Department of Employment deputy secretary Jennifer Taylor will take over as Comcare's new chief executive officer when the current CEO Paul O'Connor's term expires late next month.
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Ms Taylor was announced as the new chief executive on Tuesday afternoon and will assume her new role at the workplace compensation agency in a little over a month on August 23.
In a statement, Minister for Employment Eric Abetz congratulated Ms Taylor on her new role, acknowledging the agency had a number of challenges ahead of it.
"Ms Taylor is a very experienced public servant and I am confident [she] will do an outstanding job as the CEO of Comcare," he said.
"Comcare is facing many challenges in the coming years including improving return-to-work outcomes and work health and safety in the Commonwealth. Ms Taylor's varied experience in the Australian Public Service will be of great benefit to the agency and assist it in meeting those challenges."
Mr Abetz also paid tribute to outgoing CEO Paul O'Connor, saying he had made a strong contribution to the agency in his five years as chief executive.
Comcare has been going through a difficult time recently, after a steady rise in the cost of public service workers' claims for compensation left the agency with a $98 million deficit in 2012-13.
The overall cost of claims in 2012-13 was $360 million, up by $40 million on the previous year.
