The Chair of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Mr George Savvides AM has advised the Government that he will not seek reappointment following the completion of his second term in July 2025, as part of his plan to rebalance his professional and family commitments.
The Government acknowledges and thanks Mr Savvides for his excellent governance of SBS, and looks forward to this continuing into the new year, as the process to appoint the next Chair is conducted.
SBS plays a critical role in Australia's media landscape, by reflecting our diverse society through the provision of multilingual and multicultural radio and television services. Mr Savvides has Chaired the Board of SBS since July 2020, before which he was Deputy Chair from February 2017.
Mr Savvides was Chair through much of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw SBS deliver numerous initiatives to ensure that non-English speaking Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had access to culturally appropriate resources to stay informed and safe. As a result of this work, the SBS Board under the leadership of Mr Savvides put in place a strategic initiative to embed and leverage SBS as an essential piece of cultural and communications infrastructure - working constructively with governments at all levels to better serve Australia's diverse communities.
Mr Savvides has consistently championed inclusion and as SBS Chair has had oversight of numerous strategies to increase the prominence of First Nations and multicultural stories and perspectives at the broadcaster. SBS is the world's most multilingual broadcaster - a modern, multiplatform, digitally enabled media organisation that delivers original content in over 60 languages.
Under Mr Savvides' stewardship, SBS has continued to be a valued and independent source of news, information and entertainment for all Australians, with an innovative and audience focused approach to content and service provision. He leaves SBS in a strong position, with the public broadcaster recently named as a trusted news brand, and its services reaching more Australians than ever before.
The Government will now begin a merit-based selection process to appoint the next Chair, in accordance with the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991.
The selection process will be conducted by the independent Nomination Panel for Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and SBS board appointments, supported by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
