Congratulations to Peter Martin – 2014 Actuary of the Year

Peter has been Australian Government Actuary since 2001. His appointment occurred soon after the move of the office from APRA to Treasury. Over the subsequent years, Peter has demonstrated to Government the value of actuarial advice in a policy setting context. He contributed to the development and subsequent implementation of the Government’s responses to the withdrawal of terrorism insurance, the medical indemnity crisis and the collapse of HIH. More recently, Peter has been tasked by successive Governments with preparing reports on the North Queensland insurance market to provide an informed and authoritative basis for discussion.

Most notably in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Peter led a 2012 review of the costing undertaken by the Productivity Commission. He then provided influential advice on enshrining the roles of scheme actuary and reviewing actuary in the governing legislation. The guiding philosophy for the NDIS differs fundamentally from the approach which has been taken to funding disability support services by Governments in the past and the importance of actuarial valuation and control cycle techniques in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the scheme cannot be overstated. Peter’s input helped in injecting these concepts into the discussions around the design of the scheme and maintaining that focus going forward through his membership of the Sustainability Committee for the NDIS.

It is a measure of the respect in which Peter is held that, in the period since his appointment, the Australian Government Actuary has been assigned a legislative role not just in relation to the NDIS, but also in areas as diverse as medical indemnity, family law and visa charging arrangements. The results of his influence will therefore be felt more broadly throughout Australian society.

Peter has also played an active role in actuarial education, through participation in the Commercial Actuarial Practice course and through guest lectures at the Australian National University.

In summary, Peter has played a key role in enhancing the stature of the actuarial profession within Government, and establishing the Australian Government Actuary as a trusted advisor to Government on major social policy reform as well
as prudential management within Government. His significant contribution deserves recognition by the Institute as 2014 Actuary of the Year.

The award will be presented to Peter at the 2014 General Insurance Seminar Gala Dinner on Monday 17 November in Sydney.

Congratulations Peter.

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