The employee Peta Credlin imposed on Health Minister Sussan Ley as chief of staff is moving on just four months later.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And Joe Hockey has set loose press secretary Mike Willesee and key budget adviser Liz Williamson as the high staff turnover in the Treasurer's office continues.
Cath Patterson, who also served as chief of staff to health minister Peter Dutton, will take up a role in the Prime Minister's office, and is expected to replace the well-respected health adviser Benny Ng.
Fairfax Media revealed in February that Ms Ley's first choice as her top aide, Rowena Cowan, was knocked back by the Coalition's star chamber, which vets staff appointments, and Ms Patterson was installed instead.
At the time, Ms Ley did not deny the story but said she had "a long-standing protocol that I do not comment on the specifics of private staffing matters".
One source, who did not want to be named, said the relationship between Ms Ley and Ms Patterson had been "untenable".
Ms Patterson will be replaced by Craig Bosworth from senator Mitch Fifield's office; Mr Bosworth will in turn be replaced by Darren Disney, the well-respected former chief of staff to former Victorian Liberal treasurer Michael O'Brien.
Mr Willesee, a former Sky News journalist, is expected to leave in the next month or so after joining the Hockey office in April 2014.
The well-regarded Ms Williamson, who plays a key role in the treasurer's office, is due to leave at the end of next week.
Their exits brings to four the number of staff that has left the Treasurer's 18-person office in recent months.
Tax adviser Pravin Madhanagopal left before the budget earlier this year, and junior adviser Michael Evangelidis has left in the past month or so to work for NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner.
However, Mr Hockey has drafted in tax experts Robert Jeremenko and Sasha Grebe in recent months to fill senior roles, while also hiring Damien Dunn.
Amid the disastrous reaction to t he first federal budget, Mr Hockey's office came under considerable criticism from Liberals for the quality of advice he was receiving.
The Treasurer lost a trio of experienced staff - deputy chief of staff Creina Chapman, economics adviser Tony Pearson and former media adviser Tony Ritchie - in a development that was widely viewed as having reduced the quality and breadth of advice he was receiving.
Ms Credlin made headlines last week after she chastised a news photographer for taking pictures of her after a media event and demanded all images taken of her be deleted.
Late on Wednesday a spokesman for Ms Ley confirmed Ms Patterson had left the Health Minister's office to move to Mr Abbott's office.
The spokesman said that Ms Ley had been "wholly and solely" responsible for her staffing arrangements, including the appointment of Ms Patterson in February.
However, the spokesman did not deny that Ms Ley's first choice for the role had been Ms Cowan, or Ms Credlin's involvement in the matter.
