Jaala Hinchcliffe was appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services in March 2025. Jaala has led the Department as Acting Secretary since November 2024, after commencing in the Deputy Secretary role in February 2024.

Prior to this, Jaala was the Integrity Commissioner and agency head for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) which was subsumed into the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Jaala was also appointed as an interim Deputy Commissioner in the NACC to provide continuity for ACLEI staff and stakeholders during the establishment of the NACC.

Jaala has been appointed as the Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman and has held a number of senior executive roles with the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Prior to her senior executive roles, Jaala had an extensive career as a lawyer specialising in Commonwealth criminal law with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Jaala has held several board positions and is a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was a member of the National Executive of the Australian Institute for Administrative Law (AIAL) from 2018-2021 and was a founding member of the APS Academy Faculty for the craft of Integrity from 2021-2023.