Matthew Short
Assistant Secretary, Child, Youth and Priority Populations
Department of Health and Aged Care
Matt is the Assistant Secretary of the Child, Youth and Priority Populations Branch in the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Division of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. In this role, Matt is responsible for policies and programs that promote early intervention, prevention, and treatment of mental ill health for children, young people and priority populations. This includes responsibility for the oversight of youth programs and policies, as well as those for perinatal, child, and specific policies relating to eating disorders and priority populations including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Prior to this role, Matt was the Assistant Secretary of Mental Health Services Branch since 2021.
Matt has held a variety of interesting roles across the Department for the last 14 years, including working on Medicare policy, international strategies and primary care reform. Matt has also spent some time at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), working to the inaugural NDIA Board and at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, working on APS reform. Matt is also co-chair of the Health Pride Network and is passionate about inclusive workplaces. Matt received the 2021 Roozi Araghi Award for Inclusion in recognition of his work on inclusion in the Department.
