Specialist Panel: Ask the Regulator

Andrew Chaplyn has more than 35 years of resource industry knowledge and experience across the private and public sectors. Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) in 2009, Andrew held a range of mine management roles in WA and NSW, working in coal, mineral sands, nickel, gold and zinc mines both underground and open pit. Andrew held earlier roles within DEMIRS as Director Mines Safety and State Mining Engineer. He was also a member of a Ministerial Advisory Panel to drive safety legislation reform in the WA mining industry. As Deputy Director General Resource and Environmental Regulation Group, Andrew oversees the regulatory and policy requirements of the vast Western Australian resources sector. This also includes the oversight of the Geological Survey of WA. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering degree and an Executive Masters of Public Administration.

Shaun was appointed as the Deputy Director-General, Georesources on 8 July 2019 after having acted in the position from November 2018. His professional experience in the mining and resources sector over the past 20 years includes environmental management, sustainability, project approvals, stakeholder engagement, government relations, and land and tenement management. Shaun has a broad range of experience in both the private and public sectors. His success in resources sector operational and management roles throughout regional Queensland has strengthened and refined his strategic leadership style. Shaun has worked at all stages of the resource sector lifecycle with an Australian-based global resources company, facilitating environmental approvals, planning and tenure approvals, and environmental management services, as well as executing business strategies during mine development and production stages. Shaun holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental) from Griffith University, Brisbane.

Sue Joined NOPSEMA as the Chief Executive Officer in February 2023 following eight years as the Chief Executive and National Rail Safety Regulator at the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator. A career of over forty years in Government, Sue has held a range of roles across Education, including time as a school principal, the Public Transport Authority and as Deputy Director General of Policy, Planning and Investment at the WA Department of Transport. In these roles, Sue developed experience and expertise in government policy and regulatory frameworks and risk management in safety and environmental management, which she applies in her current role. Sue holds a Bachelor of Law from Murdoch University, a Masters of Education from Edith Cowan University, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Sue is a member of the National Association of Women in Operations, National Women in Transport, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration

Dr Paul Vogel AM is the current Chair of Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, and has been since 2016. Dr Vogel was also the Chair of Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority from 2007 to 2015. Dr Vogel was also the inaugural Chief Executive and Chair of the South Australian Environmental Protection Authority from 2002 to 2007 and prior to that held senior executive positions in the WA departments of the Premier and Cabinet and Environmental Protection. Dr Vogel has a PhD in chemistry from the University of WA and has extensive knowledge and experience across a broad range of environmental issues and sustainability, in organisational and regulatory reform and in the delivery of strategic environmental and business outcomes. Dr Vogel is Chair of the WA Marine Science Institution, Deputy Chair of CRC TiME (Transformations in Mining Economies), and a member of the Australia Institute of Company Directors. He was appointed to the NT EPA from 1 January 2016.

Graeme Waters is the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator and Offshore Infrastructure Registrar. Prior to those appointments, Graeme led the offshore petroleum regulatory reform program which introduced the current Titles Administration regulatory regime on 1st January 2012. And, with the introduction of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act in 2022, was appointed as Registrar. Graeme leads the NOPTA branch within the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, providing advice on offshore titles and licences for petroleum, greenhouse gas storage and offshore electricity infrastructure. Prior to those roles, Graeme was a Principal at Ernst & Young specializing in risk and change management consultancy. He led the Fraud and Investigations Dispute practice in Canberra and was Oceania leader for Government anti-fraud and anti-corruption. Graeme is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a Master’s degree and a number of other post graduate qualifications in anti-fraud and anti-corruption. He also worked in the Australian Taxation Office and was a sworn member of the Victoria Police Force serving in the Criminal Investigation Branch.

Samantha McCulloch is the Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers, the peak national body representing Australia’s explorers, developers and producers of essential energy – oil, gas and lower-emission fuels. An internationally recognised carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) expert, Ms McCulloch has a highly informed view of the critical role the oil and gas industry continues to play in meeting global energy and climate goals. Before joining APPEA in 2022, she spent seven years at the International Energy Agency including four years as head of the CCUS Unit. Ms McCulloch has more than 20 years of policy, industry and technical expertise from previous roles within government, industry associations and the private sector in Australia and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction) from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University.