Statistical Services Group

Helen Wilson, Deputy Australian Statistician
Helen Wilson is the Deputy Australian Statistician leading the Statistical Services Group. The Statistical Services Group has responsibility for producing the ABS’ demographic, economic and social statistics.
Helen joined the ABS in July 2020 as General Manager, Labour Market and Population Statistics Division.
Helen was previously the First Assistant Secretary of the Industry, Infrastructure and Environment Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Helen’s experience spans both the private and public sectors. She has worked as an economist in the financial sector and ran a small business. She has spent over fourteen years working in the Australian Public Service, including in the Treasury, and the Department of the Environment and Energy, where she has worked on climate change, infrastructure and monetary and fiscal policy.
Helen has a Bachelor of Economics and Arts from the Australian National University.
Population, Labour and Location Statistics Division

Bjorn Jarvis*, General Manager
Denise Carlton
Program Manager
Population Statistics Branch
Lauren Ford*
Program Manager
Labour Statistics Branch
Sybille McKeown
Program Manager
Location Insights Branch
Macroeconomic Statistics Division

Jacqui Vitas, General Manager
Jacqui Vitas is the General Manager of Macroeconomic Statistics Division.
Prior to joining the ABS in February 2016 Jacqui worked in the UK Office for National Statistics, on the 2001 Census, in the Methodology Division and in National Accounts. She has extensive experience of business survey methodology and is co-author of the Wiley book 'Designing and Conducting Business Surveys'.
She joined the ABS as Program Manager of the Labour and Income branch and took up the General Manager position in June 2017.
Jacqui has a BA (Hons) in Social Policy Administration and an MSc in Social Research.
Katherine Keenan
Program Manager
Finance and Wealth Branch
Sean Crick*
Program Manager
Production, Income and Expenditure Branch
Andrew Tomadini
Program Manager
International Statistics Branch
Benjamin Mitra-Khan
Program Manager
Household Expenditure Data Branch
Prices and Economic Statistics Futures Division

Elizabeth Williamson, General Manager
Michelle Marquardt
Program Manager
Prices Branch
Robert Ewing
Principal Advisor
Statistical Services Group
Industry Statistics Division

John Shepherd PSM, General Manager
John Shepherd is the General Manager leading the Industry Statistics Division at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The Industry Statistics Division is responsible for producing statistical information across a range of sectors Agriculture, Environment, Building and Construction, Tourism, Innovation and Technology including producing key economic indicators of business activity. John is also leading a program of work to produce more timely and granular economic indicators while reducing survey burden for businesses. The ABS’ Business and Address Registers and the Statistical Classifications and Standards sections are also part of the Division.
John previously held a number of senior roles at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), including leading significant change programs and projects focused on improving the client experience. John led the implementation of the Single Touch Payroll (STP) initiative, enabling employers to report their tax and superannuation information for their employees at the same time as they paid staff. John also played an active role in superannuation reform, including playing a lead role in the implementation of SuperStream.
John has a Master of Taxation from the University of NSW and is a passionate Movember ambassador and fundraiser for men’s health initiatives. John was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours list for his work on Single Touch Payroll.
Amanda Clark
Program Manager
Physical Environment Accounts and Statistics Branch
Branko Vitas
Program Manager
Business Indicators Branch
Tom Joseph
Program Manager
Business Statistics Futures Branch
Social Statistics Division

Michael Smedes*, General Manager
Linda Fardell
Program Manager
Health and Disability Statistics
Michelle Ducat*
Program Manager
Education and Crime Statistics Branch
Juanita Pettit*
Program Manager
Indigenous and Social Information Branch
David Zago
Program Manager
Household Surveys Branch
*Individual is acting, temporary or contractor in this role