ABS spokespeople

The ABS has expert spokespeople to help explain Australia’s official statistics. They provide clear insights across key topics to support accurate and informed reporting.

All media enquiries and interview requests should be directed to media@abs.gov.au or 1300 175 070 (9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday Canberra time).

Dr David Gruen AO was appointed as the Australian Statistician on 11 December 2019. As Agency Head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), he is accountable for the functions and operations of the ABS. David also serves as Head of the Australian Public Service Data Profession, is a director on the board of e61, a non-partisan economic research institute, and Chair of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation.

David was previously the Deputy Secretary, Economic and Australia's G20 Sherpa at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Before joining the Department in September 2014, he was Executive Director of the Macroeconomic Group at the Australian Treasury.

David joined the Treasury in January 2003, before which he was the Head of the Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1998 to 2002. Before joining the Reserve Bank, David worked as a research scientist in the Research School of Physical Sciences at the Australian National University. 

With financial support from a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, David was visiting lecturer in the Economics Department and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University from August 1991 to June 1993. He holds PhD degrees in physiology from Cambridge University, England and in economics from the Australian National University.

David was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (General Division) in 2022 for distinguished service to public administration, economic research, business, and education.

Emily Walter is a senior leader at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, specialising in digital services and public facing data programs. She plays a key role in supporting major national initiatives such as the Census and modernising ABS digital platforms.

Speak with Emily about:

• The 2026 Census
• Ways to access data

Tom has worked with economic statistics at the ABS for over 20 years, across areas like National Accounts, International Trade, and Prices statistics.

Speak with Tom about:  

• Consumer spending statistics
• Private sector business statistics like total profits, wages, and inventories
• Capital expenditure on buildings and equipment statistics 

Bjorn specialises in population estimates, components of population change, life expectancy, and population projections. With over 20 years’ experience at the ABS, Bjorn is passionate about statistics and insights telling important stories about Australia and supporting informed decisions.

Speak with Bjorn about:

• National, state and territory population
• Regional population
• Population projections
• International migration and migrants
• Life expectancy and deaths
• Births and fertility
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population

Sean has over 20 years’ experience working on official statistics, including time as head of national accounts, and head of survey data collection for the ABS. 

Speak with Sean about:

• Labour market statistics
• Labour Force Survey
• Unemployment rate
• Average Weekly Earnings
• Job vacancies

Grace has almost 20 years’ experience in official statistics, specialising in Australia's macroeconomic statistics, including the National Accounts, Balance of Payments and business survey data.

Speak with Grace about:

• GDP insights (national and state)
• ABS implementation of System of National Accounts 2025 & Balance of Payments Manual 7
• Input-output tables
• Productivity statistics

Rachael has over a decade's experience working in various roles at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Commonwealth Treasury. She now leads the Prices Branch, which produces the consumer, producer, wage and international trade price indices.

Speak with Rachael about:

• Consumer price index
• Wage price index
• Producer price index

Jenny oversees the end‑to‑end delivery of key national population statistics, including the 2026 Census, and contributes to shaping the ABS’s strategic direction in demographic and social data.

Speak with Jenny about:

• The 2026 Census
• Population statistics

Mark leads the planning, coordination, and delivery of the 2026 Census collection.

Speak with Mark about:

• 2026 Census collection activities

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Photos of ABS spokespeople are only for publication when quoting the individual in a story.

When using an image, you must show the spokesperson’s name and title, and include “Australian Bureau of Statistics" as the image source.

They should not be used for any other commercial purposes such as marketing, advertising, brochures, sales materials or websites without prior written consent from the ABS.

They should not be altered or edited in any way other than cropping to meet formatting requirements.

The ABS owns all rights to the images.

You cannot use ABS trademarks, unless they appear naturally in the image.