Gill Callister has been appointed Executive Director of the Department of Human Services' Mental Health and Drugs Division.

Ms Callister has been Office for Children Executive Director for three-and-a-half years.

As well as working on the establishment of the Office for Children, Ms Callister managed major policy reforms resulting in the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 and the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.

Department Secretary Fran Thorn said Ms Callister had worked closely with mental health and drugs programs in both senior policy and operational roles in the Office for Children and Southern Metropolitan Region.

'She has many achievements in these roles and will bring her tireless commitment to service improvement and policy leadership to the new role.'

Jim Hyde has been appointed as the Department's Director of Public Health, after acting in the position since April.

Before joining the Department last year as an advisor in the Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services Division, Dr Hyde was National Public Health Partnership Principal Program Advisor.

The partnership provided advice to governments on strategic and integrated responses to Public Health priorities with a view to strengthening and sustaining Public Health strategies, infrastructure and capacity nationally.

From 2001–2005 he was Royal Australasian College of Physicians Policy and Communications Director.

He led policy development on a range of strategic areas in health and social policy.

DHS Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Executive Director Chris Brook said Dr Hyde had extensive public sector and public health management experience.

'His breadth of experience has given Jim a fine grasp of policy development based on evidence,' Dr Brook said.

Dr Hyde holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Executives.