Ms Karen Wilson, Department of Families and Community Services

Karen graduated from the Australian National University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology) where she focused her studies on social research methods. Karen initially trained at the Australian Bureau of Statistics in labour market and social surveys, before joining the Department of Social Security in 1986 in the policy research area. She spent the next few years developing customer surveys before moving into evaluation of income support programs.

From 1993 Karen worked in a range of policy areas including child care, parenting payment and family assistance. In July 1999 Karen was part of the secretariat supporting the Welfare Reform Reference Group that produced the McClure report on welfare reform. From 2000 to 2005 she lead the Department of Family and Community Services longitudinal data section, managing the HILDA survey, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, and the Longitudinal Administrative Dataset. Karen joined the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2006 to work on the COAG Mental Health package. She has used HILDA data to inform evidence-based policy development in the areas of housing, ageing and income support reform.

Karen was awarded the HILDA Survey Distinguished Service Award for 2005 in recognition of her unwavering commitment to the HILDA Survey fieldwork.

Ms Karen Wilson