When Stephanie Foster joined the Australian Public Service as a graduate at the Defence Signals Directorate almost four decades ago, she never imagined she would end up being a secretary.

"I remember one of the EL2s, who seemed like a god, commenting to someone that I was ambitious," Ms Foster told The Canberra Times .

"I wasn't quite sure what ambitious meant, even. I was just having the time of my life."

After being made Home Affairs Secretary in November 2023, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's sacking of Mike Pezzullo over a code of conduct breach finding, she found there was no shortage of people keen to share their advice on how the super-agency should be run - including from Mr Pezzullo himself.

"When I came into the job, there were a number of ... wise, old men of nation

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