Australia's Open Government Forum

Mark Zirnsak joined the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania in 1999 as the Social Justice Officer. He became director for social justice in 2004. In 2019, Mark became the Senior Social Justice Advocate. Mark was one of the founders of the Tax Justice Network Australia and is an expert adviser to Transparency International Australia. He is a member of the Attorney-General’s National Roundtable on Slavery and Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme Operational Stakeholder Working Group.

He was a member of the Open Government Forum that developed Australia’s first two National Action Plans.

He has advocated on regulation of artificial intelligence, democratic reforms to improve citizen participation and trust in government, government transparency, anti-corruption measures, measures to curb transnational corporate crime and increase corporate accountability.

Mark has a PhD in chemical engineering.

Ravi Krishnamurthy is a highly respected civic leader whose sustained contributions over more than two decades have delivered significant impact at both local and national levels across Australia. He is a leading advocate for multicultural inclusion, equitable access, and health system reform. As Founder and President of the Australian Multicultural Action Network (AMAN), Ravi has established a trusted platform that effectively connects grassroots communities with government, ensuring that the voices of seniors and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are meaningfully represented in policy and decision-making.

Through strategic leadership and evidence-based advocacy, Ravi has influenced key areas of public policy, contributing to improved access, inclusion, and community engagement outcomes. He has held national and ministerial advisory roles with the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Social Services, and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority, where his contributions have informed national reforms and strengthened the responsiveness of public systems to diverse communities.

Ravi’s work has been recognised through the 2024 ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award. His leadership reflects a strong commitment to transparent, participatory, and accountable governance, aligned with the principles of the Open Government Partnership. As a Justice of the Peace and a consistent contributor to parliamentary inquiries, Ravi continues to shape inclusive public policy and advance practical solutions that promote fairness, strengthen community trust, and ensure that all Australians have the opportunity to participate fully in society.

Clancy Moore is the current CEO of Transparency International Australia, the world’s leading anti-corruption coalition. He brings almost 20 years of experience of advocacy and governance experience in the Solomon Islands, Myanmar, and Australia, including leadership roles with Oxfam and ActionAid.

Clancy previously led the Australian arm of global transparency NGO Publish What You Pay, calling for greater transparency in the mining, oil and gas sectors. He is also a civil society board member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – the global standard of governance for the mining, oil and gas sector currently implemented in 56 countries. Clancy and his family live on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations.

Anne Twomey is a Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law at the University of Sydney. She has previously worked for the High Court of Australia, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Research Service, the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee and The Cabinet Office of NSW. She is currently a consultant with Gilbert + Tobin lawyers and engages in public education through the media and her YouTube Channel, Constitutional Clarion. She has a strong interest in government integrity, FOI, archives, anti-corruption measures and electoral integrity.

Cara Varian is the Chief Executive Officer of NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) and a strong advocate for equity, opportunity and dignity for all. The NCOSS is the peak body for the social and community services sector in NSW. They bring together members, communities, government, business and other stakeholders to eliminate poverty and create equity across the state.

She is also the Executive Chairperson of the Harding Miller Education Foundation, a national charity that provides scholarships to Australian public high school girls who have high academic potential and are experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. She was named in the 2021 Impact 25, which recognises the most influential people in the Australian social sector and was a finalist for the NSW Premier's Woman of Excellence Award in 2024.

Cara has experience across the not-for-profit, public service, political and corporate sectors. She has experience in the military and at all three levels of government in Australia. She has qualifications in business, political science and international development and she is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kimberlee Weatherall is a Professor of Law at the University of Sydney with more than 20 years’ experience researching and advising on the regulation of technology and copyright law, who has also written extensively on issues around data, privacy law, and public sector use of AI, including recent work on the Australian Government's AI policies and AI transparency.

She is a co-director of the University of Sydney’s multi-disciplinary Centre for AI, Trust and Governance (CAITG) and a research leader within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, an Australian Research Council-funded, multi-university, multi-disciplinary research centre focused on questions at the intersections between society and automated technologies, where she co-leads projects on the governance of AI, and synthetic data and generative agents for modelling multi-stakeholder decision-making. Kimberlee is also a Fellow of, and collaborator with the Gradient Institute, an independent data science research institute dedicated to developing ethical AI. In 2024, she was a member of the Australian Government's AI Expert Group in 2024.

Sarah Chidgey PSM is Deputy Secretary for the Integrity and Security Group in the Attorney-General's Department.

Sarah has held several executive positions in the department, including:

• Deputy Secretary for the Integrity and International Group
• Deputy Secretary for the National Security and Criminal Justice Group
• Deputy Secretary for the National Anti-Corruption Commission Taskforce
• First Assistant Secretary, Cyber and Infrastructure Security Division
• First Assistant Secretary, National Security Division
• First Assistant Secretary, Strategy and Delivery Division
• Assistant Secretary of the Criminal Law and Law Enforcement Branch.

Sarah has also held positions as Senior Adviser on Immigration and Emergency Management in the Office of the Prime Minister, National Security Adviser in the Office of the Attorney-General, and in the Domestic Security Branch of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Sarah has honours degrees in Arts and in Law from the Australian National University.

Tony McDonald is acting Division Head of Digital Policy and Corporations Division, based in Canberra, and has been with the public service for over 34 years, primarily with the Treasury.

Tony has worked on a broad range of policy issues including taxation, superannuation, monetary and fiscal policy, economic forecasting, banking and financial markets and international development. His international experience includes secondments to Iraq in 2003 and PNG from 2004 to 2006, and Tony represented Australia’s constituency on the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank from 2018 to 2022.

Tony holds Master of Economics and Graduate Diploma in Economics degrees from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Western Australia.

Julie Birmingham is an experienced educational leader currently serving as the First Assistant Secretary in the Teaching and Learning Division of the Australian Government Department of Education since October 2020. Prior to this role, Julie held the position of First Assistant Secretary in the National System and Performance Division within the Schools Group. Additional experience includes serving as Acting First Assistant Secretary for National Reform Directions in Schools and as Acting Group Manager for the National Policy and Data Reform Group at the Department of Education. Julie's earlier roles involved managing payment integrity for child care services and overseeing transitions and engagement strategies in early childhood and child care.

Julie O’Brien was appointed as the Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman from 3 November 2025 for a 5-year term. Julie is a strong public sector leader with 15-years’ experience in Senior Executive roles. Julie was General Counsel at the Australian Human Rights Commission since 2010 where she was responsible for their legal, regulatory and enforcement work. She was appointed interim Chief Executive of the Australian Human Rights Commission from June to December 2021. Julie holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney.

David Mackay is the Deputy Secretary for Communications and Media in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, and is also the Department's Integrity and Risk champion.

David has held senior executive roles across the Australian public sector, in the Attorney-General’s Department, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Health. He has also held leadership positions in the New Zealand Treasury, and in McKinsey & Company's public sector practice. David is a director of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, a member of the Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (ACT), and a member of the APS Academy faculty.

David is a graduate of the University of Sydney and Monash University, and is an alumnus of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government's Executive Fellows Program and Deputies Leadership Program.

TBC