Our people
Our people are working towards bringing our legacy to life, creating a prosperous future for Queenslanders.
Meet some of our talented, down-to-earth and resilient people, and find out why they love working with us.
Our people are united by service and purpose
Find out how our talented employees are making a difference for the future of Queensland.
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Video transcript
Vivian: I love anything related with insects.
Daniel: Always been a keen fisher from a young age.
Sias: My love for nature and the way of life in nature has brought me to this point.
[Every day is different, and so is every team, but we are united by service and purpose].
Paul: We've got people from all around the world in our science area.
[People from all around the world].
Mandy: Nearly every project is a team effort and it's not just one or two people. It's usually quite a team of different experts working in that area.
Paul: When we get to innovate, we are sometimes the first in the world to do these things.
Kerridyn: I love the diversity that it provides and the opportunities to learn.
Vivian: I feel that here, we can grow more.
Michael: There's a lot of people that, especially in the department, that's dedicated their entire lives to individual subject matters.
Aaron: There's a lot of emerging industries and we need to work together and we need to harness our strengths as a team.
Sias: Opportunities within the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, it's immense. Your life opens up to a career that's only limited by your choice and your ability to put the work in.
[Join us and work with passion and purpose. Queensland Government].
A journey with an unexpected, welcome destination
Louise Hunter never imagined her career journey would lead her to work with us. But now she’s found herself exactly where she belongs.
As our Director, First Nations Futures, Louise plays an incredibly important role in guiding our department in reframing our relationship with Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland. Her team works to improve our cultural capability, First Nations engagement, and recruitment and retention.
Her expertise, dedication and powerful connection to her family’s story make her a driving force within our team. And as we continue to move forward, Louise believes there’s never been a better time to join us.
True connection
The person Louise Hunter is today has been shaped by the stories of all who came before her. Stories of survival and great personal loss, love and true connection. As a proud Aboriginal and South Sea Islander woman, Louise’s identity is tied to every step of her life and career.
© Queensland Government
“It's really important to tell people who I am and where I'm from, and how I connect to this country,” Louise said.
Living and working on Gimuy Walubara Yidinji country (Cairns), Louise is just a 2-hour drive from her hometown of Tully. It’s where she was first introduced to the broader agricultural community and to both sides of her family’s history.
“My grandmother on my mum’s side was part of the Stolen Generations. That’s how she met her grandfather, whose family had been blackbirded from Vanuatu and brought to Australia for slave labour. So, my mum grew up under The Act and had very limited education, but she is a very smart woman.
“My paternal grandfather’s family immigrated to Australia from Germany, and he married my nan, another Aboriginal woman. And it’s because of my family that I’ve had amazing opportunities to expand my horizons.”
Every opportunity Louise has grasped has led her to her current role. Having earned her psychology degree and a basketball scholarship in the United States, she never expected to take on a role with us—but she says it’s the perfect chance to give back to her family and community.
“I didn’t start my working career thinking I was going to end up in any of the areas I have. But I always knew I wanted to help my mob in some way—to influence and impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the better.”
In her role, Louise does exactly that. She is pivotal in leading the First Nations Futures team to deliver on key projects that play such an important part in creating a more inclusive and equitable future.
“We’re working very closely with colleagues across the department to ensure a better future. And I’m really excited that I’m leading the department and team to build our cultural capability, increase the number of Indigenous staff, and creating frameworks and policies to guide how we work with First Nations Queenslanders to achieve better outcomes.”
An ongoing journey that’s not about ‘just ticking boxes’
To Louise, a diverse workforce shouldn’t simply tick boxes or meet quotas. It’s about making sure our communities feel represented.
“When you're a community member and you need to engage with the government, you're going to connect with someone who looks like you or understands you,” Louise said.
“And so, we need to reflect our community. That’s also about the specific skills and knowledge our staff have because of their backgrounds.”
In our department, knowledge is vital. Our teams are tackling some of the most complex and impactful challenges faced by Queensland and the world. And to deliver on our remit, we know we need more diverse perspectives, including greater representation of First Nations peoples in our teams.
Louise says that journey is ongoing, and she’s proud to help us take the necessary steps to make progress.
“I think we are challenged with recruiting and maintaining that level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in our workforce”.
Louise says there’s a role for everyone in our department, no matter their passion.
“We tell the story of our department and show the opportunities there are to work on land and sea. There’s also policy and legislation, governance and project management, and so much more. We have so much variety, and we need to promote that - not just to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but to the wider Queensland community.”
A place to feel valued, comfortable, and part of the big picture
Our department has come a long way over the years. We’re excited about every positive step we take towards becoming more diverse and inclusive.
Louise is dedicated to making sure our employees have found a place they belong. And we’re grateful to have her leading the way.
“The future DPI to me is a place where I feel valued, comfortable, and that the work I’m doing contributes to the bigger picture. I feel that right now, and I hope that the department is able to maintain that for everybody.”
Our people share a powerful purpose to protect Queensland
Learn how our employees are preserving and protecting Queensland's biosecurity.
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Video transcript
[Our work requires deep knowledge, diverse skills and a true desire to share, learn and grow].
Michael: There's a lot of people that, especially in the department, that's dedicated their entire lives to individual subject matters. And that information, there's no way you could Google, no way you could replace it.
Rachel: For biosecurity, the best outcome is that people don't know we're there. I like to compare them to superheroes who largely work in the shadows.
Sias: But the work we do could make a difference for the future of Australia. To maintain the way of life that we have.
Michael: That support for that, you know, agricultural environment is really, really important. That's the legacy, is to continue on the great work that's been done.
Sias: Your knowledge that you can grow and build here is, it could simply happen by asking a couple of questions, just in the immediate environment. And it's raw knowledge that you can get out of people. So I just love being surrounded in this atmosphere of knowledge that you can just feed off and feed off. It's amazing.
Michael: The fact that it is challenging, the fact that it does test you, the fact that you have to get out of your comfort zone, you know, sometimes and ask some questions and you know, get some information out of people, means that you are being challenged. Which is one of the reasons why you wanna be here.
Sias: We make sure we're ready to be able to maintain that life. When something comes and that to me is value. Value to come and give what I've learned over the many years and to pass it on.
[Follow your path wherever it leads. Queensland Government].
More about the incredible work our people do every day
Our people do some incredible things, it'd be impossible to tell you them all.