2 Statement of Grounds of Termination of Appointment as Australian Border Force Commissioner On 15 March 2018. the Governor-General in Council, acting on the recommendation of the Government, terminated under section 21 of the Australian Border Force Act 2015 the appointment of Mr Roman Quaedvlieg APM as Australian Border Force Commissioner. In accordance with section 21(4) of the ABF Act, the following statement sets out the grounds upon which that appointment was terminated. Mr Quaedvlieg's appointment was terminated on each of the following grounds: - misbehaviour within the meaning of section 21(1)(a) of the ABF Act; engaging in conduct that was, for the purposes of section 21 (2)(c)of the ABF Act, inconsistent with the affirmation that Mr Quaedvlieg made and subscribed under 13 of the ABF Act; and - failure, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 which required Mr Quaedvlieg to disclose details of any material personal interest that he had that related to the affairs of the ABF a ground for termination under section 21(2)(e)(ii) of the ABF Act. With respect to the grounds of misbehavior and conduct inconsistent with his affirmation, Mr Quaedvlieg acted at particular times to modify policies relevant to recruitment processes so as to advantage. at least in substantive part, a particular candidate for ABF employment. Additionally, he engaged in acts, and made omissions, which materially advantaged that candidate over other comparable candidates for ABF employment, and on that basis his conduct also amounted to misbehaviour and was inconsistent with his affirmation. Further, Mr Quaedvlieg engaged in misbehavior and conduct inconsistent with his affirmation by failing to disclose to the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency, within a reasonable time, a significant change in his personal life, and by making a wilfully or recklessly false statement to the Minister for immigration and Border Protection in relation to the status of his personal relationships. Mr Quaedvlieg's appointment was also terminated on the basis that contrary to section 29 of the PGPA Act he failed to disclose his relationship with a person who was seeking employment in the ABF in circumstances where Mr Quaedvlieg had an interest in that person securing employment and was in a position to influence the relevant recruitment processes. Needless to say it is extremely unfortunate that it was necessary to terminate Mr Quaedvlieg's appointment. He has provided long and conspicuous public service in the critically important areas of law enforcement and national security. However, the relevant conduct went beyond an isolated error of judgement and ultimately undermined his capacity to continue in the of?ce of ABF Commissioner.