Jill Collins commenced as State Director, South Australia State Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in January 2023.

As a DFAT career officer Ms Collins has served in several overseas roles, most recently in Moscow as Deputy Head of Mission covering Russia, Armenia and Central Asia.  She was Australia’s Consul-General in Guangzhou, South China, and has also served in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei.

In her most recent Canberra-based role, she was responsible for foreign investment policy.  In addition to her East Asia and European policy focus, she has worked across public diplomacy and human resources management roles, including as a founding Director in DFAT’s Diplomatic Academy.  She has multilateral policy experience and was formerly Secretary-General of Australia’s National Commission for UNESCO.

Ms Collins is a Certified Practitioner in Human Resources (CPHR) with a Master of Arts in International Relations from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Commerce (1st Class Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.  She speaks fluent Mandarin and basic Russian.