Michael Pezzullo, is an Australian public servant. In October 2014, he was appointed the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the

Department of Immigration and Border Protection The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was a department of the Government of Australia that was responsible for immigration, citizenship and border control (including visa issuance). It has now been subsumed into the Departm ...

. On 20 December 2017, a reshaping of departments led to him taking up the post of Secretary of the

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Prior, Pezzullo had been the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

Education

Pezzullo has a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(with

Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

) in History from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Career

Pezzullo joined the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

as a graduate in 1987. After five years in the Defence department, Pezzullo discovered "the experience, age and, to some extent, ideological and almost philosophical gap between imand the next level up meant ewould not advance until ebecame crusty, old and cynical," so in 1992 he transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he worked in the International Division. In 1993 Pezzullo joined the staff of the

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

, Senator Gareth Evans, and remained in Parliament House until December 2001, including as deputy chief of staff to then opposition leader

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...

. In February 2002, he rejoined the Department of Defence and, in 2006, was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary Strategy in that department. Between February 2008 and May 2009 he led the Defence White Paper team and was principal author of the 2009 Defence White Paper. In July 2009 Pezzullo joined the

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travelers and g ...

as chief operating officer, a role which he continued in until September 2012. He was promoted to acting chief executive over the period September 2012 to February 2013 and on 15 February 2013 was employed as the substantive CEO. When appointing Pezzullo, then Home Affairs Minister

Jason Clare Jason Dean Clare (born 22 March 1972) is an Australian politician serving as Minister for Education since 1 June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Division of Blaxland in Western Sydney since 2007 ...

told media that Customs required major structural change, and Pezzullo had been appointed to drive reforms. In the role, Pezzullo emphasised the importance of border security not only as a security issue, but also as an economic concern. On 2 October 2014 Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

announced that he had made Pezzullo the new Secretary of the

, effective 13 October 2014, replacing Martin Bowles. As immigration secretary, Pezzullo led changes in his department recasting what had been seen as traditional immigration and border security institutions and doctrines. In April 2021, in an

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

message to staff, Pezzullo said Australia must strive to reduce the likelihood of war "but not at the cost of our precious liberty". His message comes as Defence Minister

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...

says war with China should not be discounted.

Management of conflict of interest

''The Sydney Morning Herald'' reported that early in 2014 Pezzullo's brother, Fabio, escaped a criminal conviction after he confessed to lying to an inquiry investigating corruption at Sydney airport. Fabio Pezzullo, a former Customs officer, was fined and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond for perjuring himself before a corruption watchdog. The 42-year-old was charged after an investigation over allegations he sold prescription drugs to fellow Sydney Airport Customs officers and lied to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. The commission was investigating several of his colleagues for drug importation and bribery. Despite being told verbally and in writing not to tell anyone of the summons, Fabio Pezzullo told his flatmate, a former Customs officer. Fabio Pezzullo's sentencing took place in June 2014. While the case was underway Michael Pezzullo was fulfilling senior executive roles in Customs and Border Protection, but had disclosed the conflict to his minister from the outset. In a note to staff regarding the case he was reported to have said: "from the outset, I asked and expected to be treated as a detached family member with no official rights, interests or powers in the matter." The communique also details the processes that were implemented to manage any real or perceived conflict of interest relating to the case.

References

External links

Official photocopyright
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pezzullo, Mike Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Secretaries of the Australian Government Immigration Department University of Sydney alumni Year of birth missing (living people)