Phillip spoke to his roles in the Australian Customs Service from his commencement in 1961 – 2008 as seventeen-year-old, who prior that date was happy to be at the beach. Phillip joined as a probationary Customs officer in the then Department of Customs and Excise which, since Federation in 1901, had primarily been an economic arm of government collecting Commonwealth revenues. He said that Customs could claim to be the oldest government institution as it is believed Capt Arthur Phillip had a commission to raise customs duties when he arrived in 1788, although he did not seek to do so.

His first significant promotion was to Boarding Officer in 1964, a highly sought-after position. At the time, the Boarding Branch was the only uniformed area of Customs and its public face. It was responsible for the boarding and clearance of ships and their passengers and crew at the Boarding Station, which was an area between the entrance to Sydney Harbour and Bradley’s Head. 

Promotions ensued and in 1966 he became Senior Boarding Officer, followed by Aircraft Inspector (Shift Manager) at Sydney Airport in 1968, and Senior Inspector from 1970-74 (responsible of Customs operations at the then new International Terminal). This period marked a significant modernisation in Customs operations due to the advent of organised drug trafficking (the “Mr Asia” syndicate) and the introduction of computer systems to simplify and facilitate passenger and crew processing and risk assessment. This was followed by further promotion to Senior Investigation Officer in 1975, mainly involved in revenue fraud investigations, and Sub-Collector (Principal Officer) in charge of the Newcastle Customs House in 1980, which then was the busiest centre of Customs and related activities outside the Customs Houses at the major capital cities.

He returned to Sydney as Chief Investigation Officer where he managed the investigation program, consulted with legal advisors and prosecutors and made media appearances on newsworthy cases. In 1989, he was promoted to senior management as the first Director of the newly formed Import Audit Branch, which saw a major modernisation of traditional commercial cargo clearance systems to “post import” audits at importer premises, in much the same way as the ATO operates.

This was followed by a three-year secondment to Hong Kong Customs in 1992 where he managed the first Regional Intelligence Liaison Office established by the World Customs Organisation to enhance the exchange of drug-trafficking information and cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. On his return in 1995, he commenced a 10-year stint as the Director Enforcement Operations responsible for the “Detection and interception of unlawful activity in the shipping, ports, coastal and cargo environments of NSW”. He provided a pictorial display of the resources available to him, including the Customs air and offshore marine fleet, the Container Examination Facility at Port Botany, and the Detector Dog Unit, as well as some of the major drug and people-smuggling operations he personally commanded.

His career was rounded off with 12-month secondment to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement working in the cyber crime and financial investigation units, and a two-year secondment with the Australian Crime Commission on his return, about which he is prohibited from discussing. He retired 47 years and 6 months from the day he commenced.

Q & A: How did you get promoted so frequently? He was fortunate in coming to the favourable attention of the then Comptroller-General of Customs, Sir Alan Carmody, early in his career and was involved in many of the significant reforms Sir Alan made to Customs processes and systems, particularly at Sydney Airport in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Standout achievements? Profiling major drug importations, in particular shipments by smallcraft across the Pacific.

 

Other information on the night:

Australian Rotary Health is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research within Australia.

Australian Rotary Health provides funding towards research grants, fellowships and PhD scholarships focussed on finding preventative and curative solutions for mental illness in young Australians. From 2022, the funding focus will narrow to the mental health of children aged 0-12.

It  also provides funding into a broad range of general health areas, provide scholarships for rural medical and nursing students, as well as Indigenous health students. Australian Rotary Health provides funding into areas of health that do not readily attract funding, and promotes findings to the community.

Australian Rotary Health is a project of the Rotary Districts of Australia and is supported by Rotary Clubs.  It has a broad vision to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

Australian Rotary Health provides funding into four focus areas, and promotes findings to the community:

• Mental Health Research
• General Health Research
• Indigenous Health Scholarships
• Rural Medical and Nursing Scholarships

For more information see:  https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/