HRM sat down with Belinda Casson MAHRI, Chief People Officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to learn how her foundation in industrial relations shaped a career at the intersection of policy and people leadership.

I first came to Canberra on a year 12 school trip from Perth. 

I distinctly remember being in Parliament House during Question Time and, while it might sound a little geeky, I was completely taken by the drama and energy of politics and the idea that this was where national decisions were made. 

That moment cemented my interest in public policy and, eventually, a career in the Australian Public Service [APS]. I’ve now spent more than 20 years in a range of APS agencies, and today I lead the people function at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT]. It’s a role that combines my love of industrial relations and law with my appetite for complexity – and it still keeps me on my toes every single day.

On her HR origin story

My journey into HR started via a degree in industrial relations. At university, I spent a semester role-playing an enterprise bargaining negotiation with students in the US who were studying the same topic. 

I became hooked from there; I loved the complexity of working through competing interests, finding the balance between fairness and productivity, and learning the art and science of negotiation.

I also had the chance to do a placement at the Industrial Relations Commission during university. Watching the Commissioners preside over enterprise agreement disputes and unfair dismissal claims gave me a front-row seat to the realities of workplace conflict – the kind of gritty, high-stakes conversations you can’t fully grasp from a textbook.

That experience gave me a real taste for the practical, sometimes messy side of HR. It also showed me the importance of judgment and impartiality, which are qualities I’ve carried into every leadership role since.

These early career experiences exposed me to the pointy end of HR. I loved the mix of law, politics and people. After university, I joined the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations as a policy graduate, where I spent a decade working on workplace relations and work health and safety policy.

The transition to HR practice happened unexpectedly. A colleague from my graduate intake – now a head of HR – asked me to join his department to lead enterprise bargaining. It was a fantastic opportunity to put into practice what I knew in theory. This then launched me into senior HR roles, and I’ve now spent more than a decade leading HR functions across multiple agencies.

On the appeal of complexity

I’ve always been drawn to complex challenges. Enterprise bargaining is a good example. It sits at the intersection of law, politics, unions and people’s livelihoods. 

It can feel high-stakes because it’s not just about your internal workforce, it’s often played out in the public arena.

DFAT is complexity on a global scale. 

We operate across 115 posts, underpinned by different labour laws in each location. We post staff to high-risk locations, from Iraq to Ukraine. Every decision has implications for safety, wellbeing and national security.

That level of responsibility can be daunting, but I thrive on it. Complexity is where the work is most meaningful. I’ve been privileged to have the opportunity to visit and work alongside colleagues in our overseas network, which I wouldn’t have experienced in any of my other HR jobs.

On what kept her in the public service

What’s kept me in the public service is the chance to lead and contribute to work that really matters. Early in my career I was fortunate to have managers and mentors who trusted me with projects that had national impact. Once you’ve had that experience – of seeing policy you’ve worked on influence the lives of Australians – it’s hard to walk away.

That sense of purpose has carried through every role I’ve taken on, and now at DFAT it extends to the international stage. 

It can be exhausting, but it’s also energising because the work is so consequential.

This is the fifth time I’ve been the head of HR in an APS agency, and each role has stretched me further. Every time I think a job can’t get more complex, the next one proves me wrong. That challenge, and the chance to make a tangible difference on a global scale, is what keeps me here.

“Once you’ve had that experience – of seeing policy you’ve worked on influence the lives of Australians – it’s hard to walk away.”

On understanding the broad system 

Like many leaders, I’ve had my share of missteps. The common thread for me has been confidence. When I’ve second-guessed myself – whether in the evidence I’m presenting, the strength of the business case or my own professional standing – that’s when things have come undone.

As HR leaders, we have to bring breadth, depth and confidence to the table. If you’re sitting alongside the CFO and CIO, you need to be able to speak their language – data, finance, technology – and still hold the line on the people perspective. Without that confidence, you risk being sidelined.

Another lesson has been the transferability of leadership skills. At one stage I was asked to step in and lead a branch of 100-plus staff in finance and property. 

On paper, I had no credibility – I didn’t know the technical side of internal budgeting, and my only knowledge of the sector was as a building occupant. But what I did know was how to lead: how to listen, marshal expertise and bring people together around a common purpose.

That experience taught me that HR practitioners don’t need to be specialists in every technical domain, but they do need to understand the system as a whole. Property decisions affect the employee experience. IT decisions shape flexibility and accessibility. Finance determines what’s affordable when it comes to recruitment and terms and conditions. 

If you can connect those dots and bring a systems view, you’re far more effective as an HR leader.

On the importance of communication

One of my early mentors was a communications leader who also oversaw HR. Watching him approach enterprise bargaining with a laser focus on simple, fast, transparent communication was eye-opening. It taught me that great HR is underpinned by marketing and storytelling, as well as policy and process.

It’s really easy to get caught up in the ‘doing’ of HR – payroll, safety, compliance, etc. – and while these things are critical, you also need to tell the story of what we’re delivering. Comms isn’t an add-on; it’s central to building trust and credibility. 

During COVID, for example, people’s confidence in HR was largely shaped by the quality and speed of communication. Sometimes all we could say was, ‘We don’t know yet,’ but even that honesty built trust and showed that we were right there with staff, navigating the uncertainty together.

On getting the small things right

I’m skeptical of HR strategies that look beautiful on paper, but don’t change the daily lived experience of employees. Engagement survey results, for instance, often come down to whether the IT works, whether someone’s manager is supportive of a flexible work request, and whether accessibility needs are met.

For me, it’s about small things, done consistently and visibly. Big glossy strategies will only deliver if they are backed by tangible, everyday changes that are visible. Otherwise, you risk losing credibility – or worse, failing to make an impact.

On the evolving role of the CPO

It has certainly been said before, but COVID was a turning point for HR in the public sector and beyond. Suddenly, organisations couldn’t operate without fast and expert advice on safety, flexibility and wellbeing. It reinforced the importance of having HR professionals – not general managers – leading people functions. 

The public service hadn’t always put HR professionals or HR-qualified people at the head of HR functions, but COVID shifted the dial for us in a really significant way.

Today’s CPO role is fundamentally about integration. You can’t be an island. You need to be a connector – across finance, technology, property, law and data.

AI is a good example. HR leaders don’t need to be engineers, but they do need to experiment, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and ask: how could this improve the employee experience?

At its best, technology enables HR to do more of the deeply human work – conversations about expectations, hopes and development – because the noise is managed through automation.

On supporting the next generation of HR

I’m passionate about professionalising HR in the APS. I sit on the Senior Executive Service working group for the APS HR Professional Stream, led by Jacqui Curtis FCPHR [Chief Operating Officer at the Australian Tax Office and Head of the APS Professional Stream]. 

With Jacqui’s support, we recently launched a talent council for mid-career HR directors in the public sector, which I am proud to co-chair with Alison Stott, the ATO’s Chief People Officer. 

The aim is to give people breadth and depth – enterprise bargaining, analytics, culture, strategy, IT and property. We want the next generation of CPOs to arrive ready, not just technically, but with the confidence and leadership skills to influence across systems. It’s also about giving back, just like my previous mentors did for me.

It’s the same principle that applies whether you’re the sole HR practitioner in a 20-person business: investing in your own professional development matters.

Of all the projects I’ve worked on, professionalising HR in the APS stands out. The pandemic made it clear: HR was the foundation that allowed government to deliver – from JobKeeper to vaccine roll-outs. 

That work depended on skilled, trusted HR professionals moving the levers quickly and under pressure. Working alongside my APS CPO colleagues to build recognition of HR as a profession – with capability pathways, graduate programs and leadership opportunities – is something I’m incredibly proud of. 

Ultimately, whether you’re posting diplomats into challenging environments or supporting a small business to hire their first employee, the aim doesn’t change – HR is about creating workplaces that are fair, safe and productive. That’s what unites us all.

A longer version of this article first appeared in the 2025 October/November edition of HRM Magazine.

Want to learn more about effective leadership and management? Sign up for AHRI’s short course to understand your leadership style and learn how to create key performance indicators.