By the Leadership and Talent Development team at the APS Academy
The APS Academy congratulates Cathy Toze PSM as the 2024 Dr Margot McCarthy Scholar.
Cathy is the General Manager, Working Age and Pension Programs at Services Australia and was selected from a field of outstanding applicants nominated by secretaries and heads of agencies across the Commonwealth.
While at Services Australia and during her broader public service, Cathy has made significant contributions to public policy and leadership, has championed diversity at many levels and demonstrated a strong commitment to the development of future leaders.
Her achievements, including in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing supports for Australia’s most vulnerable constituents and successfully implementing critical government commitments, highlight her ability to drive positive change and deliver important results.
For this and other work, Cathy was recently awarded a Public Service Medal.
The Dr Margot McCarthy Scholarship will support Cathy to complete an intensive executive program relevant to her work at Services Australia and an immersive professional experience to consolidate her public policy and leadership capability.
Cathy hopes to complete the Executive Public Leaders Programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University in July 2024, followed by an immersive work experience in the UK Department for Work and Pensions. After completing her scholarship, Cathy will share her learnings as an APS Academy practitioner to pass on her expertise and experience.
About the Dr Margot McCarthy Scholarship
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) and the Secretaries Talent Council (STC) created the Dr Margot McCarthy Scholarship to recognise Dr McCarthy’s contribution to the Australian Public Service (APS). Dr Margot McCarthy was a valued colleague, friend and mentor to many across the APS. She generously dedicated her time, passion and vision to significant public policy throughout her public service career.
Dr McCarthy built a strong career in the national security community. She served in various critical positions including the Australian Government’s National Security Adviser and leading Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (PM&C) National Security and International Policy Group. Later in her career Dr McCarthy moved into aged care, as Deputy Secretary of the Ageing and Aged Care Group at the Department of Health.
Dr McCarthy helped establish the APS Academy and the Faculty in 2021. She engaged across the APS, inspiring conversations and actions, contributing to improving the capability of the APS. She made a deep impact and is remembered as an exceptional leader and mentor.
For more information on the Dr Margot McCarthy Scholarship please email the team.
More scholarship and secondment opportunities
The APS Academy offers other programs in addition to the Dr Margot McCarthy Scholarship:
- The Jawun APS Secondment Program provides APS employees (APS6 and higher) virtual or in-place secondment opportunities across Jawun’s 12 regions of engagement. Participants support Indigenous organisations to achieve development goals while developing their own leadership.
- The Sir Roland Wilson Scholarship Program is open to Executive Level employees to pursue doctoral-level research at the Australian National University (ANU) on a topic of national significance.
- The Pat Turner Scholarship Program is open to APS4 to SES Band 1 First Nations employees to pursue postgraduate research or coursework at the ANU or Charles Darwin University.
For leaderships development opportunities for all APS and SES officers, visit the Leadership and Management pages on the APS Academy website.