Strengthening State Asset Management Through Research and Cooperation
For Emirenciana Nyantyasningsih, known as Tyas, studying in Australia has been closely connected to her professional journey in government. As Deputy Director of State Asset Policy Formulation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance, Tyas works within the Directorate General of State Asset Management, or DJKN. Her responsibilities include formulating policies on government property, providing guidance to line ministries on state asset management, and contributing to regulations related to Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara.
Tyas’s experience in Australia, began with a Short Course on Strengthening Public Policy Making Process: A Course for Emerging Leaders of the Ministry of Finance at the University of Queensland in 2016. She returned to the University of Queensland in 2018 to start a PhD in Law before following her supervisor to the University of Sydney Law School.
From a Short Course to Doctoral Research
Through her doctoral research, Tyas extended the public policy questions she had encountered through both the Short Course and her work at the Ministry of Finance. Her research asked how Indonesia’s legal and regulatory framework influences the way government institutions manage public assets.
In her second semester, just as COVID-19 restrictions were beginning, Tyas moved to the University of Sydney. The move influenced the direction of Tyas’ research, pushing her to examine state asset management more deeply through regulatory and legal perspectives. It also changed the way she approached academic discussion and problem-solving. The academic environment encouraged her to look beyond a single disciplinary perspective and engage in open discussions between students and academics.
Applying Research to State Asset Policy
Since returning to DJKN, Tyas and her team have focused on a key issue at the centre of her doctoral research: how to maintain accountability while giving government institutions sufficient flexibility to manage state assets effectively. The approach informs day-to-day tasks like outlining the process for renting government property. It also contributes to Tyas’ contribution to broader regulatory work, for example on Ministry of Finance Regulation No. 18 of 2024, which sets out procedures for providing facilities for the preparation and implementation of transactions involving the utilisation of state-owned assets. Drawing on her time in Australia, Tyas sees policy formulation as a collective process involving her team, senior decision-makers and other government institutions.
Building Cooperation with Australian Counterparts
On returning to Indonesia, Tyas was asked to coordinate a developing partnership between DJKN and Australian government institutions. Through PROSPERA, DJKN works with the Department of Finance to exchange knowledge and practices on government property and state asset management. The most recent discussion, in July 2026, involved an online FGD on risk-based asset management, involving 517 participants from the Ministry of Finance and other line ministries. The discussion examined how risk analysis can support decision-making on state assets, sharing perspectives from Australian and Indonesian institutions. For Tyas, the growing participation shows how the cooperation become a more regular exchange between institutions.
‘Each financial year, we came up with at least three or four FGDs or workshops. It involved almost entirely line ministries and sometimes we even invite local governments, depending on the topics,’ she shared.
Looking ahead to 2027, DJKN is seeking to deepen the partnership beyond FGDs and capacity building. Proposed areas include research and staff secondments, although these remain under discussion.
Maintaining Academic Networks Across Countries
‘Simon gathered all of his PhD students for his 60th birthday,’ she said.
Alongside institutional cooperation, Tyas continues to maintain the academic relationships she built during her studies in Australia. She remains close to Professor Bronitt and other former doctoral students he supervised. She is also connected with former university colleagues through a WhatsApp group her other supervisor, Professor Simon Butt, established. The group provides an informal space to continue academic discussions.
