Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has agreed to stand aside while an investigation into his alleged correspondence with a Liberal Party powerbroker takes place, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
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The move follows reports that Mr Pezzullo allegedly sent messages using "back channels" within the Liberal Party to wield influence on political matters, including over which Coalition MP was appointed as minister of his own department.
The Prime Minister said former Australian Public Service commissioner Lynelle Briggs will lead an independent inquiry into the matter, which will be expedited.
"I think this requires a full and proper disclosure," Mr Albanese said.
"That needs to be done in an expeditious way, and I'm sure it will be."
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil also said that she spoke to Mr Pezzullo on Monday morning and asked him to stand aside from his role while an investigation takes place - a request to which he agreed.
Ms O'Neil said this was the first time she spoke to the top bureaucrat since reports of these messages broke.
Nine newspapers on Sunday night reported that Mr Pezzullo had sent more than a thousand leaked encrypted messages over five years to former vice-president of the NSW Liberals Scott Briggs. The Canberra Times has not seen the messages.
It is not suggested the messages show corrupt or illegal conduct but arguably that Mr Pezzullo overstepped the required impartial nature of heading a government department.
The Prime Minister made it clear that there was no relation between Ms Briggs, who is overseeing the inquiry, and Mr Briggs, the Liberal powerbroker.
Texts showed Mr Pezzullo suggested now Opposition Leader Peter Dutton should become the new Home Affairs minister the night before Scott Morrison took the PM role from Malcolm Turnbull in 2018.
According to the messages, he suggested the Liberals sack former defence minister Christopher Pyne, labelled former defence minister Marise Payne "completely ineffectual" and "a problem", and said he "almost had a heart attack" when Julie Bishop was linked with a tilt at the prime ministership in 2018.
Others show Mr Briggs directly asking if Mr Pezzullo had any messages he wanted him to convey before a dinner with Mr Morrison and Mr Turnbull.
Mr Pezzullo was the first person appointed to head the Home Affairs Department when it was created in 2017.
He has held the job since, keeping the role when Labor took office in 2022.
The Greens have called for the Prime Minister to demand Mr Pezzullo's resignation or sack him immediately, with the party's immigration and citizenship spokesperson Nick McKim claiming that the Home Affairs secretary has "shown complete contempt for the principle of accountability".
The Prime Minister declined to comment further on the situation while the inquiry takes place.
"It's important that these processes are allowed to take their course, but I believe that Minister O'Neil has acted appropriately given the circumstances of what was revealed in newspapers this morning," he said.
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Justine Landis-Hanley
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter at The Canberra Times, with an interest in integrity, regulation, and social services. Contact me with tips and feedback at justine.landishanley@canberratimes.com.au.
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter at The Canberra Times, with an interest in integrity, regulation, and social services. Contact me with tips and feedback at justine.landishanley@canberratimes.com.au.
