Michael John Fuller (born 1967/1968) is a retired police officer who served as the 22nd Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force. He replaced Andrew Scipione on 31 March 2017, when Scipione retired. In July 2021, Fuller announced that he would be leaving the New South Wales Police Force in April 2022 to work in the private sector. Deputy commissioner Karen Webb was his replacement, effective 1 February 2022.
Background and education
Michael (Mick) John Fuller completed a Diploma of Applied Policing at Charles Sturt University and a Diploma in Business Management from TAFE NSW. He got a Graduate Certificate in Change Management from South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE. He received a Graduate Diploma in Executive Leadership from the Australian Institute of Police Management. He attended the NSW Police Detective Designated Course and Emergency Management Arrangements. He has taken up management responsibilities as the State Emergency Operation Controller.
Career in NSW Police Force
At the age of 19 years old, Mick Fuller began his career at Kogarah Police Station in 1987 as a junior officer, where he performed general and investigative duties. He joined the City of Sydney Investigations in 1992, where he later became a designated detective in 1993. He later joined the Crime Task Force in 1994 where he took up criminal investigative roles. Fuller became a Detective Sergeant in 2000 and led the drug squad at Kings Cross Police Station. In 2002, He became the Inspector Duty officer for the Eastern Beaches and later joined the Ashfield Target Action Group in 2003. Fuller was promoted to Superintendent Operations Manager for the Greater Metropolitan Region in 2004. In 2007, he became the staff officer to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of field operations. Fuller was promoted as a Local Area Commander for the Eastern Suburbs in 2008 and for the City Central area in 2009. In 2010, he became the Assistant Commissioner and Commander of the Southern Region. Then, he was appointed Commander in charge of Professional Standards in 2013. While being the Assistant Commissioner in 2014, Fuller was also the Commander of the Central Metropolitan Region where he was part of the response team at the Lindt Cafe siege. He was selected as the New South Wales Police Commissioner in 2017.
Fuller is known for his solid operational background and his many years of experience working in management and executive roles that oversaw over 16,000 officers within the NSW Police Force. His colleagues spoke highly of his best interest of the force and the community. Fuller has been the spokesman for alcohol-related crime as well as an advocate against family and domestic violence. He has developed strategies to target crime offenders and reduce rates of violence in the community. He is also the face of the Police Force at several events in the past including the Bushfire Crisis, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, World Youth Day, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the annual New Year's Eve celebration and Operation Hammerhead.
Role as NSW Police Commissioner
After 29 years of service and at the age of 49, despite being youngest amongst the candidates nominated, the NSW Government appointed Fuller as the new NSW Police Commissioner on 30 March 2017, succeeding Andrew Scipione who served nearly 10 years in the position. The top candidates that were considered for Commissioner included NSW Deputy Commissioner (at the time) Catherine Burn, former NSW Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas, Assistant Commissioner Jeff Loy and Australian Border Force Chief Roman Quaedvlieg.
The NSW State Government considered this shift in leadership a good opportunity to introduce generational change to the NSW Police Force. Fuller's appointment to his new role was supported by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Police Minister Troy Grant. Fuller addressed some significant changes he planned to implement in the Police Force. The reformation would include the remodelling and restructuring of the police workforce throughout the entire state and shifting their focus to the community. Despite his lack of time in counter-terrorism, he placed emphasis on disruption and the prevention of organised crime and terrorism, including the establishment of what the Sydney Morning Herald described as "a special force to tackle and prevent lone-wolf terrorism".
His appointment made Fuller one of New South Wales' highest-paid public servants, peaking at $649,500 in 2020. Greens MLC David Shoebridge described the remuneration as "offensive", in response to an $87,000 salary increase that occurred during his employment.
