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. 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 university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

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 funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

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

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

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. 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 Howard government, government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving trea ...

, Deputy leader of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

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

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

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

's controversial

WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard government#Fourth term: 2004–2007, Howard government in 2005, being amendments to the ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' by the '' ...

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 excep ...

. 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 The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...

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 was ...

, 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 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 ...

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) 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) People educated at Ballarat Grammar School