Gus Guthrie (Panel Chairperson), Consultant, Gus Guthrie Consulting P/L
Gus Guthrie has held senior management positions in higher education in Australia and in a major professional body in the UK, as well as having an international reputation as a researcher in organic chemistry. Gus holds BSc, PhD and DSc degrees from London University, and is a Fellow of several organisations: the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Following academic positions at Leicester and Sussex Universities, he played a significant role in the establishment of Griffith University, Brisbane as the founding Dean of Science. He then moved back to the UK as Secretary General of the Royal Society of Chemistry for four years. In the ten years he was at NSWIT/UTS (1986-96) as President and then Vice-Chancellor, he successfully led the NSWIT/UTS transformation, as well as the bigger task of the amalgamation of UTS with Kuring-gai CAE. In April 1996 he left UTS and established Gus Guthrie Consulting Pty Ltd. He was commissioned by the Queensland Government to conduct the negotiations with the Smithsonian Institution that lead to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies. His most recent major consultancy was to lead the team that produced the ‘Guthrie Report’ for DEST (in the National Protocols for HE Approvals). He was a Ministerial appointee on the Council of the University of the Sunshine Coast (1999-2005), and an auditor for NZUAAU.

David Woodhouse Executive Director, AUQA
Dr David Woodhouse is Executive Director of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA), which is responsible for auditing the academic quality assurance procedures of Australia's universities, state and territory accreditation agencies and various other higher education institutions. AUQA also has a responsibility for quality improvement, which it carries out through publications, workshops, and consulting. David undertakes many national and international quality assurance activities, providing advice and training on educational quality assurance to governments, agencies and institutions in a number of countries. He has served two terms as President of the International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), from 1997 to 2001, and in 2007 was elected President of INQAAHE for a third term. Before working in Australia, David was founding Director of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (1994-2001), and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation (1990-1994). Before that, he was a faculty member in mathematics, computer science and education in universities in several countries, and was at various times head of a department and dean of a faculty. He has been very active in extension work in schools and teacher education. His leisure interests include multisport and other endurance events.

Colin Bourke Professorial Fellow, Consultant, Monash University
Professor Colin Bourke, an Adjunct Professor and Council member at Monash University, retired from the University of South Australia in 1998, while acting as Deputy Vice Chancellor, after serving for several years as Dean of the Faculty of Aboriginal and Islander Studies. Professor Bourke spent his school-age years at Yarrawonga from where he attended Wangaratta High School before undertaking teacher training at Geelong Teachers' College in 1955-56. While at College he was awarded a College blue for athletics and a gold for football.He spent some twenty years as a primary school teacher and principal in Victorian country schools.In 1975 he was Acting Supervisor of Aboriginal Education with the Victorian Education Department and in 1977 he was appointed Director, Centre for Research into Aboriginal Affairs at Monash University. Whilst working as a teacher Colin gained degrees in Commerce and Education from the University of Melbourne. In 1981 he moved to Canberra to take up appointment as General Manager of the Aboriginal Development Commission he later became Assistant Secretary, Department of Aboriginal Affairs and then Deputy Principal, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Studies. Following completion of a Masters of Education at the then Canberra College of Advanced Education Colin was appointed as foundation Professor to the School of Aboriginal and Islander Administration at the South Australian Institute of Technology. When the Institute merged with the South Australian College of Advanced Education to become the University of South Australia Professor Bourke was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Aboriginal and Islander Studies. The first such faculty at a university.

Rau Kirikiri Consultant, RK Associates Limited
Mr Rau Kirikiri, of Maori descent (Te Whanau-a-Apanui) is currently the Treaty Responsibilities Manager at Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. This role involves raising the company's awareness on Treaty of Waitangi issues and on Maori concerns in science, as well as building up business for the company with Maori clients. Previously, Rau has worked within the NZ State Services Commission, served as Deputy Secretary - Policy and Planning in the Department of Maori Affairs, and held postings in Washington, Suva and London for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rau, who holds an MA (Anthropology) and a DipTchg, has also been a lecturer at Auckland University.

Barbara van Ernst Education Consultant
Barbara van Ernst is an Educational Consultant, and was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor (Learning & Teaching) and Pro Vice Chancellor (Community Engagement) at Swinburne University of Technology and prior to that was Head of School, Visual Performing and Media Arts, and Chair, Academic Board, Deakin University. She has had extensive teaching experience in primary and secondary schools in Victoria, and in the tertiary sector, Her areas of teaching include education and the performing arts. She was also Chair of Academic Board at Deakin University. She has supervised a number of PhD candidates to successful completion and has examined a number of theses for other universities, mainly in the areas of the arts, education and creative writing. In particular she has had experience in the PhD model based on creative practice and exegesis. Professor van Ernst has served for three terms as a Councillor for the City of Hawthorn, including two years as Mayor. She has served on a number of boards and committees, including the Victorian Qualifications Authority, the Higher Education Advisory Committee in Victoria and the Programs Committee of Open Universities Australia. She is a quality auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency, the Singapore Higher Education Accreditation Council, the New Zealand Universities Audit Unit and the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications. She has recently conducted audits in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Bahrain and for the Australian Catholic University. She has had experience in community organisations such as Rotary International, serving as President of the Lilydale Club for one year, President of Melbourne Chorale and President of Theatreworks. She was also a probation officer for a number of years and is a Justice of the Peace. She has also been a personal mentor to a number of people in leadership. In 1994 she was awarded an AM for services to education.