Mr Askew is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Assistant Director, Israel-Gaza Taskforce. He has previously served overseas in Papua New Guinea, Ghana and Indonesia and was a Peacekeeper with Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti and the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) with the Australian Federal Police/United Nations.

Mr Askew holds a Master of Strategic Affairs from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts from Deakin University. He speaks Indonesian.