Nicola Hinder PSM was appointed as Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Parliamentary Services in April 2025.

A career public servant, Nicola has held multiple Senior Executive roles, including as A/Deputy Secretary (multiple roles), A/Agency Head and Australian Delegation Head to several bilateral and multilateral international organisations. Nicola has extensive experience in service delivery operations, international trade negotiations, regulatory stewardship, corporate operations and digital design and delivery. Nicola has served the Australian Government internationally completing a placement in India and a posting to the European Union.

In 2024, Nicola was appointed as a Senior APS Reviewer joining the senior review team to complete a Capability Review for Services Australia under the Australian Public Service Commission’s Capability Review framework.

In 2019 Nicola was awarded the Australian Public Service medal for services to Biosecurity and Trade. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is completing her Masters in Leadership.