Michael Coutts-Trotter is an Australian public servant who is the current

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

New South Wales Treasury The Treasury of New South Wales, branded NSW Treasury, a department of the New South Wales Government, is responsible for state financial management policy and reporting, and providing advice to the government on economic conditions and issues ...

. He was previously the

Secretaries A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, Personal assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project manageme ...

of the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet,

Department of Communities and Justice The New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery of services to some of the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communities; and the administr ...

, the director-generals of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and Department of Finance and Services. Coutts-Trotter served almost three years of a nine-year

prison sentence In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for ...

after being convicted for the importation and distribution of heroin into Australia in 1986.

Early life

Coutts-Trotter was born in Poole Maternity Hospital England in 1965 and arrived in Australia in 1976 with his parents who were married in 1975. His father Paul was the son of Sir Murray Coutts-Trotter, former chief Justice of Madras, while his mother Helen was from Cootamundra. Coutts-Trotter matriculated from

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school for boys located in Riverview, New South Wales, Riverview, a small suburb on the Lane Cove Rive ...

. In 1986, he received a nine-year

as a drug dealer selling heroin to addicts. He served two years and nine months in jail before

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

in 1988. He graduated from the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

with a degree in communications in 1995.

Public service career

In April 2007, Coutts-Trotter was appointed Director-General of the NSW Department of Education. This appointment was criticised by opposition members of parliament, the NSW Teachers Federation and the Public Principals Forum for his lack of experience in teaching and education and his

criminal conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by ...

as a heroin trafficker. The Teachers Federation also questioned his criminal past and time spent in prison for heroin dealing; with the Federation's president, Maree O'Halloran, saying that a teacher with his criminal conviction for a serious drug offence would be unable to continue teaching and working with children. Appointing him as Director-General of the Department of Finance and Services in April 2011, Premier

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

said that Coutts-Trotter's skills would allow this new department to deliver on its results. It was reported in July 2013, upon his appointment to lead the Department of Family and Community Services, that Coutts-Trotter's new role was a demotion. Following the report O'Farrell held a media conference to reject the suggestion. In 2013, Coutts-Trotter was made a national fellow of the

Institute of Public Administration Australia The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) is a nonpartisan and apolitical member-based organisation which provides public sector thought leadership and works to strengthen the capacity of public servants through events, training and ...

. In April 2019, Coutts-Trotter was announced as the new head of the (NSW) Department of Communities & Justice after Andrew Cappie-Wood left that position. In October 2021, the newly appointed NSW Premier

Dominic Perrottet Dominic Francis Perrottet ; (born 21 September 1982) is an Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of New South Wales from 2021 to 2023. He held office as leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia ...

announced that Coutts-Trotter was promoted to the role of Secretary of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. In April 2023, he was appointed by the new Labor government as the acting secretary of the

Personal life

Coutts-Trotter is married to

Tanya Plibersek Tanya Joan Plibersek (born 2 December 1969) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Social Services in the Albanese government since 2025. She was previously the Minister for the Environment and Water from 2022 to 2025. She was ...

, a federal MP and former deputy leader of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coutts-Trotter, Michael Public servants of New South Wales Spouses of Australian politicians Australian drug traffickers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview University of Technology Sydney alumni