Deputy Secretary, Families and Communities

Letitia Hope is the Deputy Secretary at the Department of Social Services. Letitia leads the Families and Communities Stream. She is a proud Bundjalung (Northern Rivers NSW), Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander woman.  

Letitia oversees national policy and programs that support communities, families and children including responsibilities for the Early Years Strategy, financial wellbeing, targeting entrenched disadvantage and placed based approaches, ending gender-based violence, families and children safety, delivering of the National Redress Scheme and stewarding the Social Services portfolio actions under the Closing the Gap National Agreement. 

Letitia joined the department in March 2023, prior to this she was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the National Indigenous Australians Agency where she was responsible for the Policy and Programs portfolio and prior to this the Operations and Delivery portfolio. She has driven many key national service delivery responses and strategic policy approaches including her role in the Black Summer Bush Fires response; the National COVID-19 response, led the Voice co-design process, the implementation of the Closing the Gap National Agreement and the delivery of the government’s policy agenda for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

Over the past 30 years, Letitia has had a wide and varied career working across Commonwealth and State governments in both mainstream and specialised social policy development, program management and human service delivery, housing, primary and allied health, aged care, and community services including working in Veterans Affairs and Indigenous Affairs. Letitia has held various Senior Executive roles across central and line agencies, service delivery departments, portfolio bodies and cultural institutions. 

Letitia holds a deep rooted and demonstrated commitment to delivering the art and science of excellence in public sector leadership and management, serving the government of the day impartially with diligence and forging community-led, co-design and citizen centric approaches.  

Letitia is a council member of the APS Deputy Secretary Talent Council, an inaugural member of the Australian Public Service Academy Faculty and a board and council member of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (ACT). 

Letitia holds an Executive Masters of Public Administration through the Australian National University, a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management through RMIT University; and graduated as a Senior Executive Fellows from the Harvard Kennedy Business School.