• Shape the governance, strategy and priorities for one of Australia’s most significant social reforms at a defining moment in its history
• Bring exceptional judgement, systems leadership and strategic oversight to a complex, high-profile national role
• Locations: Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is the independent statutory agency responsible for implementing the world-leading National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), supporting eligible Australians with permanent and significant disability. After more than a decade of operation, the NDIS is in a major period of change, with a focus on improving participant experience, strengthening integrity and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
 
The opportunity: For the right candidate, this is a career defining role in which you will use your judgment to shape the NDIA’s approach to its most complex and consequential challenges. As Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Legal, Actuarial, Governance & Reviews, you will hold one of the NDIA’s most senior and significant senior executive roles, leading engagement across the Australian public service on the NDIA’s strategy and priorities and leading the NDIA’s legal, actuarial, governance, strategy and frontline decision review teams. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and working closely with the NDIA Board and Executive Leadership Team, you will steward the NDIA through its next phase.
 
You will be expected to form views, persuade others to adopt them, and be accountable for outcomes. You will lead a large, national team of experts through a period of substantial change.  You will shape the systems and frameworks that promote sound, rigorous and robust decision-making and governance across the NDIA, operating in a complex environment with significant and sustained public scrutiny. 
The Legal, Actuarial, Governance and Reviews Group is a critical enabler of the NDIA’s mission and performance. It provides authoritative advice, independent assurance and strategic oversight to ensure the Agency operates lawfully, transparently and sustainably. This Group sits at the heart of executive decision‑making and system stewardship. The work is varied, high‑impact and often complex, requiring collaboration across the Agency and with government, regulators and the disability community.
 
The ideal candidate: You are an intellectually curious and accomplished senior executive with substantial experience operating at the highest levels of the public service in an Australian jurisdiction. You are a systems thinker with deep experience mobilising multidisciplinary teams to solve the public sector’s biggest challenges shaped by your highly developed judgement, structured approach and analytical rigour. You thrive in highly scrutinised environments that demand big picture thinking at pace. You are recognised as a confident, calm and trusted adviser who can interrogate complex information, provide persuasive, authoritative advice and support evidence-based decision-making at scale.
 
Beyond your functional remit, you are an influential and collaborative senior executive who understands the importance of driving positive impact through collective leadership. You foster alignment, constructive challenge and collaboration, and build a cohesive, high-performing delivery culture. You foster trust and confidence by modelling integrity and accountability. Purpose-driven and systems-oriented, you are motivated by the opportunity to improve the long-term positive impact that the NDIS and the NDIA have for the people that they serve.
 
How to apply: Orchard Talent Group have been engaged to assist with this appointment. For a confidential discussion and/or a copy of the candidate pack, please contact Felicity Stalley or Jessica Lewy of The Orchard Talent Group at NDIA@orchardtalent.com.au. To apply, please submit a current CV and a succinct pitch (maximum 750 words) addressing the skills, attributes and leadership expectations outlined in the candidate pack via email to NDIA@orchardtalent.com.au.
 
Applicants must be Australian citizens and the successful candidate must complete a security clearance.

Closing date: close of play Monday 15 June 2026


The Orchard Talent Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.