THIRTY women Customs officers from across the Pacific graduated from the 2025 Pacific Women’s Professional Development Program (PWPDP) in a special ceremony held at the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service headquarters in Suva last Friday.
The program is a collaboration among the Australian Border Force (ABF), Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) and the RMIT University and is focused on empowering future female leaders working in Customs roles in the Pacific.
Speaking at the graduation, Australian Border Force assistant commissioner Sharon Huey acknowledged the cohort for their commitment and dedication during the five-week training.
“I encourage you to continue to be innovative and identify new initiatives and ideas for the border management challenges that we will face into the future,” Ms Huey said.
FRCS director Customs and Border Shelini Kumar said the graduation was the beginning of something greater in border control services.
“You’ve stepped outside of your comfort zones, challenged your assumptions and gained tools that will empower you to navigate your professional and personal lives with confidence,” Ms Kumar said.
Representing Fiji in the program, Losalini Lesu said the course was and eye-opening experience for her.
“There was a lot of lessons that we learnt on public speaking, confidence and looking within ourselves especially as an emerging future women leaders in Border and Customs,” she said.
“Going back to the organisation, I hope to empower other women to join the program,” Ms Lesu said.
The PWPDP comprised women from the Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Australia.
