[1] John Howard appointed Patricia Scott as Secretary of the new Department of Human Services in 2004.
In May 2007 Scott was appointed to lead the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
In DBCDE she was responsible for rolling out the Government's $40-plus billion national broadband network.
[4] After leaving her position in DBCDE in 2009, Scott moved to a role as a Commissioner of the Productivity Commission.
[5][6] In 2011 she headed a Productivity Commission inquiry into the feasibility of a National Disability Insurance Scheme, concluding that the Australian Government should take action to provide reasonable support services for people with a disability.