Reece P Kershaw APM, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police & Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General, will Address the National Press Club of Australia.
Commissioner Reece P Kershaw APM
Commissioner Kershaw is a career police officer, joining the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in 1988 as a Constable for the ACT region. Throughout the early years of his career, he worked in General Duties and Criminal Investigations as a Detective. Commissioner Kershaw was also seconded to the National Crime Authority and the Australian Crime Commission.
In 1999, Commissioner Kershaw moved to the AFP Perth Office and worked in Operations and Close Personal Protection. In 2003, Commissioner Kershaw was promoted to Superintendent, undertaking various leadership roles in the investigation of victim-based crime, High Tech Crime Operations and deployments on overseas postings to the Netherlands, East Timor and Solomon Islands. In 2010, Commissioner Kershaw was promoted to Commander, leading Serious and Organised Crime Investigations.
In 2011, Commissioner Kershaw left the AFP to commence work for the Northern Territory Police Force (NTPF). His service in the NTPF includes holding the positions of Assistant Commissioner Crime and Specialist Services and Darwin Metropolitan Service. In 2015, he was appointed Commissioner of Police and Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Commissioner Kershaw was a Visiting Fellow for the Police Executive Leadership Program at the Australian Institute of Police Management and has completed the Australia New Zealand Police Leadership Strategy Program. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Executive Development Program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Commissioner Kershaw also holds a Master of Business Administration, Graduate Certificate in Business (Banking) and a Certificate in Business (Europe).
Commissioner Kershaw was a recipient of the NTPF Outstanding Leadership Medal, and in 2016, he was awarded the Australian Police Medal in the Australia Day Honours.
Commissioner Kershaw was appointed as the AFP's 8th Commissioner on 2 October 2019. Under Commissioner Kershaw’s leadership, the AFP has seen a renewed focus on supporting the frontline, reducing red tape, and enhancing partnerships, to support and enable our police to deliver maximum impact to the criminal environment.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess
Mike Burgess is Australia’s 14th Director-General of Security and has led the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) since September 2019.
ASIO protects Australia and Australians from threats to their security.
Mr Burgess has spent more than three decades as an intelligence, security and technology professional, in both the public and private sectors. His experience includes code making, code breaking, cyber security, counter-terrorism and counter-espionage.
Prior to joining ASIO, Mr Burgess was Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). Mr Burgess first joined ASD’s predecessor, the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), as a collection engineer in 1995. He held a range of senior roles including Deputy Director for Cyber and Information Security, and Deputy Chief of Facility at the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap.
After nearly twenty years at the agency, Mr Burgess moved to the commercial sector. He worked as Chief Information Security Officer at Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, Telstra, and as an independent cyber security consultant. In early 2018, the Prime Minister asked him to return to ASD as Director-General.
Mr Burgess has also served as a member of the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board, the Prime Minister’s expert panel for Australia’s 2016 Cyber Security Strategy and the boards of SC8 Limited and the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network.
He has a degree in electronics engineering from the South Australian Institute of Technology.
