Barry Sterland PSM

Barry Sterland PSM was appointed for a 5-year term as a full time Commissioner from 25 June 2024. Barry is currently co-leading two of the Productivity Pillar inquiries, Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation, and Creating a dynamic and resilient economy. He co-leads the Climate Change and Energy stream of work.

Prior to his appointment to the Commission, Barry led high impact work on economic, climate and energy policy reform in a range of Australian government, international and corporate roles. Barry held senior positions in the Commonwealth departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury and Climate Change and Energy. He led work in Government on climate policy including carbon pricing in 2006-2010, and has also worked on a range of industry, resource and energy issues. He brings a wealth of experience in stakeholder engagement, Budget and Cabinet processes, and whole of government policy prioritisation and coordination.

Barry led the economic and financial stream of the G20 during Australia’s Presidency in 2014, which focused on global growth and resilience. From 2014-2016 he represented Australia and Pacific nations on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund, and in 2017 was a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Over 2019-2020 Barry worked at AGL and led its work on energy and climate policy developments. Directly prior to joining the Commission, Barry was a Partner at KPMG. There Barry led a national and global practice advising on climate policy, serving government, corporate and not-for-profit clients.