Our corporate governance framework promotes effective planning, risk management and accountability, while supporting our performance in line with relevant legislation and government policies. It articulates the lines of authority, accountability, direction and controls to ensure all employees understand corporate and personal accountabilities, while providing clear and transparent decision-making procedures and practices.

Our governance structure includes the Regulator Board, our senior executive and committees that provide strategic direction, leadership and oversight of our operations, and support our agency to deliver our purpose. Strategic committees are responsible for our executive functions and business committees are responsible for delivering organisational priorities and business outcomes.

Our governance processes and policies include risk management, protective security management, business planning, financial management, performance monitoring and reporting, staff performance agreements, internal auditing, fraud prevention, and Accountable Authority Instructions.

The Strategic Leadership Team, Regulator Board and Audit Committee monitor our performance against the Portfolio Budget Statement monthly, and our strategic priorities as set out in our Corporate Plan quarterly.

Figure 7: Our governance structure as at 30 June 2020

Regulator Board

The Regulator Board determines our strategic direction and is accountable for our regulatory decisions made under the legislation we administer.

Members of the Regulator Board are appointed by the responsible minister under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 and are required to have substantial experience or knowledge and significant standing in relevant fields. The Chair holds office on a full-time basis. All other Members hold office on a part-time basis.

In addition to their collective responsibilities, Members each apply their expertise to a specific area of focus. This adds depth to the Regulator Board’s appreciation of the operating environment and enables agency officers to draw directly on Members’ knowledge and experience. Members provide an update on their area of focus at each Regulator Board meeting.

Regulator Board Members

Mr David Parker AM, Chair of the Clean Energy Regulator

The Minister appointed David Parker as Chair of the Clean Energy Regulator on 3 July 2017.

Mr Parker has extensive experience in economics and public administration with a long professional involvement in policy and regulatory matters in a range of areas.

Prior to joining the agency, Mr Parker was Deputy Secretary at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Mr Parker was responsible for the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, the Department's Water, Export, Trade and Market Access divisions.

Mr Parker has been Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Environment and Energy with responsibility for water, Antarctica and National parks, and elements of climate change policy.

Mr Parker spent 25 years at Treasury, where he worked on financial sector liberalisation, tax reform, macroeconomic forecasting and policy, competition policy, energy policy and international economic issues. He was appointed a Deputy Secretary in 2004.

From 1997 to 2002 Mr Parker worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. Mr Parker has qualifications in economics and law and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012.

Ms Anne T Brown, Member of the Clean Energy Regulator

Area of focus: Audit committee and risk framework​

Ms Brown has substantial knowledge and practical experience of Australian and international exchange traded financial markets, risk management, related infrastructure and regulatory environments.

Ms Brown is a non-executive Director of Airservices Australia, the country’s aviation navigation and rescue fire-fighting services provider. Ms Brown is also the Chair of the Life Code Compliance Committee, which monitors and oversees compliance with the Australian life insurance industry’s Code of Practice, a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College Ltd and a member of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Markets Disciplinary Panel.

Ms Brown was previously Chief Risk Officer with ASX Limited from 2006 to 2010, following its merger with SFE Corporation Limited (SFE). She chaired a number of broader group executive committees, managed key regulatory relationships and developed integration strategy, risk management and policy development and execution for ASX’s two central counterparty clearing houses.

Ms Brown represented ASX from 2008 to 2010 as the Chair and executive committee member of CCP12, an influential global industry association involving all major international clearing houses. Prior to the ASX–SFE, Ms Brown was a general manager with SFE, and had previously worked with KPMG in both Edinburgh and Sydney.

Ms Brown holds a double major degree in accountancy and computer science from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Virginia Malley, Member of the Clean Energy Regulator

Area of focus: Market development and scheme participant education​

Ms Malley has over 30 years' experience in the investment and banking sectors, including more than 20 years’ experience as a company director. Her areas of expertise are financial and environmental markets, risk management, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, custody and trusteeship.

Ms Malley is the Deputy Chair of the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of New South Wales, and a non-executive director of Perpetual Superannuation Limited, Perpetual Equity Investment Company Ltd and Morphic Ethical Equities Fund Ltd.

In 2019–20, Ms Malley was appointed the Independent Reviewer of the Carbon Industry Code of Conduct by the Carbon Market Institute.

Ms Malley was previously the Chief Risk Officer at Macquarie Funds Management Group and was a member of a number of committees at Macquarie, focusing on clean technology, the Asia Pacific, private equity and global advisory investment. She also served on the boards of Macquarie Investment Management Limited and Bond Street Custodians Limited and was a member-elected trustee of the Macquarie Bank Staff Superannuation Fund. She oversaw the risk management of portfolios, worth more than $85 billion, investing in clean technologies, publicly traded debt securities, listed equities, derivatives, currencies and private equity. She also managed industry regulator and ratings agency relationships.

Ms Malley is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Mr Michael D’Ascenzo AO, Member of the Clean Energy Regulator

Area of focus: Cross-agency compliance and membership of the Joint Agency Executive Steering Committee

Mr D’Ascenzo is recognised internationally for his leadership and expertise in administration, strategy and governance, and for his technical and design skills in tax law and superannuation.

He is an adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He also consults internationally on the modernisation of organisations, especially those working on tax policy or administration.

Mr D’Ascenzo's previous roles include Commissioner of Taxation for seven years (from 2006 to 2012), and more recently as a member of the Foreign Investment Review Board (2013 to 2017), and as a non-executive director of Australia Post (2013 to 2016).

Mr D’Ascenzo holds degrees in economics and law from the Australian National University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of the Australian Risk Policy Institute, Honorary Life Fellow of CPA Australia and Honorary Fellow of the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants.

In 2010, Mr D’Ascenzo was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to public administration, particularly through reform and innovative engagement with the taxation profession and government agencies. In 2012, he was named the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Federal Government Leader of the Year.

Dr Peter Davis, Member of the Clean Energy Regulator

Area of focus: Renewable energy

Dr Davis has extensive experience in the Australian energy sector, including 19 years at Chief Executive and General Manager level. He has extensive experience in regulatory and structural reform of critical infrastructure services in both regulated and competitive markets, with particular expertise in renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand side management.

Dr Davis is an independent, non-executive Director of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Chair of AEMO’s Technical and Regulatory Committee and a Member of the Zema Scholarship Trust Fund. He is a Member of the University of Tasmania’s Built Environment and Infrastructure Committee. From 2004 to 2014 he was Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Aurora Energy Pty Ltd, an energy utility with interests in electricity distribution, generation, retail and gas supply. He was a Director of the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESSA) from 2008 to 2014 and chaired the ESAA’s Greenhouse Policy Committee.

Dr Davis holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the Solar Energy Research Centre at the University of Queensland, a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University, an honours degree in science from Monash University and degrees in science and education from the University of Tasmania. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Engineers Australia.

Regulator Board meetings

Under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011, the Chair may convene a meeting at any time. Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, the Regulator Board met 12 times, with five meetings taking place via video conference in response to COVID-19 (Table 17).

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee supports the governance of our agency by providing independent advice and assurance to the Chair on our risk, control and compliance framework, and our external accountability responsibilities under the PGPA Act.

In 2019–20, the Audit Committee comprised three members: an independent committee Chair; an External Member; and an Internal Member. A member of the Regulator Board also attended committee meetings as an adviser and observer (Table 18). Members of the Senior Leadership Group, Risk, Audit and Fraud section, and the Australian National Audit Office are also in regular attendance. The Audit Committee met five times during 2019–20. The agency Audit Committee charter is available on our website.

Strategic Leadership Team

The Strategic Leadership Team is responsible for strategic leadership and management (in relation to the role of the Accountable Authority under the PGPA Act and Head of Agency under the Public Service Act 1999). Membership consists of the Chair, the executive general managers, the Chief Operations Officer and the General Counsel. The Strategic Leadership Team is chaired by the Chair of the Regulator Board and meets weekly.

Joint Agency Executive Steering Committee

The Joint Agency Executive Steering Committee provides an inter-agency forum for high level strategic oversight of the schemes we administer. The committee considers the implications of significant developments on policy and regulatory functions and options for managing emerging trends, issues and risks within the policy and regulatory environment.

This committee comprises the Chair, a Regulator Board Member, and SES employees from the agency, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and the former Department of the Environment and Energy.

Emissions Reduction Fund Program Steering Committee

The Emissions Reduction Fund Program Steering Committee is a strategic inter-agency forum for Emissions Reduction Fund policy, legislation, methods and stakeholder management. The committee provides governance for the management of scheme risks and benefits and identifies and analyses issues that may have material effect on the Emissions Reduction Fund. It comprises SES employees from our agency, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and the former Department of the Environment and Energy.