Find out more about ANZSOG’s Executive Master of Public Administration

Talava Tuhipa-Turner is of Niue and British heritage, born and raised in Tamaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. She lives in Melbourne with her incredibly supportive husband, Josh (Tainui) and is blessed with two gorgeous young sons. Talava Tuhipa-Turner is of Niue and British heritage, born and raised in Tamaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. She lives in Melbourne with her incredibly supportive husband, Josh (Tainui) and is blessed with two gorgeous young sons.

Having reaped first-hand the benefits of a supportive family, education opportunities and strong cultural identity coupled with the push and pull of being a mixed race, first generation New Zealander, Talava brings a unique perspective to her work and the way she interacts with people from a variety of backgrounds.

In 2020, Talava returned to the Victorian Department and Health and Human Services as Principal Officer, Housing Reform Implementation.

Prior to this, Talava was Senior Business Lead, Justice Health in the Department of Justice and Community Safety, Victoria, where she led projects to deliver health services for prisoners. Talava joined the Department in January 2019 after nine years in social policy and coordination roles at the Victorian Department and Health and Human Services.

Talava has extensive experience in policy analysis and project management across the transport, urban planning, health and human services portfolios. She has worked in the public sector in a variety of jurisdictions. This has broadened her experiences of the Westminster system-based public sector and accelerated her ability to adapt quickly to different policy environments.

Talava holds a Bachelor of Planning with Honours (University of Auckland) and an Australia and New Zealand (ANZSOG) School of Government Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) from the University of Melbourne.

Talava Tuhipa-Turner graduated from the Executive Master of Public Administration in 2013 and is a member of ANZSOG’s Alumni Advisory Council. To find out more about the Alumni Advisory Council, click here.