Neville Stevens has broad experience at a senior level both inside and outside of government. His 30-year career in the Australian Public Service included senior positions in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Industry Department and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Mr Stevens was Secretary of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts from 1993–2001. In that period, he was closely involved in telecommunications reform, broadcasting and media policy, and the development of the Australian information technology industry.
Prior to this, he served as Secretary of the Industry Department (1990–1993), following a five-year tenure as Deputy Secretary of the same department. Since leaving the public service in 2001, Mr Stevens has undertaken a range of assignments providing high level policy and strategic advice to public and private sector organisations. He has participated in and chaired a number of boards and panels. Major roles have included :
- Chair of NICTA, a large information and communications technology research centre which merged with elements of CSIRO;
- Chair of the Cooperative Research Centre Committee, tasked with oversight of the federal government’s Cooperative Research Program;
- Independent Chair of the Australian Communications Industry Forum, and later Communications Alliance, a body funded by the telecommunications industry to assist industry self-regulation;
- Chair of the NSW government’s Innovation and Productivity Council, with a remit to advise on ways of boosting productivity and jobs growth; and Head of review of Indigenous broadcasting for the federal government
Mr Stevens is originally from Adelaide. He graduated from Adelaide University with a Bachelor of Economics (Hons). He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2002.