Leadership and governance

Deputy Premier, ​Minister for Education, and Minister Skills and Training, Gabrielle Williams MP

Deputy Premier Williams was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2014. She has been Deputy Premier since July 2026 and the Minister for Education, and Minister for Skills and Training since August 2026.

For more information about Deputy Premier Williams, see: Gabrielle Williams - Parliament of Victoria.

Minister for Economic Development, the Hon. Anthony Carbines MP

Minister Carbines was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2010. He has been Minister for Economic Development since August 2026.

For more information about Minister Carbines, see: Anthony Carbines - Parliament of Victoria.

​​​The VRQA is led by a board of 9–13 members. It reports to the Minister for Education and the Minister for Skills and TAFE.

Members are appointed by the Governor-in-Council. They are:

• Dr Yehudi Blacher PSM
• Ms Andrea Del Monaco
• Dr Julie Caldecott
• Dr Geraldine Atkinson
• Mr Mark Cameron
• Ms Penny Hutchison
• Mr Peter Loney
• Mr Anthony (Tony) Nippard
• Mr Neil Pharaoh
• Mr Tri Nguyen
• Ms Fran Reddan
• Ms Judy Rose PSM

Chair

Dr Yehudi Blacher PSM

Dr Yehudi Blacher commenced as Chair of the VRQA Board on 3 June 2026. He has over 30 years experience in a variety of Victorian Government departments. His work involved major system and program reforms, including reforms to child and family services.

Dr Blacher was Secretary of the former Department for Victorian Communities and Department of Planning and Community Development. Prior to that, he held senior executive roles, including Deputy Secretary (Department of Premier and Cabinet and Department of Human Services) and Director of the Victorian Office of Local Government.

Dr Blacher is an Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) Fellow and has previously served on a wide range of boards and committees, including as:

• Deputy Chancellor, Monash University Council
• Chair and Deputy Chair, VicTrack
• Chair, former Victorian Taxi Commission
• Chair, Port of Hastings Development Authority
• Deputy President of IPAA.

Dr Blacher served as Municipal Monitor for Yarra City Council in 2021–22 and the City of Whittlesea in 2019–20. He is a member of Victoria’s Local Government Arbiter Panel.

In 2012, Dr Blacher received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service in the instigation, promotion and implementation of innovative reforms in public administration. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Monash University in 2022 and was also a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne from 2012 to 2022.

Members

Ms Andrea Del Monaco

Andrea Del Monaco is the Deputy Secretary, Resourcing and Information Systems, Department of Education (the department). Andrea leads the schools human resources and schools workforce policy and strategy functions within the Schools Workforce Group. Andrea is responsible for supporting the attraction and retention of teachers in Victorian government schools whilst guiding workforce supply and demand strategies and initiatives.

Andrea has extensive public sector experience, including senior executive roles at the Department of Treasury and Finance, providing advice on the state’s public sector workforces, budget outlook and fiscal strategy, financial and resource management frameworks, and government’s industrial relations policy settings.

Andrea is the nominated Board member of the department’s Secretary.

Dr Geraldine Atkinson

Dr Geraldine Atkinson has broad experience within Koorie Education. Dr Atkinson played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Minimbah Adult Education Program, which provided Koorie people with an opportunity to take a new direction through training. She has contributed her expertise to key policies and strategies that have yielded significant improvement in outcomes through her role as President of Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated. She co-chairs the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and has been instrumental in driving government and policy reform in Aboriginal education for over 40 years.

Dr Julie Caldecott

Dr Julie Caldecott has extensive experience as a consultant and non-executive director across both the public and private sectors. As a Director and Partner of Boston Consulting Group, she focused on consumer goods, health and public policy reforms. She trained as a medical practitioner prior to joining Boston Consulting Group, and has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne.

Dr Caldecott chairs the Infrastructure Australia Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. She is a member of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Board and chairs the Program Audit, Risk and Integrity Committee. In addition, Dr Caldecott is a member of the Sacred Heart Mission Board and a non-executive Director at Scope (Australia).

Her previous board memberships include Board Chair of BlueCross Aged Care and Maxlife Care as well as non-executive directorships at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research and St John of God Healthcare.

Mr Mark Cameron

Mr Mark Cameron has had a long career in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. He is an industry representative with strong experiences developing training programs and promoting apprenticeships in the transport, welding and electrical trades. Mr Cameron is a non-executive Director of Sparkways, a leading independent social enterprise focused on children and young people delivering youth services and early education and care, and Chair of Barker Trailers, a significant employer of trade-qualified personnel.

Ms Penny Hutchinson

Ms Penny Hutchinson commenced her professional career with a chartered accounting firm in London, before migrating to Australia in 1983. Ms Hutchinson was the Director of Arts Victoria from 2000 to 2013, managing relationships across several major government institutions and numerous non-government organisations across arts and culture. She had a leadership role in several major cultural infrastructure projects in Victoria. Ms Hutchinson is also highly experienced in the finance sector. She is a chartered accountant and was a partner in a large financial services and consultancy firm.

Ms Hutchinson has been on the Board and chaired the audit committee of many organisations, including Medibank Private, the Federal Airports Corporation and Monash University, and is currently on the boards of Eastern Health and Central Gippsland Region Water Corporation.

Ms Hutchinson holds a Master of Public Policy and Management from the University of Melbourne, a Music Performance diploma, and an honours degree in German and Music from the University of London. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Mr Peter Loney

Mr Peter Loney is a former teacher, Member of Parliament (MP) and academic. Following a long teaching career, he was elected to the Parliament of Victoria in 1992.

An MP until 2006, Mr Loney held several parliamentary positions, including Deputy Speaker, Chair of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, Chair of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees, Chair of the Privileges Committee, and member of the Standing Orders and Law Reform Committees.

From 2006 to 2010, Mr Loney was Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Public Sector Governance and Accountability Research Centre at La Trobe University and was Adjunct Professor specialising in legislative governance at Deakin University’s Alfred Deakin Research Institute from 2010–2019. He is currently Adjunct Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University.

Mr Anthony (Tony) Nippard

Mr Anthony Nippard is a governance professional, Board Chair, Board Director and committee member. Since 1988, he has been a director of not-for-profit and public entities spanning sectors including higher education and training, children’s services, community and mental health, and school governance. He has worked on advisory committees in the child protection, defence, public sector governance and university sectors.

He is the Governance and Managing Director of Nippard Pty Ltd, a Principal of Thoughtpost Governance, and a Board Director of Melbourne Forum. Mr Nippard has previously been a Board Director at Neami Limited, Mental Health and Wellbeing Australia Limited and Box Hill Institute of TAFE, as well as a Board Member at the Victorian TAFE Association.

Mr Nippard has extensive experience as a senior executive in various roles, primarily in the areas of health, housing finance, public and community housing, homeless housing services, financial management, corporate services, public administration and integrity, knowledge management and public sector governance.

Mr Neil Pharaoh

Mr Neil Pharaoh sits on a number of boards, including Tactiv and Thorne Harbour Health, where he is also member of the Risk, Audit and Finance Committee. He is an Advisory Board Member at Hybrid Energy Australia, Executive Director at Tanck Pty Ltd and Director of Corporate Affairs at Hireup. He is also a Board Director of Sustainability Victoria.

He is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and experienced in social purpose, government, public policy and advocacy organisations. Mr Pharaoh has been a strong contributor to leading social policy and advocacy campaigns, as well as national and international philanthropic and development work in child welfare, education, refugee and LGBTIQ+ issues.

Mr Tri Nguyen

Mr Tri Nguyen was born in Vietnam and arrived in Australia via Malaysia by boat as part of the UNHCR Refugee Program in the early 1980s. He was the first Vietnamese law graduate of the University of Adelaide. He is an accomplished corporate lawyer highly experienced in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and capital raising, corporate governance, compliance, risk, finance and stakeholder relationships. Mr Nguyen has over 2 decades of board level experience.

He is a non-executive Director of the Indigenous Education Foundation, an Independent Director of First Super (Chair Audit Risk and Compliance, Remuneration and Nominations Committees), Chair of NoLo Life Ltd, Trustee at Trust for Nature (Chair Finance and Investment Committee and Member, Audit and Risk and Development Committees), Director at Clean Swell Dreaming Pty Ltd, Special Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at genU, Company Secretary and Consultant Legal Advisor at the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Previously he has held roles as General Counsel at Gunns Ltd (incorporating the Auspine Group, where he was also Company Secretary), General Counsel at Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, and General Counsel and Company Secretary at Redundancy Payment Central Fund Ltd (Incolink).  He is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Ms Fran Reddan

Ms Fran Reddan is a senior education leader with more than 3 decades of leadership and governance experience. She was Principal of Mentone Girls’ Grammar School for almost 15 years, where she led significant strategic and organisational transformation.

Ms Reddan has served on a range of boards, including those of a university residential college and a charitable trust. She was also President of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, then the regional peak body for girls’ schools, and has undertaken school accreditation and evaluation work in Australia, including for the Council of International Schools.

A GAICD and National Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, Ms Reddan now leads her own executive coaching and consulting practice and holds a coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation. Her contribution to education has been recognised through inclusion in Who’s Who in Australia and Who’s Who of Australian Women.

Ms Judy Rose PSM

Ms Judy Rose was the Regional Director for the North-Eastern Victoria Region, Department of Education and Training, where she had direct responsibility for over 400 schools. She has worked for the Victorian education department for over 35 years in both metropolitan and rural Victoria, as well as at Monash University’s education faculty.

Ms Rose served on the department’s Education State Board for several years, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (School Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee), and Deakin University Education Faculty Board (Primary Education).

Ms Rose worked as a Senior Principal Adviser with the Colman Education Foundation for several years after leaving the department and supported the establishment of the Our Place sites in Seymour and Mooroopna.

In 2016, Ms Rose was awarded the PSM for her work in establishing flexible learning options for disengaged young people in north-east Victoria. Ms Rose is also a consultant with Waldara Business Support Services.

Our executive team

Chief Executive Officer (Director) – Stefanie Veal.

Our CEO (Director) is responsible to the VRQA Board and to the Secretary of the Department of Education.

There are 3 Deputy Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) who report to the CEO (Director):

• Deputy CEO, Students and Services
• Deputy CEO, Schools
• Deputy CEO, Training and Skills

Our business areas

The CEO (Director) is also responsible for:

• Finance
• Legal
• Governance and Corporate Services

The Deputy CEO, Students and Services is responsible for:

• Home Schooling
• Information Services
• Complaints and Student Services
• Communications

The Deputy CEO, Schools is responsible for:

• International Education
• Registration
• Regulatory projects, Risks and Resources
• Schools reviews

The Deputy CEO, Training and Skills is responsible for:

• Apprenticeships Field Services
• Apprenticeships Administration
• VET and Industry Engagement