Mike Burgess
Australian security intelligence director
| Mike Burgess
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Mike Burgess |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Intelligence and cybersecurity executive; intelligence director |
| Known for | Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation September 2019 –[1] Former director-general, Australian Signals Directorate; former chief information security officer, Telstra |
| Predecessor | Duncan Lewis |
Mike Burgess leads the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as director-general of security, following appointment in 2019.[1]
Office held
| Office | Start | End | Predecessor | Successor | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation | September 2019 | In office at November 2026 | Duncan Lewis | — | [1] |
Signals intelligence and industry
Before joining the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess led the Australian Signals Directorate. His earlier appointments included deputy director for cyber and information security at the Defence Signals Directorate, chief information security officer at Telstra and membership of the government’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board.[1]
ASIO appointment
The Australian government announced Mike Burgess’s appointment as director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in August 2019, succeeding Duncan Lewis. The announcement emphasised his experience across public-service intelligence work and private-sector cybersecurity.[1]
Reappointment
In June 2024 the Australian government announced that Mike Burgess had been reappointed to lead the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for a further five-year term.[2]
Threat assessment and public disclosures
In his February 2025 annual assessment, Mike Burgess said that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had disrupted five major potential terrorist plots during 2024. The Guardian reported his warning about young people radicalising rapidly and about lone actors or small groups. It also reported his statement that none of those five disrupted plots had been directly caused by the war in Gaza. These were the director’s public assessments, not independently verified descriptions of classified investigations.[3]
Mike Burgess also described a foreign regime’s alleged plan to lure an Australian activist to a third country and kill them. His assessment warned of espionage against AUKUS technology by both friendly and hostile services, possible interference around elections, and longer-term sabotage risks to infrastructure. The Guardian’s report places counter-terrorism alongside the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s renewed public emphasis on state-based threats.[3]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, Appointment of Director General of Security, August 2019, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Minister for Home Affairs, Reappointment of Mike Burgess AM as Director-General of Security, June 2024, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sarah Basford Canales, Asio chief warns of foreign intelligence operations and election disinformation, The Guardian, 19 February 2025, accessed 8 November 2026.