Peter John Boxall is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker.

Background and early life

Peter Boxall was brought up on a farm in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. From year nine, he went to boarding school at Ballarat Grammar. He attained a Master of Economics from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in 1973.

Career

Boxall spent seven years working at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

in the United States. He then chose to study for his doctorate at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

with supervision from

Gary Becker Gary Stanley Becker (; December 2, 1930 – May 3, 2014) was an American economist who received the 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was a professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago, and was a leader of ...

, Robert Lucas and

Sherwin Rosen Sherwin Rosen (September 29, 1938 – March 17, 2001) was an American labor economist. He had ties with many American universities and academic institutions including the University of Chicago, the University of Rochester, Stanford University a ...

. On returning to Australia in 1986, Boxall joined the Department of the Treasury in the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

. He took leave from work in the public sector to work as Chief of staff to

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

, Deputy leader of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Boxall returned to the Australian Public Service in 1997, having been appointed

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 Finance. He stayed with the finance department as it transitioned to become the

Department of Finance and Administration The Department of Finance and Administration (also called DOFA) was an Australian government department tasked to contribute to sustainable Government finances; improved and more efficient Government operations; and efficiently functioning Parli ...

. While head of the Finance Department, Boxall was known as being at the forefront of outsourcing services from the public service, including for IT. He also oversaw efforts to engage the private sector to manage the Department's $2.5 billion property portfolio, with the aim to tap into a strategic partnership as an avenue for resources and expertise. In 2001 he was appointed Secretary of the

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (also called DEWR) is an Government of Australia, Australian government Government department, department formed on 1 July 2022. History The department was formed by way of an Machinery of ...

(DEWR), an organisation with over 3000 staff. During his time at DEWR he was involved in implementing the Howard government's controversial

WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard Government in 2005, being amendments to the ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' by the ''Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices ...

policies. He stayed at DEWR until December 2007 when he was appointed head of the

Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism was an Australian Government department. It was formed in December 2007 and dissolved on 18 September 2013. The majority of its functions were assumed by the Department of Industry; with the except ...

. Boxall worked as a commissioner

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

between January 2009 and November 2011, leaving to take up a job in the NSW Government as Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal. In 2013 and 2014, he was a member of the Abbott government's

National Commission of Audit The National Commission of Audit was a commission formed by the Abbott Government on 22 October 2013 as an independent body to review and report on the performance, functions and roles of the Commonwealth government. The chair of the Commission wa ...

, which was established to improve the Australian government's budget.

Awards

Boxall was named an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2007 for service to economic and financial policy development and reform in the areas of accrual budgeting, taxation and workplace relations.

Notes

References and further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boxall, Peter Date of birth missing (living people) Australian public servants Living people Australian National University alumni University of Chicago alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Secretaries of the Australian Department of Finance Year of birth missing (living people)