Noel Tanzer
Australian public servant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Noel John Tanzer, AC (born 16 November 1931) is a retired senior Australian public servant and policymaker.
16 November 1931
Noel Tanzer | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of the Department of the Arts and Administrative Services | |
| In office 24 March 1993 – 19 December 1993 | |
| Secretary of the Department of Administrative Services | |
| In office 1 March 1989 – 24 March 1993 | |
| Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs | |
| In office 18 December 1986 – 1 March 1989 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Noel John Tanzer 16 November 1931 Cairns |
| Died | 17 June 2025 Aged 93yrs Brisbane |
| Occupation | Public servant |
Life and career
Noel Tanzer was born on 16 November 1931.[1]
Tanzer began his career in the Commonwealth Public Service in 1949, serving for 17 years in Brisbane.[2]
In 1980 and 1981 he was serving as a senior assistant commissioner in the management systems and efficiency division of the Public Service Board.[3][4]
Tanzer was appointed Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in 1986.[5] Immediately prior to his Veterans' Affairs appointment, he had been a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Social Security.[6]
He moved to the Department of Administrative Services in 1989.[7] His task was to have the department operate in accordance with commercial principles.[8] He also aimed to improve departmental services to customers.[9] He restructured 17 separate departmental units into four programs, and offered redundancy packages to downsize the department,[8] reducing staffing numbers by more than 1000.[10] The new structure Tanzer established saw much of the department run on commercial lines and funded on a trust-account basis.[11]
Tanzer retired from the public service in 1993, his final appointment was as Secretary of the Department of the Arts and Administrative Services.[12] As head of the Department, he was responsible for handling more than $2 billion in revenue.[13]
In 1994, Tanzer was appointed as a consultant to the law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques.[14]
Awards
Tanzer was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1994.[15]