Inspector-General of Aged Care, Natalie Siegel-Brown, has announced she will step down from the role on 31 July 2026, less than two years after taking up the position.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Siegel-Brown said the decision came after a significant expansion of her international responsibilities with a United Nations agency, a role she has held alongside her aged care appointment since entering office.
She said the growing demands of that global work meant she could no longer commit to the full-time expectations of the Inspector-General position.
“The role of Inspector-General of Aged Care demands complete dedication, and it deserves nothing less,” she said.
“While this was not a decision I made lightly, my international obligations have fundamentally changed, and retaining both roles would not be consistent with the level of dedication the Inspector-General role demands.”
Siegel-Brown also said the move would allow her to spend more time with her young family.
Her resignation marks an early end to an appointment that was originally due to run until October 2029. She began in the role in January 2025 as the inaugural statutory office holder of the Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care, an independent watchdog created to oversee the Commonwealth’s administration, funding and regulation of aged care.
In a personal post on LinkedIn, Siegel-Brown described the decision as “what felt like the impossible decision”.
“Serving as Inspector-General has been one of the greatest privileges of my life,” she wrote.
“At the heart of this work has always been people, older people, families, advocates and workers, who trusted me with their stories.”
She said those stories had shaped both her leadership and the development of the office itself, adding that together they had made visible issues “the system can no longer ignore”.
During her time in the role, Siegel-Brown became a prominent voice in Australia’s aged care reform debate, overseeing major reviews and publicly pushing for stronger accountability, rights-based care and systemic change.
One of the office’s most significant pieces of work under her leadership was its review of My Aged Care, which found many older Australians were still struggling to navigate the system and access support when they needed it.
In her resignation statement, Siegel-Brown said the work of the office would continue well beyond her departure.
“As I step away from the role, I want people to know that the stories shared with me do not end here,” she said.
“They now live within the work of the Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care, an independent oversight body specifically designed to keep listening, to honour lived experience, and to ensure those voices continue to drive reform and accountability.”
She also paid tribute to her team, thanking staff for helping shape the office’s culture and mission, and acknowledged the support she had received from older Australians, families, advocates and aged care stakeholders across the sector.
Siegel-Brown said she would remain in the role for the next three months and would continue working with government to ensure an orderly transition before her departure at the end of July.
