Penny Gregory

Principal
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Penny has been a Principal with Nous in Canberra for more than 10 years.

To that role she brings more than 30 years’ experience in government in Australia, including as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Department of Health and Community Services and the CEO of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. She has a deep and practical understanding of the health system, its policy levers and the practical realities of managing change. She also brings a detailed understanding of government policy and budget parameters; having worked in the Australian Department of Finance, ACT Treasury and ACT Chief Minister’s office.

Influential work

  • Led many public policy reviews, evaluations and strategic analysis of programs in the health and community services sectors, particularly for the Australian Health and Aged Care Department as well as other jurisdictions
  • Led several large multi-year evaluations of health programs, including the Breastscreen Australia expansion, national psychosocial programs and palliative aged care
  • Facilitation of workshops – in person and online – to draw out stakeholder views across various subject areas from addressing stigma and discrimination to determining performance indicators for cross-jurisdictional health issues
  • Led a series of performance reviews of Native Title Representative Bodies across Australia
  • Led a range of assistance to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in program improvements.

Outside of Nous

Before joining Nous in 2012 Penny was the CEO of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, an agency within the Australian health portfolio. She chaired the ACT’s Children and Young Person’s Death Review Committee for three years and was a long-term director on the board of Northside Community Services in Canberra.

Penny maintains strong connections with New Zealand, where she grew up. She has an Honours degree in New Zealand history from Massey University and a PhD in Tongan history from the Australian National University.

In her spare time...

Penny is a keen bush walker (a tramper in New Zealand terms) and finds time to walk in many and varied places.