From July 2010, the Minister for Education has established interim advisory arrangements for the transition to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) which will guide the establishment of TEQSA prior to the enactment of statutory powers for the agency.

The interim appointments include an Interim Chair and Interim CEO, both of whom will lead the arrangements to take forward the complex task of implementing the new quality assurance and regulatory arrangements for higher education.

• The Interim Chair, Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC, will act as a key liaison point for the higher education sector and a source of independent advice to the Minister for Education on the development of TEQSA and its approach to regulation and quality assurance.
• The Interim CEO, Mr Ian Hawke, will manage the establishment of TEQSA as an organisation and the transition phase. This will include shaping and establishing the new organisation, negotiating details of the transition and developing and implementing a work plan for establishing TEQSA as an operational entity.

Similar interim appointments have also been made for the national VET regulator.

It is anticipated that the interim arrangements will continue until the earlier of either 1 July 2011 or when permanent governance arrangements and appointments have been finalised.

Interim Chair

Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC was announced as Interim Chair of TEQSA on 6 July 2010. See Media Release.

Denise was the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of South Australia from 1997 to 2007. In 2008, she chaired the Government’s Review of Australian Higher Education and has been extensively involved in national education policy groups for more than 20 years as a member of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission, the Higher Education Council of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training and the 2002 Higher Education Review Reference Group.

Denise was also the Foundation Director of the Australian University Quality Agency (AUQA), President and Chair of IDP Education Australia Ltd and member of the Board of Directors of the Business Higher Education Round Table. She is currently President of the Australian College of Educators, Chair of the South Australian Training and Skills Commission and a member of the Education Investment Fund Advisory Board. She is also the Director of Open Universities Australia and a former Chair of the Australian Technology Network of Universities.

Interim CEO

Mr Ian Hawke was announced as Interim Chief Executive Officer of TEQSA on 6 July 2010. See Media Release.

Ian has worked as a senior executive in the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) for the past six and a half years. Over a period of 20 years prior to this, he has worked in senior management roles at the University of Queensland, Griffith University and the Queensland University of Technology in areas of strategic planning, higher education policy, academic management and quality assurance.

Just prior to his appointment, Ian was the Assistant Director General (Tertiary Non-State and Higher Education) which included responsibility for regulation of higher education and VET, in the Queensland DET. Ian is also a Director of Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre, a Board member of AUQA, a subject specialist on the register of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation and a member of the Oman Accreditation Council’s Register of External Reviewers and the National Quality Council. Ian has extensive experience auditing universities in Australia and abroad. Ian is a member of the TEQSA Expert Reference Group.