It’s the end of an era at Engineers Australia, with Jane MacMaster announcing that she will be stepping down as Chief Engineer in March.

Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew said “Jane has made a significant and positive impact as our inaugural Chief Engineer since joining us in July 2020. 

“During her time in the role, she helped to shape the organisation’s professional engagement, contributed to handling the challenges of COVID-19 and raised the profile and relatability of the profession through her ambassadorship and in the media.

“Jane has been a strong advocate for encouraging school students – particularly girls – to choose STEM subjects and consider the exciting opportunities that a career in engineering brings.”

Jane MacMaster said “Being Engineers Australia’s inaugural Chief Engineer will undoubtedly be the highest honour of my career and I have felt privileged to be in the role.

“The time has come however, for a number of reasons, for me to contribute to our wonderful and critically important profession and some of Australia’s critical challenges in new ways.”

Engineers Australia thanks Jane for her service and dedication, in particular her commitment to upholding and evolving professional standards, spearheading Engineers Australia’s Strengthening the Engineering Workforce program and our advocacy for nationally consistent registration and her advocacy for women in engineering. 

Bernadette Foley, General Manager – Professional Standards, will serve as acting Chief Engineer, and Susan Kreemer Pickford, Principal Engineer and General Manager – WA Division, will serve as the acting Deputy Chief Engineer to ensure members experience continuity and ongoing delivery of services and projects while we undertake a global recruitment campaign to fill this important role.