NAIF Board

Director (Western Australia)

Vanessa Elliott is a Jaru woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia with cultural and family connections in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

She has more than 20 years’ experience working in strategic leadership roles in economic development, community services, regional and remote project management, strategic planning, including headworks, energy, mining, native title and service commissioning.

Ms Elliott has worked on some of the major project developments in Australia across the resource industry, regional development and town planning, specialising in project life cycle, land access, regulatory approvals, social performance, local content and diversity and inclusion.

Director (Western Australia)

Ms George has a legal background and has extensive experience working in the resources industry, regional and Indigenous business and infrastructure and asset management.

Her employment has been in the public (State and Commonwealth) and private sectors and includes policy development, consultancy work especially with the resources sector and community sector, housing development and planning roles in areas including Aboriginal justice, health, governance, training and employment and economic development including residential land development. Membership on Boards, committees and working groups has been across a number of sectors including those mentioned above.

Director (Queensland)

Mr Gray is an accomplished Chairman and Company Director, highly experienced across a range of corporate, government and not-for-profit entities. He holds a number of current Directorships, including Sugar Terminals Limited, Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland) and Queensland Cricket, each of which has interests and operations in north Queensland.

As well, Mr Gray has an outstanding record of significant achievement in executive roles in both the public and private sectors. He has held Chief Executive Officer positions with the Queensland Treasury, the Queensland Competition Authority and the Queensland Independent Commission of Audit. He was also the Office Head for Macquarie Group in Queensland and Executive Director with BDO (Qld) Pty Ltd.

Mr Gray has specialist skills and expertise in financial management and services. Beyond that, he has a breadth of relevant experience in other key industry sectors, especially infrastructure, agriculture, IT, education and health, as well as other sectors such as aero-medical emergency services and sports administration.

Director (Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications)

Jim Betts was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development, Communications and the Arts in July 2022.

Mr Betts has spent over 30 years working in government agencies in the UK, Victoria and (for the last 8 years) New South Wales.

Prior to becoming Secretary, Mr Betts was a partner at strategy consultancy EY Port Jackson Partners, having previously led the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) as Secretary for 2.5 years. During that period, the department undertook transformational reform in areas like land use planning, water, urban design, sustainability, climate change, biodiversity conservation and energy. From 2013 to 2019, he was Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure NSW where he led the development of 2 State Infrastructure Strategies, oversaw the state’s infrastructure program, delivered major state infrastructure projects and developed a state plan for the construction sector.

Before moving to New South Wales, Mr Betts spent 5 years in Victoria as Secretary for the Victorian Transport Department and 4 years as Victoria’s Director of Public Transport. Mr Betts strives to be a champion for inclusivity and social justice, not least for First Nations people.