MasterCraft Series – APS EA Excellence - power, prioritisation & professional growth

Date

23 Jun 2026

Duration

1-hour face-to-screen session. 11:00AM - 12:00PM (AEST)

Event type

Events

Location

Australia wide (Virtual)

Max Capacity

150 seats

We talk with professional Executive Assistants on mastering their EA career: developing referent power, strategic judgment, and prioritisation skills to become an influential professional role model. Come along* and put your questions to our panel.

*Please note this event will be recorded. You can view this video and other MasterCraft Series events here.

Panellists

Rhiannon Leonarder

Rhiannon is a Senior Executive Assistant to the Director-General at the National Library of Australia who supports executives by helping them make sense of competing priorities and stay focused on what matters most.

She values balance and creativity and enjoys gardening and painting outside of work. Rhiannon brings a thoughtful, practical approach to her role, with a focus on continuous improvement, efficiency, and meaningful contribution.

Yazmin Sheehan-Noobs

Yazmin has worked in the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing since 2022, within the Health Products Regulation Group, in roles that require strong judgement, continuous stakeholder engagement and the ability to clearly communicate complex regulatory information. Her experience has built a solid foundation in managing competing priorities, influencing outcomes, and supporting senior leaders in high‑pressure environments.

In 2024, Yazmin commenced as Executive Assistant to a First Assistant Secretary and has since also acted as Executive Assistant to multiple Deputy Secretaries, providing high‑level executive support across varied leadership contexts. Yazmin is passionate about professional growth and capability building and has undertaken projects such as designing and facilitating an Executive Assistant development day for her division. She is a strong advocate for the EA role as a respected career and brings practical insights on positional influence, prioritisation and leading by example.

PJ Donnelly

PJ is an experienced Executive with over 17 years of experience across multiple Australian Government departments and agencies. He has been an Executive Assistant supporting CEO’s, Deputy Secretary’s, Division and Branch heads over a 10-year period. Over the past 4 years, he's supported several ministerial offices in the capacity as Office Manager and Departmental Liaison Officer. He now leads the Departmental Liaison Officer Program for the Department of Home Affairs.

Facilitator

Anthony Dusan, APS Academy

Participant benefits

Learn how APS Executive Assistants act as role models to the service.
Gain a better understanding of what 'referred power' and how you can use this in your own agency.
Prioritisation is a skill that helps EAs manage SES. Take away advice on how to approach this.

Suitable for

All Staff

Category and User level

This learning experience aligns with the Working in Government Craft at the Foundation level.

Price

Free of charge.

Additional Information

To enrol in this session you will need a valid APSLearn profile.
Steps on how to create an APSLearn profile or to view FAQs can be found here.
If you have moved Departments or you have multiple APSLearn profiles, you can request to merge your profiles here.
If your training venue is at MoAD, please refer to the directional map to assist with locating the training room.

Attendance (Virtual)

When you attend a virtual session:

Provide your name or email when joining, as our attendance reports record this information from the virtual classroom platform.
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If you join as a group from one location or cannot provide your details during the session, please email us afterwards so we capture your attendance.
If we do not receive your information, you may receive a notice indicating you were not marked as attended.

* Capacity limits may apply. Please log into APSLearn to check availability.

If the session is full or none of the additional sessions are suitable, you can express your interest, through APSLearn, for this event. You will be added to a mailing list to be notified when a new session becomes available.