{"id":"F2018L00218","name":"Australian Bureau of Statistics - Australian Statistician — Appointment of Persons to Act in the Office of Australian Statistician – Appointment 2018","slug":"australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":96850,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L00218-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Bureau of Statistics - Australian Statistician — Appointment of Persons to Act in the Office of Australian Statistician – Appointment 2018","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nAustralian Bureau of Statistics - Australian Statistician — Appointment of Persons to Act in the Office of Australian Statistician – Appointment 2018\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor\\-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council and under subsection 15(1) of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975:\n\n(a) terminate the appointment made on 10 December 2015 of Jonathan Palmer,  \nTrevor Sutton and Luise McCulloch to act in the office of Australian Statistician; and\n\n(b) appoint Jonathan Palmer, Randall Brugeaud and Luise McCulloch to act alternately in the office of Australian Statistician during all periods when the holder of that office is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the duties of that office, as follows:\n\n(i) Jonathan Palmer is to act in the office during the first period of that kind commencing on or after the date of this instrument;\n\n(ii) during each subsequent period of that kind, the alternate appointee will act in the office, if that appointee is available to do so;\n\n(iii) if the appointee who, under paragraph (i) or (ii) above, would act in the office during a period of that kind is unavailable to do so, the next alternate appointee is to act in the office during that period; and\n\n(iv) if any of the appointees is acting in the office and that appointee becomes unable to continue to act during the relevant period, the next alternate appointee is to act in the office during the remainder of that period.\n\nDated: 2 March 2018\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor-General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nMichael Sukkar\n\nAssistant Minister to the Treasurer\n\nParliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":2140},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument operates strictly within its intended administrative scope under the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975—providing temporary acting arrangements for the office of Australian Statistician without expanding beyond this specific statutory purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Simple sequential rotation mechanism with conditional fallback provisions for unavailable appointees","Single cross-reference to enabling legislation (subsection 15(1) of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975)","Dual operation combining termination of prior appointments and creation of new appointments","No defined terms, schedules, or interpretive provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\nThis document appoints **temporary replacements** (called \"acting\" officers) to run the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) when the official boss—the Australian Statistician—is away, overseas, or unable to work.\n\n**The changes:**\n- It **cancels** the 2015 appointments of Jonathan Palmer, Trevor Sutton and Luise McCulloch as acting Statisticians.\n- It **appoints** Jonathan Palmer, Randall Brugeaud and Luise McCulloch as the new acting team, setting up a roster system:\n  - Palmer fills in first whenever the Statistician is away.\n  - For later absences, the role rotates to the next available appointee.\n  - If whoever's turn it is can't do it, the next person on the list automatically steps up (and so on).\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ensures the ABS always has someone legally authorised to approve the release of crucial economic data (like inflation and GDP figures) and manage the bureau when the permanent head is unavailable."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-","history":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-bureau-of-statistics-australian-statistician-appointment-of-persons-to-act-in-the-office-/documents"}}