2.1 Keynote - Mark Scott

Mark Scott
New South Wales Department of Education

Mark Scott AO is the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education and has a distinguished record in public service, education and the media. The department is the largest education system in Australia, operating 2,200 public schools for almost 800,000 students.

Mark’s career began as a teacher in Sydney. He built on his interest in education with senior policy and leadership positions with two NSW education ministers, Terry Metherell and Virginia Chadwick. Mark held a number of senior editorial roles at Fairfax, including Education Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and Editor-in-Chief of metropolitan, regional and community newspapers. From 2006 to 2016, Mark was Managing Director of the ABC, overseeing the creation of new services like iview, News 24, ABC3 and digital radio and the expansion of online and mobile services, such as the ABC News site and podcasting. He led a shift within the organisation from a process-based culture to one that emphasises the values of respect, integrity, collegiality and innovation.

Mark was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2011 for distinguished service to media and communications, and to the community through advisory and governance roles with a range of social justice and educational bodies. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma of Education and a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney; and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Sydney and UNSW.