Our Structure

Our Minister and legislation

Our Minister

The Honourable Stephen Dawson MLC, Minister for Science has responsibility for ChemCentre.

Enabling Legislation

ChemCentre is an independent statutory authority, established under The Chemistry Centre (WA) Act 2007. 

Our Board

ChemCentre is governed by an experienced Board, delivering the leadership that maintains our position as WA’s leading analytical chemistry services provider. 

Chair, Tresslyn Walmsley

Tresslyn Walmsley is the Chief Executive Officer of InterGrain, a leading national wheat and barley breeding business and is responsible for managing research and commercial relationships.

Tress started her career in the small WA wheatbelt town of Three Springs working as an agronomist for the then Department of Agriculture before moving to managing the TOPCROP program in WA. 
In 2000, Tress changed career focus, moving into intellectual property and commercialisation. Tress played a key role in the development of the National End Point Royalty system used in the grains industry across Australia. 

Tress won the Telstra Young Business Woman for WA in 1999 and in 2015 was named the WA Rural Woman of the Year. In recent years, Tress has been active in promoting the grains industry as a career opportunity to school students and is a strong advocate for increased women’s participation in the grains industry.

Tress commenced in the role of Chair in August 2024.

Deputy Chair, Miriam Stanborough AM

Miriam was appointed a Member of the Board of ChemCentre on 1 July 2022. Miriam is a chemical engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the minerals processing industry, across commodities including copper, uranium, gold, silver, alumina, lithium, vanadium and mineral sands.

Miriam has held roles in technical development, production management, project management, business improvement, human resources, and sales and marketing.

She holds additional degrees in Arts and Mineral Economics, is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Miriam’s other board roles include Chair of the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, and Non-Executive Director of Pilbara Minerals Ltd, BCI Minerals Ltd and Australian Vanadium Ltd.  In 2023 Miriam was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the minerals and mining sector, and to the community.  With her husband, she runs a beef cattle operation in the south-west of WA.

Miriam commenced in the role of Deputy Chair in August 2024.

Member, Dr Ian Harrison

Ian is a research scientist with over 30 years’ experience managing research and development programs and projects. Until his retirement in 2017, Ian was Director of R&D for Alcoa’s Global Refining System, leading a team of 60 scientists and technicians providing R&D for the world’s largest alumina refining system. Prior to joining Alcoa, Ian was a research leader with CSIRO and prior to that with Eastman Kodak.

Ian has held leadership positions with a range of industry and academic committees, including a Board role with the Parker Centre for Hydrometallurgy, and an Adjunct Professorship with RMIT University. Ian was also Chair or member of a number of industry advisory panels and Chair of collaborative alumina  industry groups the Alumina Technical Panel and AQW Inc.
Ian has a PhD in Photo-electrochemistry and an Honours Degree in Soil Chemistry and Chemistry. In 2015 Ian was awarded the prestigious RK Murphy Award for his contribution to industrial chemistry in Australia. He is known for his passion for the role of science in society and particularly the role of R&D, as well as for his strategic, scientific and leadership skills.

Member, WA Police Deputy Commissioner Kylie Whiteley

Kylie joined the Western Australia Police Force in 1988 and performed general duties in the Perth Metropolitan area until 1994 when she completed Covert Training and Detective Training. Kylie was appointed a Detective at the Perth Criminal Investigation Branch in 1993.

In 2001 she was promoted to Sergeant in the Operational Safety and Tactic Training Unit at the WA Police Academy becoming a weapons and tactics instructor and worked on key programs. In 2003 Kylie returned to covert operations until 2007 she was promoted to the Officer in Charge of the South West Detectives in Regional WA.

In 2012 returned to Perth and took on the role as Divisional Head at the Investigative Practices Unit leading and coordinating change in the agency’s investigation practices. She was awarded the Australian Police Medal in 2013.

In 2013 Kylie moved to the Mid-West Gascoyne District in the North of WA as Inspector and later was promoted to Superintendent of the District covering 19 Police Stations including the remote location of the Burringurrah Multi-Functional Policing Facility, reaching through to stations as far north as Meekatharra and south to Jurien Bay.

In 2015 Kylie was promoted to Commander in the State Crime Portfolio responsible for Forensic, Licensing Enforcement, Family Violence and a range of other agency priorities., In 2018 she implemented change to the Metropolitan Policing Operations across Perth. In 2018 she was appointed to Assistant Commissioner of the Judicial Services and Operations Support Portfolio before being appointed the head of Professional Standards encompassing Internal Affairs Division, Police Complaints, Security and Risk (Cybersecurity) and the Management Audit Unit.

Kylie then moved to the Deputy Commissioner role for the WA Police Force in January 2022 and was substantively appointed on 6th September 2022 being responsible for State Crime, Specialist and Support Services, Standards and Legal and the State Intelligence and Command Portfolio.

Member, Colin Murphy

Colin Murphy PSC is President of the Institute of Public Administration Western Australia (IPAWA) and is a former WA Auditor General. He is one of three Commissioners appointed to the Royal Commission into the suitability of Crown Perth to hold a casino gaming licence.

Colin has extensive experience in finance and administration in State and Commonwealth government roles. He has held key strategic leadership roles in the State Government Departments of Justice, Treasury and Finance, Land Administration and the Building Management Authority. He was the Business Manager for Murdoch University and has also held financial management roles with the Commonwealth Department of Finance in Perth and Washington DC.

Colin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Fellow, former Board member and Past State President of CPA Australia and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand. 

Member, Jane Cutler

Jane Cutler was appointed to the Board of ChemCentre on 1 August 2020. With over 30 years of board and senior executive experience across the public, commercial, and not-for-profit sectors, Jane brings deep expertise in resources, oil and gas, financial services, maritime, environment, and technology industries.

She is a Director at Southern Ports Authority, the Independent Chair of the WA Police Force Audit & Risk Assurance Committee, and a Councillor at the Town of Cambridge. She also serves as a Director on the Engineering Faculty Advisory Board at the University of Auckland.

Her prior roles include CEO of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and senior executive positions at Woodside, BHP, and Esso. Jane has also served as a non-executive director for many organisations, including the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), WestCycle, and DVAssist.

She holds a Bachelor of Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland,  a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Tasmania and a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University. Jane is also a Fellow and Past President of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). She is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), Past State President WA Division and WA Division Councillor.

Member, Cath Hart

Cath Hart brings over two decades of leadership in both government policy and private sector advocacy to her role as Chief Executive Officer of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA). Her diverse experience across major industry brings a fresh perspective to REIWA’s role as the peak body for the real estate sector in WA, and its positive impact on the broader community. Cath is passionate about WA being the best place in the world to live and do business, and advocates for policies that support a stable property market. 

 Her former roles include Executive Director of the Housing Industry Association WA, and Director of Advocacy for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in WA. Cath began her early career as a journalist before taking on Ministerial advisory roles within the WA Government. 

 Cath also holds positions on several industry boards including the WA Government’s Housing First Homelessness Advisory Group, Property Industry Advisory Committee, and was formerly Chair of the WA Government’s Housing Industry Forecasting Group.

Our Executive

Chief Executive Officer - Paul Nicholls

Appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2024, Paul joined ChemCentre from the Curtin University's Centre for Crop and Disease Management having held Executive Director and Director roles at the University of Queensland, Curtin University, the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre and the Western Australia science centre, Scitech.

Paul holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Neuroanatomy, and a Graduate Diploma in Education, Science and Computing from the University of Western Australia. He is a Fellow of Leadership WA and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Paul will apply his extensive experience in science and innovation to grow and evolve the ChemCentre while continuing to ensure it delivers on its core values of technical excellence, innovation, integrity and respect.

Director Scientific Services Division - Michael Clarke

Michael's career began in clinical biochemistry at PathWest Laboratory Medicine, culminating in a PhD in Biochemistry from UWA in 2008. With over 26 years of experience, he has expertise in clinical biochemistry and method development using mass spectrometry.

His primary research interests include vitamin D and steroid metabolism, as well as hormone analysis using LCMS and drug pharmacokinetics in both humans and animal models of disease. Michael has been a Chief Investigator (CI) and Associate Investigator (AI) on 11 successful grants and has co-authored 80 publications.

Before joining the ChemCentre team, Michael served as the Node Leader for Metabolomics Australia (MA) within the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) at UWA.

Director Forensic Science Laboratory - Bianca Douglas

With a career in forensic science spanning more than 20 years, Bianca Douglas has extensive experience in the provision of scientific services and expert opinion across a range of forensic disciplines relevant to the WA Police Force, Office of the State Coroner and Racing and Wagering WA.

She is a graduate of the University of Western Australia and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Bianca is a member of a range of professional societies and represents ChemCentre on several State and national committees and advisory groups relevant to forensic science.

Director Business and Corporate Services - Lina Barbato

As an accomplished executive leader, CFO and Board Director for over 30 years, Lina brings extensive experience, combined with a purpose-led contemporary and strategic focus to her role. Her former roles include a senior position at Treasury before moving to various other senior roles across the public sector.

Lina is active in volunteer Board roles for not-for-profit, having recently completed a seven-year term with Advocare as Deputy Chair before being appointed Director with Technology for Aging and Disability WA.

Lina recently acquired credentials from Harvard University in strategy and holds credentials as CFO, Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and GAICD.

Postal address

ChemCentre
PO Box 1250
BENTLEY DC WA 6983

t: (08) 9422 9800
f: (08) 9422 9801
e: enquiries@chemcentre.wa.gov.au

ABN : 40 991 885 705

Street address

ChemCentre
Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar
Resources and Chemistry Precinct
Corner Manning Road and Townsing Drive
Bentley WA 6102

Reception: Level 2, South Wing, Building 500.

Deliveries: Ground floor - use Conlon Street entrance

ChemCentre