The federal government has announced the appointment of Gabrielle Trainor to the role of interim chief commissioner and Clare Gardiner-Barnes as interim commissioner of Infrastructure Australia (IA).

The appointments come after the amendments to the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008, highlighting the government’s attempt to restore IA as the pre-eminent advisor on infrastructure planning and investment, which came into force in April.

Considered highly regarded within the infrastructure sector, Trainor and Gardiner -Barnes take on the new roles after both respectively serving as chair and director of Infrastructure on Australia’s Infrastructure Board.

With the new governance structure, the former board has been dissolved, meaning they will lead the agency until the federal government completes its merit-based recruitment process to permanently fill all three commissioner roles as outlined in legislation.

A new advisory council will also be established to help assist the commissioners, as well as the CEO of Infrastructure Australia.