Commissioner Katarina Carroll

2015 College Recipient, College of Arts, Society and Education

Katarina Carroll is the newly appointed Commissioner for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, the primary provider of fire and emergency services in Queensland. Her career in policing and emergency services spans more than 32 years.

Born and raised in Far North Queensland, Commissioner Carroll joined the Queensland Police Service in 1983. Her early career centered around detective work in the Drug Squad, a Commission of Inquiry, various Criminal Investigation Branches, the Joint Organised Crime Task Force, and the Covert Unit.

As she progressed through her career, she undertook various senior roles throughout Queensland and in 2008 was appointed the first female Superintendent to the North Queensland region. In 2010 was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner.

In 2012, she undertook the challenging role of Program Executive for the G20 Group.  In this role she undertook a vast planning exercise with her team and commanded some 6,700 police in providing security for 26 world leaders, in what was the largest peacetime security operation in Australia’s history.

In January 2015, Commissioner Carroll was appointed as the Interim Commissioner of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

The QFES is responsible for all firefighting, rescue, HAZMAT and disaster management operations within Queensland and consists of Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service, Fire and Rescue Service and the Office of Emergency Management.

Commissioner Carroll is the Queensland representative on the Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee for Forward Command and is an evaluator of national and international counter-terrorism exercises. She is the recipient of the Australian Police Medal, National Police Service Medal, National Emergency Medal, National Medal, and is also a graduate of the Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership Foundation.

Commissioner Carroll also has several tertiary qualifications, including an Executive Masters in Public Administration, a degree in Criminology and a graduate diploma in Applied Management.

Katarina Carroll graduated from James Cook University in 1983 with an Associate Diploma in Community Welfare.