Mike Burgess (intelligence chief)


Michael P. Burgess is an Australian intelligence official, and the current Director-General of Security in charge of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Prior to his appointment to this role on 16 September 2019, Burgess was director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate.

Early life

Burgess was born in England, and emigrated to Adelaide, 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 in 1988.

Intelligence career

Burgess joined ASD in 1995, and worked there for 18 years before leaving to work in the private sector, notably as chief information security officer for Telstra, then as a cyber-security consultant and advisor. In December 2017, he returned to ASD as its director-general. In August 2019, prime minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton announced Burgess had been appointed to replace the retiring Duncan Lewis as the head of ASIO.