In 2025, we are honoured to continue sharing more uplifting and encouraging stories in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty. Martin Hehir, who joins us for today's episode, is no exception.

Martin Hehir, the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Governance and Corporate Group within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, joins us to share his experiences in the public sector of ***Taking the Path Less Travelled***.
As an experienced public servant, Martin has led teams in the Commonwealth and ACT governments. In this episode, he takes us back to the start of his senior leadership career by providing us with invaluable insights into how he has adapted his leadership style to take on a new role in a new department, and how the importance of communication helped him to navigate unfamiliar territory where his team increased by a factor of 20.

Martin also shares the importance that a couple of mentors played at this time in his career in helping him to stay real and honest with himself, which are invaluable attributes today for leading authentically. He also shares his key learnings from experiences in putting together multi-disciplinary teams and how fostering creative tension respectfully and engagingly can contribute to making sure that the right outcomes are achieved.

This open and honest conversation with Martin has many great takeaways, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Listen to episode eight:

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify:

Find out more about this Trailblazer:

Martin Hehir
Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer
Governance and Corporate Group

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

Martin is the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Governance and Corporate Group within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he is responsible for the administration of the Executive Branch of Government, the management of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, Ministerial Support, and the department's internal Corporate functions.

Before joining the Department in January 2024, Martin was the Deputy Secretary of Workplace Relations where he lead a range of industrial relations policy and programs. During his time in this role, Martin successfully delivered key legislation for the Government in relation to workplace relations, family and domestic violence leave, protecting worker’s entitlements and work health and safety measures. This included deep engagement and liaison across a variety of key stakeholders. Martin was awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2023 for outstanding public service in relation to workplace relations policy and employment services.

Prior to his role in the Workplace Relations space, Martin has held several deputy secretary positions in federal government during his career. He has been responsible for areas including developing a new employment services model; work, health and safety policy; and small business and industrial relations policy. Before this, Martin Worked as Deputy Secretary for Schools and Youth in the former Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the former Department of Education, dealing with the Australian Education Act, and associated funding mechanisms.

He has also held a number of positions in ACT Government, including as the Director-General of the Community Services Directorate, ACT Government. Martin also holds an Economics Degree from the Australian National University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.

Tune in next week as we speak to a new trailblazer in another episode in our series on Thriving in Uncertainty.

Series Home