Wheatbelt development commission chair Robyn Sermon reappointed for three more years

Robyn Sermon has been reappointed as chair and ministerial representative of the Wheatbelt Development Commission board of management for a fresh three-year term, the Western Australian Government has confirmed. The reappointment was approved by the Minister for Regional Development, Hon. Stephen Dawson, MLC, under Part 3 of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993. It was published for general information in the Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 133, on 20 October 2026, at page 2379 under the Regional Development series, reference RG401.

A term running to the end of the decade

The notice sets a single, precisely dated appointment window. Under the instrument, the new term begins on 1 November 2026 and expires on 31 October 2029 — a full three years, with no gap between the outgoing and incoming terms.

• Appointee: Robyn Sermon
• Position: Chair and ministerial representative
• Body: Wheatbelt Development Commission, board of management
• Term commences: 1 November 2026
• Term expires: 31 October 2029
• Approving authority: Minister for Regional Development, Hon. Stephen Dawson, MLC
• Statutory basis: Part 3, Regional Development Commissions Act 1993
• Publication: Government Gazette of Western Australia No. 133, 20 October 2026, p. 2379 (RG401)

The gazettal was signed by the minister and dated 20 October 2026, the same day the notice appeared in print. The appointment takes effect twelve days after publication, giving the commission continuity of leadership across the changeover.

Ministerial approval under the 1993 Act

The appointment was made under Part 3 of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, the statute that establishes Western Australia’s regional development commissions and governs the composition of their boards of management. The gazette notice records that the minister “has approved the following appointments in accordance with Part 3” of the Act, and that the decision is notified “for general information” — the standard formula used when a ministerial appointment is being made public rather than proclaimed as subsidiary legislation.

The wording also identifies Sermon’s seat on the board as the ministerial representative position, distinct from the local government and community representative seats that make up the rest of the board under the same part of the Act. That designation means she sits as the minister’s nominee as well as presiding as chair.

The notice is confined to the reappointment itself. It does not name other board members, state remuneration, or set out the commission’s funding allocations for the coming term.

A steady run of regional board appointments

The Wheatbelt notice is the latest in a series of regional development commission appointments signed by Dawson and published in the same gazette series. In the issue of 13 October 2026 (No. 129), the minister announced a full slate for the Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission board of management, including the appointment of Kate Mills as chairperson and ministerial representative for a term from 21 September 2026 to 20 September 2029, alongside Glenn Wilson as deputy chairperson and local government representative, Patrick Hill as a local government representative, and Anna Bonney and Chelsie Grace as community representatives.

Read together, the two notices show the same template being applied across the state’s regional commissions: a three-year term for the chair and ministerial representative, two-year terms for local government representatives, and three-year terms for community representatives. The Wheatbelt notice, however, records only the chair’s reappointment, leaving the remainder of that board’s composition to be notified separately.

The Government Gazette of Western Australia is published by the Government Printer for the State of Western Australia on Tuesdays and Fridays, unless disrupted by public holidays or unforeseen circumstances, with special gazettes issued for urgent or particular notices.

Why it matters for the Wheatbelt

The Wheatbelt Development Commission is the statutory body through which the state government channels regional development effort into one of Western Australia’s largest and most productive agricultural regions, and its board sets the priorities that shape how that effort is directed. Keeping the chair in place for a further three years gives the commission continuity at the top through the period in which its development funding priorities will be set and pursued.

For communities, shires and industry groups across the Wheatbelt, the practical consequence is a known point of contact and a known chair at the ministerial table until the end of October 2029. The gazettal also fixes the date on which the next reappointment or replacement decision will fall due, giving local stakeholders a clear horizon for engagement with the board.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 133, 20 October 2026, Regional Development (RG401), p. 2379 (official reference: RG401).