVID-19 in aged care.
Melbourne-born, Prof Murphy was a nephrologist by profession and was formerly president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology; CMO and director of nephrology at St Vincent's Health; CEO of Austin Health; and a board member of Health Workforce Australia, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
Prof Murphy is the first medical doctor to be appointed to the public servant position of Secretary of the Department of Health in its current incarnation, and since Dr Gwynne Howells, who was Secretary to the former Department of Health until 1982.
He was named Australian Capital Territory's Australian of the Year in November 2020, and in June 2022, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours for "eminent service to medical administration and community health, particularly as Chief Medical Officer, and to nephrology, to research and innovation, and to professional organisations".
He will retire on 6 July.
