Dave Donohue

David has smoothly transitioned from the NSW Police Force after over 30 years of exemplary service and four years in the private sector. David was a Commander/Superintendent for 13 years, making him one of the youngest Commanders at that time. These positions covered; the creation and implementation of the Mental Health Intervention Team, Staff Officer to the Deputy Commissioner, Local Area Commander at four Commands and then Director Investigations and Field Support, Professional Standards Command.

David had extensive exposure at the Executive Level of the NSWPF having performed in the role of Assistant Commissioner, Professional Standards Command and Directing the Re-engineering of the NSWPF and Major Events and Incidents Group.

David was a Board Director at Westpac Life Saving Rescue Helicopter Service. He was part of a team that oversighted a complete restructure of the Service which involved the privatisation of the air services. David led a multi-disciplinary team through an organisational change where they had to identify priorities, develop business needs and manage staff performance whilst undergoing a change in their operating model. At the same time ensuring no loss of service delivery to this critical business.

David has been selected on numerous occasions by the Western Australian Government, Gateway Review involving the Western Australia Government Major projects. This included the 2012 Commonwealth Heads of Government. The Gateway project comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of Government and non-Government personnel. In September 2016 David was again selected by the Western Australia Government to conduct a Gateway Review of the WAPOL Optimisation Program. This was a commissioned Benefits Evaluation Review, assessing the financial investment of the Government for a major HR restructure and reform program.

David has extensive leadership skills focused on building and developing high performing teams and organisational culture aligned to values. David possesses superior Project Management skills which has delivered complex projects within time frames and resource parameters. He has highly developed experience in leading all aspects of organisational performance, strategic planning, performance reporting and continuous improvement, service delivery, governance and risk management. David was selected by the NSWPF Executive as Logistics Commander, World Youth Day and APEC. He was also the Risk Sponsor for World Youth Day due to his experience and skills in Risk Management.

David has highly developed communication skills with a demonstrated ability to convey information in a manner that is easily understood and motivates people to deliver. He has been the senior lecturer on the Incident Command and Control Course. He also presented at the Law Enforcement Safety Forum on APEC on Risk Management. David has presented internationally on numerous occasions including in Berlin at International Academy of Law and Mental Health. David has been a lecturer for over ten years at the University of New South Wales and Sydney University on Policing, Law and Mental Health.

At the NSWPF Professional Standards Command David had responsibility for the Investigations Unit, Internal Witness Support Unit, Administration Employees Conduct Unit (Commissioners Delegate), and the Drug and Alcohol team. David developed and implemented the Safe Reporting and Advisory Unit, which is a discreet unit designed to provide staff an avenue for all staff of the NSWPF to report misconduct or maladministration safely.

David was the NSW Police Force Corporate Spokesperson for Mental Health for nine years. During this time, he published on two occasions on Policing and Mental Health and co-authored a chapter on policing and the mentally ill, which was published internationally. David has demonstrated comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Corporate and Government strategies. He successfully negotiated the withdrawal of police from inter-hospital transportation of mental health patients. Change in the process impacted on many agencies requiring significant cross agency Executive support and participation. David successfully led a diverse team of police, clinicians, Ambulance officers and health workers to develop and implement a plan based on agreed outcomes inclusive of risk mitigation strategies.

David has a strong understanding of the Education process and practice. He prepared and developed the academic requirement for Mental Health Intervention Team training program. Placing the training before the New South Wales Police Force Academic Board achieving full accreditation and when independently reviewed was seen as world’s best practice.

David has extensive Private Sector experience having worked for DHL International as both the Manager (Australia and Papua New Guinea) and the Security Manager Oceania, and for Qantas as the Loss Prevention and Investigations Manager. In these roles, David showcased his skills in logistics management with the Security Systems for the Brisbane Logistics Centre, the showpiece for the region. He also revamped their incident reporting and intelligence gathering processes and procedures.

As the Security Manager, Oceania Region, David was responsible for implementing the standards in security and risk management across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. He established a Regional Security Governance Audit system that was implemented throughout all facilities. David also developed and implemented an Emergency Contingency and Business Continuity Plans for DHL which was implemented across Oceania and used during the Fiji coup. 

David’s investigative skills were recognised early by Qantas who engaged his services to globally head their Loss Prevention and Investigation services. He led high level and sensitive investigations across the world, along with risk assessments on facilities in Los Angeles, Johannesburg, Melbourne and Sydney.

David has recently (2022/23) been the led-on NSW DPI Bio Security (Foot and Mouth Disease) operationalisation through a risk-based process. This included the linking of multiple agencies to develop a Concept of Operations, Retrieval SOP’s, Operational Orders and the initial 72-hour response to a Standstill Order. Reviewing existing processes and procedures and development of new or enhanced processes.

QUALIFICATIONS:

David holds two Masters Degrees, in Emergency Management (2013) and Leadership and Management (2011); Diploma of Security and Risk Management (2022); Certificate III Investigation Services (2022); Foundation of Directorship Certificate Australian Inst of Company Directors (2017); Graduate Certificate in Management (2007); Diploma of Risk Management (1999); Homicide Investigators Program (2002); Advanced Criminal Investigation (1994); Arson Awareness Course (1994) and Detectives Education Program (1994).

AWARDS:

David has received the following awards: National Medal (2008 & 1st and 2nd Clasp); NSW Police Medal (1st, 2nd & 3rd Clasp); Australian Police Medal (2015); Commissioners Emergency Commendation (2020); NSWPF Sesquicentenary Citation (2012); Commissioners’ Certificate of Merit (2011); Deputy Commissioners Certificate of Appreciation (2009) and Commissioner’s Unit Citation (2008).

AFFILIATIONS:

Westpac Helicopter Rescue Service Board Member (2014-2018); The Academy of Investigation, Risk and Loss Adjusting Professionals; The Australian Security Academy; Risk 2 Solutions.

PUBLISHED:

• Application of a Model for the Development of a Mental Health Service Delivery Collaboration Between Police and the Health Service

• Targeted Violence in Schools 

• Policing and the Mentally Ill. International Perspective