John Taylor (public servant)

John Casey Taylor AO (2 December 1930 – 14 May 2011) was a senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from 1981 to 1984.

John Taylor AO
Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
In office 6 May 1981 – 29 March 1984
Commonwealth Auditor-General
In office 1988 – 13 January 1995
Personal details
Born	John Casey Taylor (1930-12-02)2 December 1930 Melbourne
Died	14 May 2011(2011-05-14) (aged 80) Canberra
Nationality	Australian
Spouse(s)	Valerie Booth (m. 1959–2011; his death)
Alma mater	University of Melbourne Australian National University
Occupation	Public servant

Life and career

John Taylor was born on 2 December 1930 in Melbourne.^[1] He graduated from University of Melbourne with a degree in commerce.^[2]

Taylor joined the Australian Public Service in 1952 as a clerk in the Victorian branch of the Postmaster-General's Department.^[3]

Between 1974 and 1981, Taylor was a Commissioner on the Public Service Board.^[4]

In 1981 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.^[5] In 1984 Charles Perkins, succeeded him as Secretary in the department and he was appointed Australia's Consul-General in New York.^[6]

Between 1988 and 1995 he was Commonwealth Auditor-General.^[7] As Auditor-General, Taylor said he saw his main achievements as providing a much more efficient and focused service to the Australian Parliament and people, and keeping up with (if not getting ahead of) contemporary professional standards.^[8]

Taylor died on 14 May 2011.^[9]

Awards

In 1990, Taylor was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his public service.^[10]