The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the boards of our cherished national institutions.  

• Professor Frank Bongiorno AM as the Deputy Chair of the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council for a 3-year term
• Mr Samuel Edwards for his second term as Chair of the Bundanon Trust Board for a 3-year term. 

Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, said the appointees would bring a breadth of expertise to their respective boards. 

“Professor Bongiorno is one of our country’s leading historians and I have great faith in his ability to help lead the Archives as its new Deputy Chair.”

“Mr Edwards brings a wealth of experience in governance, construction and infrastructure projects and Board stewardship and he will continue to be a great asset to Bundanon as Chair of the Board.”

Professor Frank Bongiorno AM is the Director of the Vice-Chancellor’s Centre of Public Ideas and Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas at the University of Canberra, a Distinguished Fellow at the Western Sydney University Whitlam Institute, and President of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Professor Bongiorno has published extensively on Australian political and social history, and in 2019 was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant service to tertiary education in the field of history. Professor Bongiorno has served as a member of the National Archives Advisory Council since June 2024. 

Mr Sam Edwards has served as the Chair of the Bundanon Trust Board since 2021. Mr Edwards is a Civil Engineer who grew up on the South Coast of NSW. He is currently the Managing Director of Edwards Constructions and Director of Australian Coastal & Ocean Engineering. Mr Edwards has proven experience in governance and the arts and also serves on the National Gallery of Australia Council. He is a past Chair of the Crown Lands State Park Trust Board at Killalea and sits on various advisory committees for Standards Australia, NSW Government and the private sector.