John ShepherdFirst Assistant Secretary, Digital ID And Data Policy Division

    John Shepherd PSM, First Assistant Secretary. Digital ID and Data Policy Division
    John Shepherd has held a range of senior positions in the Commonwealth Public Service and has more than 20 years’ experience leading successful large scale transformation programs.
    John is the First Assistant Secretary, Digital ID and Data policy Division within the Department of Finance. The Division includes the Digital ID Taskforce, which is leading work to develop a comprehensive, economy-wide system for digital ID, including the introduction of legislation and rules and establishment of a regulator. The Division is also responsible for whole of government public sector data policy, cross jurisdictional data and digital ministerial engagement, and assurance of the Australian Government’s high-cost and high-risk projects and programs.
    John held General Manager roles at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, including leading the National Data Acquisition Division (NDAD) and the Industry Statistic Division. During this time, John developed multiple reform initiatives to reduce the burden on businesses and households of completing surveys. This included the ABS Business Reporting initiative which allows reporting from Business Accounting Software.
    John held a number of senior roles at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), leading significant change programs and projects focused on improving the client experience. John led the implementation of Single Touch Payroll, enabling employers to report their tax and superannuation information for their employees at the same time as they paid staff. John also played an active role in superannuation reform including SuperStream.
    John has a Master of Taxation from the University of NSW and is a passionate Movember ambassador and fundraiser for men’s health initiatives. John was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours list for his work on Single Touch Payroll.