Yael Cass

Principal

Yael has more than 30 years of experience in intergovernmental relations, strategic planning, multi-stakeholder engagement and social policy review and development for central agencies and line departments.

Her experience includes complex program delivery, requiring collaboration between federal and state governments and service providers across the health and community service sectors. Yael has worked on intergovernmental relations issues, including the negotiation of health reform packages; review of the federal relations architecture; and community services, including child safety, social impact policy and Indigenous affairs.

Influential work

Led a joint federal-state team to support the Conran review of federal relations architecture to restructure the roles and accountabilities of former Council of Australian Governments Committees and Ministerial Forums
Led the Organ and Tissue Authority to ensure collaboration between the Australian and state governments, public hospitals and other stakeholders to build systems and skills for improving the organ donation and transplantation system
Supported negotiation of the health package leading to the Health Reform Agreement, which revised the framework for public hospital financing, funding for Local Hospital Networks and the early form of Primary Health Networks, and revised federal responsibility for aged care
Led federal/state negotiation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework as the model for national reporting of Indigenous health outcomes over the last 15 years
Guided the replacement and redesign of the federal Cabinet information system, CabNet, to enhance secure on-line access to protected Cabinet material across all Australian departments and agencies.

Outside of Nous

Prior to Nous, Yael worked most recently for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as head of the Intergovernmental Relations and Reform Division, and prior to that as head of Cabinet Division and Social Policy Division. She has worked with major stakeholders across the philanthropic, not-for-profit (NFP) and financial services sectors to support the Social Impact Investing Taskforce. She was also CEO of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority for five years and worked with the Australian Government Department of Health and the former Department of Employment and Industrial Relations. Yael has also worked with several NFP organisations as a director and volunteer.

Yael holds a Bachelor of Law from the Australian National University and Bachelors of Social Studies and Arts from the University of Sydney.

In her spare time...

Yael enjoys cooking for and engaging in vibrant political and policy debate with family and friends. She is an active member of several NFP organisations as a director and volunteer.