Appointment of Rachel McCallum as NSW Electoral Commissioner

Ms McCallum brings a distinguished background in public administration and law, with significant experience in electoral matters. She has served as the NSW Information Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Information and Privacy Commission NSW, and previously held senior roles at the NSW Electoral Commission, including as Acting Electoral Commissioner.

With over 30 years of legal and public sector experience, Ms McCallum’s career has spanned roles within the NSW Government, regulatory bodies, and the Commonwealth public sector. Her contributions have included overseeing key reforms in electoral funding laws and leading initiatives to enhance transparency, cybersecurity, and election integrity.

Ms McCallum will commence her appointment on 2 December 2024, following an extensive recruitment process to fill the vacancy arising from the retirement of former Electoral Commissioner John Schmidt in April this year after almost eight years in the role.

The appointment was made following an open, merit-based and comparative selection process that included public advertising of the role. The selection panel comprised the Chairperson of the NSW Electoral Commission (the Hon. Arthur Emmett AO KC) and the Secretaries of The Cabinet Office (Ms Kate Boyd PSM), Premier’s Department (Mr Simon Draper PSM), and Treasury (Mr Michael Coutts-Trotter).

The NSW Government is confident that Ms McCallum will provide the Electoral Commission with the strong, impartial leadership essential for preserving integrity, respect and trust in the electoral system in New South Wales.

The NSW Electoral Commissioner is an independent statutory officer appointed by the Governor of New South Wales. The Electoral Commissioner is responsible for administering a range of elections in NSW, including NSW State elections, and administering the electoral funding, expenditure and disclosure scheme for those elections.

The Electoral Commissioner sits on the three-member independent statutory body of the NSW Electoral Commission and also leads the NSW Electoral Commission Staff Agency which is a separate public sector agency that supports the exercise of the Electoral Commissioner and the NSW Electoral Commission's statutory functions. 

Ms McCallum is appointed as Electoral Commissioner for a term of eight years and her term can be renewed once. The role is politically independent and must be impartial and non-partisan.

Special Minister of State John Graham said:

“Rachel McCallum’s legal and public sector experience, understanding of the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW’s electoral laws, and commitment to impartiality make her an ideal person to lead the NSW Electoral Commission.

“Her background in public service and electoral matters, coupled with her expertise in regulatory oversight should ensure she brings a fair and balanced approach to this critical role.

“I congratulate Ms McCallum on her appointment as Electoral Commissioner.”