Australian Federal Police Officer, Sergeant Michael Serbatoio was farewelled from Tonga by the Police Commissioner Shane McLennan and senior leaders of Tonga Police, on 17 May.

Sergeant Serbatoio has served in Tonga as Project Coordinator for the Australian funded Families Free of Violence (FFOV) program for the past two-years.

He was also working with local partner agencies, including Tonga Police towards improving the national response to family and gender-based violence.

Commissioner McLennan who knew him from a previous policing deployment to Timor-Leste acknowledged Sergeant Serbatoio’s efforts and valued his contribution to the coordinated and effective policing response to domestic violence in Tonga.

He thanked Sergeant Serbatoio for his passion, honesty, commitment and wished him and wife Peta Paula a safe return to their family in Australia. Sergeant Serbatoio recounted sharing the experience of the HTHH tragic events with his local counterparts and having lost former Tonga Police Domestic Violence Unit Manager, Inspector Seteone Polutele along the way.