Michael Paul Burgess is an Australian intelligence official, and the current

Director-General of Security The director-general of security is the executive officer of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Australia's national security agency. The director-general, through ASIO, has overall responsibility for the protection of the ...

in charge of the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...

(ASIO). Prior to his appointment to this role on 16 September 2019, Burgess was director-general of the

Australian Signals Directorate The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate, is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia responsible for signals intelligence, providing intelligence support to Australian military operations, con ...

(ASD).

Early life

Burgess was born in England, and immigrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia in 1973 at the age of seven. He was the first member of his family to study in higher education, receiving a degree in electrical engineering from the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

in 1988.

Intelligence career

Burgess joined ASD (then called the Defence Signals Directorate) in 1995, and worked there for 18 years, most notably as Deputy Director for Cyber and Information Security, before leaving to work in the private sector. Working in the private sector, Burgess served as the Chief Information Security Officer at

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

, before finding work as a cyber-security consultant and advisor. He also served on the Federal Government’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board. In December 2017, he returned to ASD as Director-General. In August 2019, prime minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

and Minister for Home Affairs

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...

announced Burgess had been appointed to replace the retiring

Duncan Lewis Major general (Australia), Major General Duncan Edward Lewis (born 3 August 1953) is an Australian military officer, diplomat and intelligence chief. From 2014 to 2019, he was the Director-General of Security of the Australian Security Intellige ...

as the head of ASIO. In February 2022, Burgess announced that ASIO had foiled a plot by foreign interference that involved an attempt by a foreign government to install political candidates in the lead-up to the coming national election in Australia. In February 2024, Burgess stated that an unnamed Australian politician has sold out Australia. The politician has been passing some information to foreign countries.

Honours

In the

2024 King's Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part o ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for "For significant service to public administration, particularly national security and intelligence".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Mike 1960s births Living people Directors-general of security Members of the Order of Australia University of South Australia alumni English emigrants to Australia