Catherine Althaus

Professor Catherine Althaus is the ANZSOG Deputy Dean (Teaching and Learning) and the ANZSOG Chair of Public Service Leadership and Reform at the University of New South Wales in Canberra. She is a distinguished academic and practitioner with expertise spanning economics, politics, and public policy. Her work bridges academic research and practical public sector application, emphasizing creative approaches to serving the public interest.

Professor Althaus holds a University Medallist distinction, reflecting her academic excellence. Her educational background includes advanced training in economics and political science with a focus on public policy analysis.

Professor Althaus's research spans multiple critical areas of public administration. She has pioneered work in Indigenous public administration and leadership, examining how traditional knowledge systems can inform contemporary governance. Her scholarship on the policy process covers the full spectrum from analysis through design to implementation and evaluation. She has made significant contributions to understanding cultural competency in public service, public sector capability assessment, and place-based policymaking approaches. Her work on representative bureaucracy and public sector risk analysis has established her as a leading voice in reimagining public administration for the 21st century.

Professor Althaus's recent publications reveal a clear trajectory toward more inclusive and culturally responsive governance models. Her work increasingly focuses on integrating Indigenous knowledge systems with Western administrative traditions, challenging conventional paradigms of evidence and expertise. She has produced influential scholarship on bureaucratic representation, particularly regarding Indigenous public servants in Australia and Canada, and has developed innovative frameworks for understanding complementary bureaucracy that honors both Weberian principles and Indigenous relationality.

Professor Althaus has received numerous prestigious recognitions for her contributions to public administration:

• 2012 Sam Richardson Award for the most influential article in the Australian Journal of Public Administration
• Australia Day Medallion for service to the Queensland Treasury

As Deputy Dean (Teaching and Learning) at ANZSOG, Professor Althaus has shaped public sector education and leadership development across Australia and New Zealand. She has been instrumental in developing cultural fluency training for public servants and has advised governments on policy capacity building. Her work as co-author of The Australian Policy Handbook since 2007 has provided generations of students and practitioners with essential policy tools, while her editorship of the Australian Journal of Public Administration since 2017 has influenced the field's scholarly direction.

Professor Althaus leads research initiatives focused on public sector capability and Indigenous leadership, working closely with government agencies to translate academic insights into practical public service improvements. Her current projects examine cross-jurisdictional learning exchanges and the integration of diverse knowledge systems in policy processes.