I congratulate Dr Michele Bruniges AM, Secretary of the Department of Education and Training, for her appointment to a significant OECD role that measures the performance of students and education systems around the world.

From April next year Dr Bruniges will chair the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Governing Board.

PISA is a triennial assessment of education systems worldwide. It includes measurement of students’ scientific, reading and mathematical literacy and tells us how effective we’ve been in educating our students to be productive and informed global citizens.

Dr Bruniges — the first Australian to be appointed as Chair — will bring valuable international insights from this new role to the Department’s policy deliberations.

This important role acknowledges Dr Bruniges’ expertise, experience and tremendous depth of knowledge in education, especially effective data collection and analysis.