Our people - Department of Regional NSW

See our message from Rebecca Fox on our What we do page.  

Scott Hansen joined NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) as Director General on 17 March 2014.

Before this, he held senior management positions in both the public and private sectors with a defined interest in the areas of agriculture, innovation and productivity.

This includes work as:

• Managing Director of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) 
• Executive Director of Sheepmeat Council of Australia
• Executive Director of Victorian Farmers Federation Pastoral Group

Scott has been associated with the agricultural sector his entire life.

James joined the Regional Precincts Group when it was formed in 2021 and is responsible for the delivery of several key infrastructure projects across the State.

Since joining the NSW Government in 2018, James has demonstrated his ability to provide strategic leadership, work collaboratively across Government and manage complex projects including the Special Activation Precincts program funded by the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund.

Prior to working with the NSW Government, James worked in a variety of senior roles in local government over an 11-year period including economic development, major projects, strategy, community and commercial developments.

Before returning to his hometown of Wagga Wagga in 2007, James studied and worked in Canberra, Sydney and London.

James is passionate about driving whole of government approaches to regional issues and ensuring the people of regional NSW have the appropriate support, services, and infrastructure to live a great quality of life.

Jonathan leads more than 300 staff based across regional NSW. His teams are the eyes and ears on the ground and at the centre of government for regional development, program design and infrastructure delivery. The teams provide multi-agency coordination, program, and grant funding, community planning, diversification and coordination and emergency recovery. 

Regional Development and Programs plays a crucial leadership and community facing role to support improved outcomes in economic development and community wellbeing for regional NSW.  

The teams deliver significant funding to disaster impacted communities and have led the design and delivery of the $3.3 billion Regional Growth Fund. The team also provide a whole-of-government approach to regional youth issues through the Office for Regional Youth and champions Aboriginal economic outcomes through the work of the Aboriginal Partnerships team.  

Steve commenced in his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Local Lands Services in early 2022, where he leads over 900 staff members who work alongside landowners, helping to secure the future of agriculture and the environment for NSW communities.

Steve was previously responsible for overseeing the Regional NSW corporate functions which include People, Finance, ICT, Legal and Governance. Prior to this Steve was responsible for the Regional Coordination and Regional Development functions within the former Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) which also included a significant role in the economic recovery efforts surrounding bushfires and the response to drought focusing on small communities, young people and businesses.

Before moving into DPIE Steve was the Executive Director, Regional NSW in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and prior to this he was the Executive Director, Local Government Reform responsible for the Government’s program of consolidating the number of councils in NSW.

Steve has also held roles as the Deputy Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government and the Chief Executive of the NSW Livestock Health and Pest Authorities. In 2018/19 he participated in the nine month Leadership Academy for senior executives run by the Public Service Commission, Steve holds a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University, Bachelor or Applied Science with Honours from the University of Western Sydney, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Steve lives in Berry on the south coast with his wife Leanne, sons Sam and Patrick and daughter Rachael and is mastering the art of growing his own vegetables.

With a strong background in Public Sector leadership, strategy, reform and industry development, Georgina brings a wealth of leadership experience to the Mining, Exploration and Geoscience (MEG) group.

As leader of the MEG group, Ms Beattie oversees decisions about the State’s mineral and petroleum resources, investment in the sector, the policy and strategic framework for exploration and mining in NSW, effective regulation and the acquisition and analysis of geoscientific data

Georgina joined MEG in early 2021 after a broad career driving  economic development in NSW. Prior to joining MEG she held leadership roles in regional economic development in the NSW Government and has strong relationships with industry and community stakeholders.

Georgina is committed to deliver reform and initiatives that will boost exploration and mining investment safely and sustainably, with a strong focus on customer service

David heads the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation, which is being established to lead the long-term reconstruction of flood impacted areas across the Northern Rivers area.

Established on 1 July 2022, this new body is working with multiple government agencies to coordinate the planning, rebuilding and construction work of essential services, infrastructure and housing.

David is also the Deputy Secretary of Department of Regional NSW’s Commercial Services where he leads the 600+ staff of Public Works and the Soil Conservation Service, delivering a broad range of projects throughout NSW.

David commenced his career as a civil engineer and has undertaken roles across the mining, utility, transport, local government and NSW public sector areas.

David enjoys leading workplace change and believes that if it is to be successful it is critical to engage people early and take them on the journey.

David’s career has provided him with experience across a broad range of service delivery organisations where he has successfully introduced major change programs in the water industry, public transport, the Soil Conservation Service and Local Land Services.

He is based in Newcastle and loves to mountain bike and spend time with his wife and 3 daughters in his spare time. 

James McTavish has been NSW Cross-Border Commissioner since July 2014 and he has been advocating for border communities and addressing cross-border anomalies to support the 2.16 million Australians who live close to a NSW border.

James has held appointments as Infantry Officer in the Australian Regular Army and the Murrumbidgee Region Controller for the NSW State Emergency Service. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for outstanding service as the Chief of Staff Army Recruit Training Centre (Kapooka) in 2010 and the Emergency Services Medal (ESM) for outstanding service as Murrumbidgee Region Controller in 2013.

As Deputy Secretary of Strategy, Corporate and Performance Fiona works across all groups in the Department of Regional NSW and with other Government agencies to provide leadership and strategic direction to deliver improved outcomes for the people, communities and industries of regional NSW. Fiona is an experienced senior leader with a depth of experience in policy development and communications.

She has worked across the public and private sector in a range of fields including the arts and creative industries, agriculture, vocational education, natural resources management, regional development and Indigenous Affairs.

Fiona previously held Executive Director roles within the Department of Regional NSW, the Office of Drought Response and the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Fiona has strong experience engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities having spent five years working at a specialist Indigenous affairs consulting firm.

Fiona grew up on a wheat and beef cattle property in Moree NSW and is passionate about rural and regional issues.