Roman Quaedvlieg

Roman Alexander Quaedvlieg APM (born 8 January 1965) is a former[5] Australian public servant and police officer who was the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF) from 1 July 2015 until May 2017 when he was put on paid leave while an investigation took place. He was dismissed from the position in March 2018 after an investigation found that he had failed to comply with disclosure requirements regarding a relationship with a woman.[6]

Roman Quaedvlieg APM
Commissioner of the Australian Border Force
In office 1 July 2015 – 15 March 2018
Preceded by	New creation
Succeeded by	Michael Outram
Comptroller-General of Customs
In office October 2014 – 15 March 2018 (tbc)
Preceded by	Mike Pezzullo
Succeeded by	Michael Outram
CEO of Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
In office October 2014 – 30 June 2015
Preceded by	Mike Pezzullo
Succeeded by	Role abolished
Chief Police Officer of ACT Policing
In office 2010–2013
Preceded by	Michael Phelan
Succeeded by	Rudi Lammers
Personal details
Born	Roman Alexander Quaedvlieg Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1]
Spouse(s)	Kristine Pajda (2006–2017)[2][3]
Domestic partner	Sarah Rogers[4]
Alma mater	Queensland University of Technology Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne
Law enforcement service	QPS (1985–2000) ACC (2002-2005) AFP (2005–2013) ACBPS (2013–2015) ABF (2015–2018)

Previously he served as a police officer in Queensland, then with the Australian Federal Police. He then joined the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) as deputy chief executive officer, later becoming its chief executive officer. When the ACBPS was merged into the new Australian Border Force, he became its inaugural commissioner and Comptroller-General of Customs.

Education

Quaedvlieg was educated at Redcliffe State High School.[1] Quaedvlieg has a Bachelor of Justice from the Queensland University of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School (MBS) of the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[7]

Career

A career police officer, Quaedvlieg served as a sworn member of the Queensland Police Service for 15 years, where he performed duties in a range of positions investigating and managing serious and organised criminal activity.[7] From 2000 to 2002 he was an executive with Ansett Australia.[1]

2005

In 2005 Quaedvlieg joined the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and assumed the position of Manager Economic Operations, with responsibility for financial and economic investigations including money-laundering, large-scale fraud against the Commonwealth, proceeds of crime recovery, identity crime enforcement, and the management of the Oil-for-Food Task Force.[7]

In 2007, Quaedvlieg was promoted to Assistant Commissioner at the AFP and assumed responsibility for Border Operations, which encompassed investigations of major drug importation and trafficking, people-smuggling activity, sexual servitude, and child sex tourism offences. Quaedvlieg has also performed the role of National Manager Aviation (at the Assistant Commissioner level) and was the AFP Chief of Staff for a period of time, a role which incorporated responsibility for the governance mechanisms of the AFP, including Ministerial Liaison, National Media and Marketing, Legal Services, Professional Standards, Recognition and Ceremonial, and Executive Services.[7]

2010

In 2010 Quaedvlieg became the Chief Police Officer of ACT Policing, the branch of the AFP responsible for providing policing services to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[7]

Quaedvlieg was awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM) in 2011 for serving the Australian community with distinction, particularly in the areas of police operations and administration.[8]

In 2013 Quaedvlieg joined the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) as deputy chief executive officer.[9] In October 2014 he succeeded Mike Pezzullo as chief executive officer.[10]

With the introduction of the Australian Border Force (ABF) in 2015, Quaedvlieg became the inaugural Commissioner of the Australian Border Force and the Comptroller-General of Customs.[11]

2017

As of 29 May 2017[12] he was on leave pending an active investigation conducted by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity into Quaedvlieg's alleged abuse of power.[13] The investigation examined his assistance in obtaining employment at Sydney Airport for a person he was in a relationship with,[14][15] and concealing that relationship. Quaedvlieg declined to resign, stating that to do so would be "tantamount to a concession of culpability".[16] Martin Parkinson, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet also wrote a report on Quaedvlieg's behaviour, and Christian Porter, the attorney-general, was asked to rule on the case to avoid questions of favouritism that may have arisen had Peter Dutton ruled on Quaedvlieg's case.[17] There was media criticism that Quaedvlieg was on paid leave during this time,[18] and reportedly was paid in excess of $500,000 between May 2017 and February 2018.[17]

In March 2018 the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Australian cabinet, terminated Quaedvlieg's appointment as commissioner on the grounds of his misbehaviour.[19][20][21]

Quaedvlieg has joined Twitter with an unverified account, which Buzzfeed has confirmed is linked to his phone number, and has described himself there as a "geopolitical dilettante", commentating on political matters.[22]

Honours

Honours and awards		Date awarded	Citation
	Australian Police Medal (APM)	26 January 2011	[23]
	National Police Service Medal	2016
	National Medal	2005

State

• G20 Citation.
• Queensland Police Service Medal.

Personal life

Quaedvlieg has three children and eight grandchildren.[1]

References

1. Who's Who in Australia 2016, ConnectWeb.
2. Mills, Tammy (25 December 2014). "Boxing Day tsunami anniversary: Customs chief executive Roman Quaedvlieg recalls rescue efforts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
3. Markson, Sharri (27 October 2017). "Border boss Roman Quaedvlieg yet to be grilled on girlfriend's job offer". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
4. Maley, Paul (17 March 2018). "Ex-ABF chief Roman Quaedvlieg's girlfriend quits job". The Australian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
5. "Sacked border boss exchanged 14,000 texts with lover". News Corp. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
6. Belot, Henry (15 March 2018). "Roman Quaedvlieg, Australian Border Force boss, sacked after helping girlfriend get job in force". ABC News. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
7. "Roman Quaedvlieg APM". Australia Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
8. "Australian Police Medal (APM)" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. 2011. p. 317. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
9. Knaus, Christopher (26 April 2013). "ACT top cop moving to Customs". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
10. "Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection" (Press release). Prime Minister of Australia. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
11. "Australian Border Force starts work". The Courier-Mail. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
12. "Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg's son charged with drug possession". Brisbane Times. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
13. "Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg on leave amid 'investigation'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
14. "Border Force chief Roman Quaedvlieg awaits ruling". The Australian. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
15. Karp, Paul (15 March 2018). "Roman Quaedvlieg sacked as head of Border Force". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
16. Grattan, Michelle. "Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg sacked for helping partner". The Conversation. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
17. Wroe, David (27 February 2018). "'Two or more versions of events': Roman Quaedvlieg protests innocence over abuse of power allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
18. Koziol, Michael (27 December 2017). "Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg clocks up seven months' paid leave while under investigation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
19. "Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg sacked following conduct review". SBS News. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
20. Grattan, Michelle (15 March 2018). "Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg sacked for helping partner". The Conversation. Australia. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
21. Greene, Andrew; Jennett, Greg (15 March 2018). "Roman Quaedvlieg: Who is the ousted Australian Border Force boss and how did he lose his job?". ABC News. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
22. "The Former Australian Border Force Commissioner Has Now Emerged On Twitter". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
23. "Search Australian Honours: QUAEDVLIEG, Roman Alexander: Australian Police Medal". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2011.

Attribution

Content in this Wikipedia article was based on the Roman Quaedvlieg APM, listed on the "Department of Immigration and Border Protection", published by the Commonwealth of Australia under CC-BY 3.0 licence (accessed on 30 November 2016). Archived March 2018.

Police appointments
Preceded by Michael Phelan	Chief Police Officer of ACT Policing 2010–2013	Succeeded by Rudi Lammers
Civic offices
Preceded by Mike Pezzullo	Comptroller-General of Customs 2014–2018	Succeeded by Michael Outram as Acting Comptroller-General of Customs
	CEO of Australian Customs and Border Protection Service 2014–2015	Succeeded by Self as Commissioner of the Australian Border Force created
Police appointments
Preceded by Self as CEO of Australian Customs and Border Protection Service	Commissioner of the Australian Border Force 2015–2018	Succeeded by Michael Outram as Acting Commissioner of the Australian Border Force