Appointment – Inspector-General of Taxation
The Albanese Government has appointed Ms Ruth Owen CBE as the Inspector‑General of Taxation (IGT) for a five‑year period commencing on 15 July 2024.
Ms Owen brings a wealth of experience in tax, public sector reform, complaints management and dispute resolution, having spent more than 30 years in various senior leadership positions across the public sector in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK).
Ms Owen has previously been a Director General and Tax Commissioner of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the UK, Head of Profession in the UK Civil Service and Deputy Secretary of the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education. She is currently Deputy Secretary of the NSW Premier’s Department, leading the Strategic Implementation Group.
Ms Owen’s extensive experience will strengthen the important role the Office of the Inspector‑General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) plays in providing independent oversight and investigation of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Tax Practitioners Board’s (TPB) administrative practices.
Ms Owen’s appointment also continues the Government’s strong record of appointing high‑performing women for senior public sector roles.
The Government would also like to thank the outgoing IGT, Ms Karen Payne, for her service and contribution leading the IGTO over the past five years.
Ms Payne ensured the ATO and TPB’s administrative actions were held to account and as a result, has improved the overall administration of the tax and superannuation systems for the benefit of the Australian community.
Former UK tax commissioner named next IGTO
Ruth Owen replaces outgoing tax ombudsman Karen Payne on 15 July.
Ruth Owen, veteran public servant and former UK tax commissioner, has been appointed the next Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman for a five-year term.
She would replace outgoing tax ombudsman Karen Payne on 15 July 2024, the government said in a statement on Friday.
Owen has been the Deputy Secretary of the NSW Premier’s Department since August 2023 where she led its Strategic Implementation Group focused on public service reform.
Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, said Owen’s extensive experience would strengthen the IGTO’s role in providing independent oversight and investigation of the ATO and TPB’s administrative practices.
“Ms Owen brings a wealth of experience in tax, public sector reform, complaints management and dispute resolution, having spent more than 30 years in various senior leadership positions across the public sector in Australia and the United Kingdom,” he said.
Owen began her career in 1990 with the Department for Work and Pensions, the UK’s social security office, becoming Jobcentre Plus deputy CEO and chief operating officer in 2008.
From 2012 to 2017, she was a director general and tax commissioner of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs where she oversaw the agency's transformation into a digital operation and closed 280 offices, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She also led all customer-facing operations and advised ministers on all customer service delivery matters, it said.
She then served as EY Sydney's human services lead partner from 2017 to 2020 before moving to the NSW government.
Jones said Owen’s appointment also continued the government’s “strong record” of appointing high‑performing women for senior public sector roles.
He praised the outgoing Payne for holding the ATO and TPB’s administrative actions to account, improving the overall administration of the tax and superannuation systems “for the benefit of the Australian community”.
“The government would also like to thank the outgoing IGT, Ms Karen Payne, for her service and contribution leading the IGTO over the past five years,” he said.
As IGTO, Payne launched a number of investigations into the ATO's powers and processes including its communication with taxpayers, general powers of administration and management of objections.
This year, she also spoke out against the ATO’s on-hold debts campaign, criticised its client-agent linking protocol and released an investigation into the its handling of tax identity fraud.
Ruth Owen CBE
Ruth Owen was Chief Operating Officer of the NSW Department of Education. Ruth lead the delivery of services supporting our 2200 public schools and corporate teams, including IT, Finance, audit/risk, and shared services. Ruth was leading the transformation of support services, aimed at reducing the workload of the school workforce and in creating a more seamless experience, including enhanced digital capability.
Ruth joined DoE in January 2021 and her previous role was as Deputy Secretary, Learning Improvement. Prior to that Ruth led the Human Services team in consulting firm EY across Australia and NZ, advising government clients across Commonwealth and states/territories on the delivery of reform objectives in child protection, disability, welfare, and social housing.
Prior to her move to Australia, Ruth spent more than 25 years leading service delivery and reform in the UK government, primarily in welfare and employment services. She was also the Head of Profession for operational delivery across the UK civil service, leading professional development and learning for all colleagues in customer facing roles (around 280,000 people).
Before joining HMRC, Ruth Owen was Work Services Director and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). She was previously Chief Operating Officer in Jobcentre Plus. She has spent two spells in the private sector on secondment, most recently in PC World in 2005 to 2006. Ruth is Head of Profession for Operational Delivery in Government.
Deputy Secretary, Strategic Implementation Group, NSW Premier's Department
An exciting start to the next phase of growth for Girls on Fire Australia, led by the inspiring Bronnie Mackintosh AFSM. I am really looking forward to joining the Board and contributing to realising the strategic goals of empowering girls and young women and creating employment pathways into the fire services. #confidence #empowerment #goodgovernance