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Canberra Institute of Technology is a territory authority established under the Canberra Institute of Technology Act 1987 (CIT Act).
The CIT Act was amended in 2014 to replace the CIT Advisory Council with a governing board to better enable CIT "to meet the twin objectives of operating as a public provider of vocational education and training and operating with greater commercial and entrepreneurial focus in an increasingly contestable training marketplace" (Minister for Education and Training, ACT Legislative Assembly, 30 October 2014).
Governance of territory authorities is regulated by the Financial Management Act 1996 (FMA) and many elements of the operation of a governing board established under territory legislation are provided for in the FMA.
The CIT Board commenced operation on 1 July 2015.
The functions of the CIT Board are prescribed in section 77 of the FMA and are:
- setting CIT policies and strategies
- governing CIT consistently with the authority's establishing Act and other relevant legislation
- ensuring, as far as practicable, that CIT operates in a proper, effective and efficient way
- ensuring, as far as practicable, that CIT complies with applicable governmental policies (if any).
Membership of the CIT Board consists of at least nine and no more than 11 members, and is defined in sections 10-12 of the CIT Act. Part 9 of the FMA prescribes the requirements for appointment to the CIT Board and all appointments are made under section 11 of the CIT Act by the ACT Government Minister for Tertiary Education. Membership of the CIT Board includes an elected CIT student and staff member. Current members are listed below.
The CIT Chief Executive Officer is a member of the CIT Board in accordance with section 80 (4) of the FMA.
The inaugural meeting of the CIT Board was held on 29 July 2015. At the meeting the CIT Board agreed to publish a communique following each Board meeting as a public summary of matters considered by the CIT Board. The communiques are available below.
The CIT Board will be meeting a minimum of five times per year and may establish sub-committees from time-to-time to assist the Board to deal with complex or specialised issues more effectively.
If you would like more information about the Board or to raise issues on any matters, you can contact the CIT Board directly by email: CITBoard@cit.edu.au.
STATEMENT FROM THE CIT BOARD - June 2024
The Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) welcomes the Special Report of the Integrity Commission regarding Operation Luna. The CIT Board has given careful consideration to the findings in the Special Report.
Ms Cover resigned as the CIT CEO on 18 June.
In response to the Board’s past experience, which is reflected in the findings of the Special Report, the CIT Board has been working to strengthen the CIT’s governance, finance, and procurement processes.
Moving Forward
Kate Lundy was appointed Chair of the CIT Board from 1 July 2022 and the new Deputy Chair, Natalie Howson, joined the Board on 1 July 2022. The former Chair concluded his term on 30 June 2022.
The new Chair and Deputy Chair have focussed, with the Executive, on improving processes to strengthen and improve procurement, financial management and governance at CIT. This has included the Board engaging a new CIT Executive and Interim CEO who have led the organisation through this rebuilding stage. The Board is grateful for their work and dedication to improving CIT processes.
Since 1 July 2022, the Board has worked to strengthen internal processes. This has included changing the financial delegations to ensure that procurements for goods and services over $1 million and consultancies over $500,000 are approved by the CIT Board rather than the CEO. The Board is meeting more frequently to ensure fulsome oversight of CIT business and deeper consideration of strategic and operational issues. The Board also engaged appropriate resources to provide the capacity necessary to ensure accuracy of record keeping and correspondence management. Senior Executives attend Board meetings as observers and the Interim CEO ensures that communications across and through CIT have improved.
The Board has established a Governance and Nominations Committee for the Board, which has guided improvements to governance including Board processes, decision frameworks, academic governance, strategic reporting, regulatory compliance, and conflict-of-interest procedures.
In response to the Minister's Direction, the Board has since 1 July 2022, regularly briefed the Minister on improvements to governance, procurement, and financial management.
The CIT Audit and Risk Committee have updated their charter and have focussed on risk management, preventing fraud and corruption, and working to ensure improvement of oversight especially in regard to governance, procurement, and financial management. The CIT Audit and Risk Committee have also improved complaint handling processes.
In late 2023, the Board and Executive started development of a new Strategic Plan for CIT. This plan will focus on the CIT direction over the next 10 years. As part of this work the CIT Board notes that there are skills shortages across the country and CIT is at the forefront of responding to training needs for Canberra and the region. The Board is focussed on the role of CIT in the community and in building skills across the broad range of sectors that CIT teaches in.
The Board notes that while this Special Report has been released, that the Integrity Commission investigation is still underway and as such the Board cannot make comment on their wider investigations. The Board looks forward to receiving the final report and will consider any recommendations that the Integrity Commission may make to improve governance.
The Board would like to thank CIT staff for their support during this time and recognises the uncertainty for staff during this time. The Board recognises that our staff remain our biggest asset and are critical to our success in building the essential skills for the ACT and region. The Board also thanks staff for continuing to focus on our students through this time.
STATEMENT ENDS
| Membership of the CIT Board | |
|---|---|
 Ms Kate Lundy |
Kate retired as the Senator for the ACT on 24 March 2015, having been first elected to the Federal Parliament in 1996. This included roles as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister Assisting for the Digital Economy, Minister for Sport, and Minister Assisting for Industry and innovation. Kate is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Kate is actively involved in a number of community and sporting clubs which reflect her broad range of interests. She is Board Chair of the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, a director of Electro Optic Systems, the National Youth Science Forum, the Geospatial Council of Australia and a director of the NRMA. Kate has been recognised with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the Australian National University for her contribution to policy and advocacy in the information and communication technology sector and is an Honorary Associate Professor at the ANU Research School of Physics. Kate brings to the CIT Board her interest and experience in skills development, social, economic and cultural policy issues and governance. |
 Ms Natalie Howson |
Natalie has 25 years' experience in senior executive roles in the state and federal public service. She started her working life as a teacher in Queensland. Natalie has established and lead a commonwealth statutory authority and been Director General of two ACT Government Directorates – Education and Community Services. Natalie now chairs the board of the ACT Teacher Quality Institute, and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Solutions company, and is the Deputy Chair of the CIT. In 2023 Natalie was appointed to the National School Funding Agreement Reference Group by the Minister for Education, Jason Clare. Natalie is a member of the ACT Reconciliation Council and has supported Aboriginal -led projects to develop the governance and professional capability of their people. Natalie held senior executive roles in several Australian Government agencies including Defence, the Health Insurance Commission (Medicare Australia), and Centrelink. She was recognised throughout her career for skills in public sector leadership, policy development in social services, housing and education, stakeholder collaboration, effective change management and service delivery. Natalie has established successful partnerships in many diverse sectors and has been a member of international and national policy and regulatory committees. She represented the Australian government, advocating for global change in the fight against drugs in sport in the lead up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In 2021 Natalie completed Research Master’s degree in International Education Leadership. |
 Ms Christine Robertson |
Christine has held a wide range of tertiary teaching and senior executive leadership roles in public and private Education and Training Institutes and dual sector Universities across Australia. Her recent roles include Executive General Manager Education and Training at Open Colleges, one of Australia's oldest and largest providers of fully online VET qualifications, and Executive Director Quality and Performance at Holmesglen, one of Australia's most innovative TAFE Institutes. Before this she was the Pro Vice-Chancellor Vocational Education and Training at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory, with responsibility for building a strong and skilled workforce to service major regional infrastructure projects and community and economic development needs across the Northern Territory and South East Asia. Christine is a Director of the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) and the VET Development Centre, a member of the ASQA Stakeholder Liaison Group, and a former Deputy Chair of TAFE Directors Australia. |
 Tahlia-Rose Vanissum |
Tahlia-Rose Vanissum is a proud Woppaburra woman who works across her community and the public sector to improve outcomes for First Nations women, girls and people with disability. She is currently undertaking a Master of Culture, Health, and Medicine at the Australian National University (ANU). Tahlia-Rose’s is passionate about building understandings and identification of intersectional and systemic discrimination through truth-telling. Tahlia-Rose is passionate about inclusive, respectful and reciprocal leadership that amplifies the strengths of cultural ways of being by building the capability of others to identify and address discrimination across national frameworks, jurisdictional priorities and institutional settings. Tahlia-Rose is the Chair of the ACT Government’s Ministerial Advisory Council on Women, Sisters in Spirit Aboriginal Corporation, and a Board Director at CIT’s wholly-owned subsidiary CIT Solutions. In her spare time, Tahlia-Rose is completing the AICD’s Company Directors Course as a 2023 Disability Leadership Scholar. Tahlia-Rose also holds vocational qualifications in government, business, leadership, and human resources management and a Bachelor of Criminology from the ANU. |
 Mr Keith Brown |
Keith Brown has been working at the Canberra Institute of Technology for over thirteen years. He started teaching Work Health and Safety before moving to the High Risk section to deliver within the Global Wind Organisation safety program. He has gone on to take on the positions of Senior Teacher within the High Risk section and most recently the Head of Department for Construction and High Risk. Keith has a long history with the CIT starting in 1988 as an apprentice mechanic and further study in various vocational disciplines including Business, Marketing, Human resources and Work Health and Safety. Keith’s experience spans many years working in ACT and Commonwealth Government agencies primarily in the fields of safety and emergency management. He has also worked for several private organisations in Human Resources and work health and safety. Keith is also an active volunteer with the ACT Rural Fire Service and St John Ambulance ACT. Keith has a Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education and is passionate about the impact that access to education has on people lives. |
 Ms Roslyn Jackson |
Roslyn is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and has held Senior Executive positions within the Australian Government and the private sector. Roslyn worked as an Academic in both the TAFE and University sectors before establishing her own training company where she specialised in Public Financial Management (government accounting). Roslyn has spent 30 years educating both Commonwealth and State Public Servants about their financial responsibilities and compliance with relevant financial management laws and policies. Roslyn is a very experienced facilitator, presenting internationally across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Roslyn has over 25 years’ experience as a Non-Executive Director. She is an experienced Board and Audit Committee Chair and has held positions predominantly in the not-for-profit health and education sectors. |
 Ms Jane Madden |
Jane Madden, Principal of Brickfielder Insights, is a highly experienced senior executive and Chair/board director with an international track record of leading large teams in multiple geographies, cultures, and languages. With over thirty years in Australia’s public sector and diplomatic service, Jane has held numerous senior leadership roles, including Deputy Secretary at Australia's trade and investment agency, Austrade, Chief Operating Officer of the Digital Transformation Office, and Australian Ambassador to UNESCO, Deputy Ambassador to France and Counsellor in Japan. Jane is also a highly regarded non-executive director and member of boards and committees across government, business and the not-for-profit sector. Jane is the global Chair of the Fred Hollows Foundation, President of the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) and on the boards of Australian Business Volunteers and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), as well as a number of start-up ventures and advisory committees. A graduate of the University of Tasmania and ANU, Jane has also studied at Harvard, Melbourne Business School and INSEAD. She is fluent in Japanese and French. |
 Ms Rosemary Bishop |
Rosemary Bishop (B,A.( Hons) , MBA) joined the CIT Board in July 2023. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and brings a strong educational and business perspective. She has a background as a CEO in the Not-for-Profit Sector where she led organisational merges and service transformation. Prior to taking leadership roles in the NFP sector, Rosemary led Interdependent, a consultancy focusing on organisational development and change management. Interdependent provided nationally recognised training through the Registered Training Organisation and consulted widely to lead and implement changes in the VET sector enabling public and private sector services to improve career development and learning opportunities for their staff. Rosemary has consulted in Bhutan and Manila on skills transfer and enterprise development. Currently Interdependent provides interim CEO support and facilitates CEO performance reviews with the Board in the NFP sector. As a Board Director Rosemary has chaired Evolve Housing to enable its early growth through merges and she has been active in community housing sector development. As a Board Director within the Primary Health Network Rosemary brought a business and community perspective during the COVID lockdown and supported the focus on social prescribing. She has also been a Board member for Rural Australians for Refugees and Afford Disability. Current Board roles include chairing Connect Child and Family Services, being a Director of Allawaw, an Aboriginal Corporation, and being a member of the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Board Research Subcommittee. |
 Ms Lucy Baranovsky |
Lucy has a long history of student advocacy especially within the CIT space. She completed her Year 10 Certificate in 2010, going on to complete studies in Animal Technology and Pathology, whilst sitting as the Chair of the CITSA Student Council and Student Representative on the CIT Advisory Council before going on to complete a Bachelor of Nursing at ACU and sitting as the Secretary of the Signadou Student Association and completing a Graduate Certificate in Nursing Majoring in Advance Practice through James Cook University. Lucy is now studying a Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety at CIT and sits as the Chair of the CITSA student council. Lucy has a strong passion for lifelong education, social justice and community safety and holds the belief that every student deserves to have a voice and be heard. |
 Mr Tony Brennan JP |
Tony brings over 20 years of senior leadership and governance experience across education, business, and government. As a CEO, he has driven innovation in education on a global level and served as an independent director and chairman for more than 19 listed and unlisted Australian companies and government entities. In addition to his governance roles, Tony has a strong commitment to vocational skills training and international education. He has designed and delivered programs to uplift unemployed and uneducated women out of poverty in Africa, and worked with the Australian government to establish a skills training consortium for the Middle East and India. Tony co-founded and served as director and chairman of Australia’s peak body for education technology and innovation, fostering connections among educators, providers, government representatives, consultants, investors, and EdTech entrepreneurs and is currently an Independent Director of Education Services Australia, a ministerial owned company which is instrumental in delivering national education priorities and initiatives across Australia. Tony's diverse background includes being a former corporate lawyer and Adjunct Law Professor, teaching corporate governance, and facilitating board training for the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has established strategic global partnerships to deliver online learning and skills training for health professionals in 45 countries and represented Australia at International Conferences on Technical and Vocational Education and Training. |
 Mr Mark Bazzacco |
More information will be available soon. |
Further information on the appointments including the dates of appointment and explanatory statement can be accessed at https://legislation.act.gov.au/ ACT Legislation Register.
The CIT Annual Report includes information on the role of the Board, their strategic focus and their attendance at Board meetings.