Former Eden-Monaro MP and Malcolm Turnbull loyalist Peter Hendy is the newest member of the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
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Treasurer Scott Morrison named the defeated Liberal MP and former economics advisor in the Prime Minister's office to a five-year term on the commission, responsible for the carve up of the GST.
Dr Hendy lost the one-time bellwether seat to Labor's Mike Kelly at the 2016 federal poll and is seeking Liberal preselection for the next election.
Elected to Parliament in 2013, Dr Hendy is a former Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive and hosted plotters backing Mr Turnbull's coup against former prime minister Tony Abbott at his Queanbeyan home in September 2015.
Mr Morrison said the part-time appointment reflected Dr Hendy's experience in Mr Turnbull's office and in the private sector.
"Dr Hendy is a highly experienced senior leader, having previously held the roles of chief executive officer of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and national director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
"Dr Hendy also holds a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours, as well as a PhD, and was most recently the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister.
"Dr Hendy is joined on the Commission by the chairperson, Mr Greg Smith, Dr Lynne Williams and Professor Jeffrey Petchey," Mr Morrison said in a statement on Tuesday night.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop named Dr Hendy to Council for Australian-Arab Relations.
He was reportedly lining up to enter a Liberal preselection race in the event Bennelong MP John Alexander decides not to recontest his Sydney seat at the next election, but last week Fairfax Media reported Dr Hendy might stand for the Senate.
"If there was a vacancy on the Liberal side in the Senate I might be interested," he told The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Morrison also announced the appointment of Federal Court Justice Jennifer Davies as a part-time deputy president of the Australian Competition Tribunal, along with the reappointment of Justice Linsday Foster.
Dr Hendy's loss in 2016 ended the seat's more than 40-year status as a federal bellwether for the party forming government.
Labor's Mike Kelly won back the seat after one term, amid a 5.8 per cent swing.
Liberal and National Party candidates are expected to contest Eden-Monaro at the next election, which insiders say could come as soon as August of September 2018.
