Dr Gillian Hirth AO
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Gillian Hirth was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of ARPANSA in March 2022.
Dr Hirth completed a PhD in environmental radiochemistry in 1999 and from 2000 to 2003 she was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. Her research focussed on the transport of uranium decay series in the environment and their transfer to biota.
Dr Hirth worked for the Australian Defence Organisation from 2003 to 2010 in the field of hazardous materials and environmental management, this work included the management of radiation sources and facilities, nuclear materials, occupational exposures and radioactive waste. She has been with ARPANSA since 2010. Initially working in codes and standards development, she then led a project examining radionuclide activity concentration ratios in wildlife inhabiting uranium mining environments and was Director of the Monitoring and Emergency Response Section in RHS Branch from March 2014 to August 2016. In August 2016 she was appointed Head of the RHS Branch.
Dr Hirth is the current Australian Representative to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) since the 64th session in 2017, and was appointed as Chair of UNSCEAR for the 66th and 67th sessions in 2019, a role extended for 68th session and one that she will hold until the commencement of the 69th session in 2022.
Dr Hirth was appointed as a member of the Commission on Safety Standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the 7th term, 2020 to 2023, and was the Australian representative on the IAEA's Emergency Preparedness and Response Safety Standards Committee for the term 2015-2017. Dr Hirth is member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Main Commission for the term 2021-2025 having been a member of ICRP Committee 4 for the term 2017-2021. Dr Hirth is a member of the Board of Council of the International Union of Radioecology.
Dr Hirth was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia on Monday 10 June 2024 where she was honoured for her ‘distinguished service to environmental science, particularly radiation and nuclear safety, and to the development of national and international regulatory standards’ as part of the King’s Birthday 2024 Honours List.
