Library Council
The National Library Act (1960) provides that a Council shall conduct the affairs of the Library.
Members
The Council consists of 12 members including the Director-General, one senator elected by the Senate and one member of the House of Representatives elected by that House. Specific issues being addressed by Council and its advisory committees are documented in the Library's Annual Report.
- Appointed as Chair from 9 November 2024 to 23 May 2027
Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO is a Eualayai/Gamillaroi woman and Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology, Sydney. She is a graduate of the UNSW Law School and has a Masters and SJD from Harvard Law School. She has published numerous textbooks on Indigenous legal issues.
Larissa won the 2002 David Uniapon Award and a 2005 Commonwealth Writer's Prize for her novel Home. Her second novel, Legacy, won a Victorian Premiers Literary Award. Her most recent novel, After Story (2021, UQP) won the 2022 Voss Literary prize. Larissa is also an award-winning filmmaker. She won the 2018 Australian Directors Guild Award for best Direction of a Documentary Film for After the Apology and the 2020 AACTA for Best Direction in Factual Television for her documentary, Maralinga Tjarutja.
She is a Trustee of the Australian Museum, a Director of Sydney Dance Company, Chair of the Community Spirit Foundation and a Council member of the National Library of Australia. She was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) for her work in Indigenous education, the law and the arts in 2020. Larissa received the Human Rights Medal 2021 from the Australian Human Rights Commission. She is the host of Speaking Out on ABC Radio.
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a third 3-year term until 4 May 2025.
Mrs Hirst brings experience in senior regional government policy roles. She was Chief Executive Officer of The Ian Potter Foundation, one of Australia's leading philanthropic foundations for ten years and was a Council Member of Philanthropy Australia. Mrs Hirst played a key role in establishing the Deputy Prime Minister's Regional Women's Advisory Council and was a member of the Regional Australia Summit Steering Committee.
- Reappointed on 3 February 2022 for a second 5-year term until 1 March 2027.
- To contact the Director-General, email: directorgeneral@nla.gov.au
Dr Marie-Louise Ayres FAHA was appointed Director-General of the National Library Australia in March 2017, having joined the Library in 2002. She has worked in research libraries for nearly 30 years, after completing a PhD in Australian Literature at the Australian National University.
Dr Ayres is a Director of National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA), having previously been a leader and participant in many NSLA projects, including NED, the National eDeposit service that was jointly developed by Australia's national, state and territory libraries. She is the Chair of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries.
Dr Ayres is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a third 3-year term until 4 May 2025.
Mr Snedden has been a member of the National Library of Australia Foundation since 2013. He has spent 30 years in the consulting industry with Accenture where he was the Australia and New Zealand Managing Director. Mr Snedden has served on the boards of a number of public companies and community organisations and is Chairman of Chris O'Brien Lifehouse and Odyssey House.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a third 3-year term until 4 May 2025.
Alice brings more than thirty-eight years experience in senior banking and multicultural community relations. She held a number of senior positions in banking, including Head of Asian Leadership at the Westpac Group, Head of International Customer Services at the Bank of Melbourne, and Head of Asia and Migrant Markets at Westpac.
Alice is Chair of the Chinese Studies Research Centre Advisory Board at La Trobe University. She is a Board Member of the Asia Society Australia, and Patron of the Chinese Cancer and Chronic Illness Society of Victoria. She is a member of the La Trobe Business School Advisory Board and also a Special Advisor to the Bangarra Group Board. She was formerly a member of the Prime Minister's Reference Group for the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program and a member of the Asia Century Advisory Committee of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
Alice is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a second 3-year term until 20 March 2025.
Dr Simpson has more than 30 years' experience in the arts and law, specialising in intellectual property. He is currently special counsel of Simpsons Solicitors and founded the Arts Law Centre of Australia. He has served as the Chair of the Bundanon Trust Board and as a member of the Australian National Maritime Museum Council. Dr Simpson was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to the law and arts in 2011.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a second 3-year term until 3 April 2025.
Ms Rosalie Rotolo-Hassan has had an extensive entrepreneurial career spanning over 20 years, having founded Bottega Rotolo in South Australia – a business which specialises in importing iconic European food and sourcing local Australian products. Ms Rotolo-Hassan is also a food educator and was awarded a Centennial Medal in 2001 for her contribution to the Australian Food Industry.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a second 3-year term until 3 April 2025.
Dr Bennie Ng is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Medical Association Western Australia (AMA WA). Bennie commenced his career as a General Practitioner before becoming a specialist hospital administrator with senior management and policy experience in Australia and overseas. He is a Board Director at the Australian Digital Health Agency. He was previously Head of Social Policy at the Office of the Prime Minister and had responsibilities across health and hospitals, aged care, the disability sector and Indigenous affairs.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Reappointed on 18 February 2022 for a second 3-year term until 24 July 2025.
Mr Richard Price has had a significant career in the banking sector, including 25 years with Macquarie Group as an Executive Director in the investment banking group, providing strategic and financial advice to many of the leading companies in Australia. He has also demonstrated a strong commitment to the philanthropic sector, in particular as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Song Room, the national arts education organisation since 2003, in addition to his roles as Chair of the Fundraising Committee, a member of the Finance and Risk Committee and on the Government and Stakeholder Relations Committee. Mr Price has also pursued numerous strategic business initiatives in infrastructure, digital technology, agriculture and social impact investment, amongst others.
Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, ID Photo
- Appointed for a 3-year term from 8 February 2022 to 7 February 2025.
Mr Stevens was elected to the House of Representatives for Sturt, South Australia, in 2019. Prior to his election to the Parliament of Australia, Mr Stevens held a number of positions including in the wool industry and other commercial and retail enterprises, and was Chief of Staff to the Premier of South Australia from 2018 to 2019. Mr Stevens holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in International Trade and Development, both from the University of Adelaide.
- Appointed for a 3-year term from 25 March 2024 to 24 March 2027.
Senator Walsh was elected as a Senator for Victoria in 2019. She serves as Chair of the Senate Economics Committee and is a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Prior to her election, Senator Walsh led the Victorian branch of one of Australia's largest unions, and was proud to represent diverse workforces striving for good, secure jobs.
Senator Walsh held fellowships at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies and the Economic Policy Institute in Washington DC, researching manufacturing decline and the growth of low-paid service industries in the US.
She holds degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Melbourne, Master of Arts from the University of Southern California, and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Melbourne.
Secretariat
To contact the Library's Council secretariat, email: governance@nla.gov.au.
Charter of the Library's Audit Committee
As required under section 17AG(2A) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014, the Charters of the Library's Audit Committee that applied from 2019-2020.