20 Facts About Andrew Metcalfe

Andrew Metcalfe is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Andrew Metcalfe attended Rangeville State School and Toowoomba Grammar School and was dux of Toowoomba Grammar in 1976.

Andrew Metcalfe then earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1980, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1985 from the University of Queensland.

Andrew Metcalfe joined the Australian Public Service as an Administrative Trainee in 1980, assigned to the Public Service Board, in Canberra.

Andrew Metcalfe served as the Chief of Staff to the then Minister for Immigration, the Hon Philip Ruddock MP from April until December 1997, whereupon he returned to the department as a First Assistant Secretary.

Andrew Metcalfe was promoted to Deputy Secretary and then appointed Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in August 2002, with responsibilities for the coordination of policy advice to the Prime Minister on international affairs, national security and machinery of government issues.

Andrew Metcalfe defended the often-criticised Gillard government Malaysia Solution during his time in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Andrew Metcalfe was appointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, beginning January 2013.

Andrew Metcalfe was one of three public service heads relieved of their commissions by the Abbott government after the 2013 federal election.

Andrew Metcalfe was reappointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on 5 December, 2019 with effect from 1 February 2020.

Andrew Metcalfe served in this position until 30 June 2022, when the department was renamed to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on July 1,2022.

Andrew Metcalfe kept his role and is currently the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Andrew Metcalfe was named the 2010 "Federal Government Leader of the Year", awarded by the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

In January 2012 Andrew Metcalfe was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List for "distinguished service to public sector leadership through contributions to Australia's international relations and to major public policy development and implementation in the areas of immigration, Australian citizenship, cultural diversity, and national security; and to the community".

In September 2012 Andrew Metcalfe was made a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, an organisation of which he was the ACT President from 2009 to 2013.

Andrew Metcalfe is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Andrew Metcalfe is a highly experienced public administrator and public policy expert, strongly committed to public service.

Andrew Metcalfe transformed the then-Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs following his appointment in 2005 as Secretary in the wake of the Cornelia Rau and Vivian Alvarez scandals, successfully and positively reforming its culture and operations.

Andrew Metcalfe has worked extensively on the international stage, particularly with the immigration authorities in many countries in Asia; and with Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States when he chaired the Five Countries Conference of immigration authorities in 2007 and 2011.

Andrew Metcalfe was a member of several government boards, most notably as a member of the National Australia Day Council ; the Administrative Review Council ; and the Council of the Order of Australia.