Dawkins to head National Quality Council

John Dawkins has been appointed chair of the National Quality Council, which oversees quality assurance and ensures national consistency in the application of the Australian Quality Training Framework. Dawkins is a former education minister who revolutionised the Australian higher education system in the 1980s. He was a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating governments also served as Treasurer and in the finance and trade portfolios. In 1993, Dawkins was chair of the OECD Ministerial Council. Since 1994, Dawkins has worked with the World Bank, UNESCO and several universities and state and foreign governments on education and training reform issues. He is currently chair of the Australian Qualifications Framework Council, which advises the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) and chairs the board of governors of the Institute for International Trade at Adelaide University. Dawkins replaces Patrick McKendry, who was chair of the NQC from 2006-09.