Tony Murney is an independent security sector reform advisor who returned to Australia in 2018 after spending several years overseas working on police development and reform in Afghanistan and Somalia. He held a number of senior positions during this time including Deputy UN Commissioner of Police in Mogadishu and Chief Technical Advisor on Police Professionalization in Afghanistan. He has worked for the UN on several occasions as well the Government of the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Prior to this he was a Senior Executive Service officer in the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with 12 years experience leading different facets of strategic planning in the International Deployment Group (IDG), Australian Capital Territory Policing and later on secondment to the Australian Civil Military Centre. His work with the IDG involved police development and reform activities for Timor Leste, Cambodia, the Solomon Islands and all Pacific Island Forum nations with analytical activities spanning one of the world’s largest and least understood regions of interest to Australia. He also led planning processes for missions to Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the future of commitments in Cyprus.

Tony is currently a member of the Expert Police Council for the International Network for the Promotion of the Rule of Law at the United States Institute of Peace, as well as an advisor to the Center of Excellence for Stability Policing Units (NATO) in Italy. During his time with the AFP, he was a member of the highly select UN Police Policy Community operating under the auspices of the United Nations Police (UNPOL).

Tony has a PhD in anthropology from the ANU, a first class honours degree from Macquarie University and Bachelor of Arts with distinguished academic record and university prizes for MCAE (now Charles Sturt University) and has been twice warded the Police Medal of Honour in Afghanistan for services to policing.