Moffett, 54, who today stepped down as Australia's rugby league chief, will take up his post in January. He succeeds Derek Casey as head of the body which distributes hundreds of millions of pounds of Government and Lottery money to sport. Casey was axed following the appointment of Richard Caborn as Sports Minister in June.
Moffett said: "I was born in Doncaster and have always retained a deep interest in English sport.
"Since moving to Australia I have considered myself extremely privileged to have been involved with international sporting organisations and this has in turn, allowed me to work with English officials in different sports.
"I've had the chance to observe some of the issues they face and to compare these with issues faced in other countries. I am very much looking forward to returning to England and to contributing to what is a vital programme for English sport."
Other Australians involved in sports administration include Wilma Shakespear (new national director of the English Institute of Sport), Tudor Bidder (UK Athletics technical director in charge of talent identification), Rodney Marsh (head of the English Cricket Academy), Bill Sweetenham (performance director for swimming) and Chris Spice (Rugby Football Union performance director).
