Max Shaw is an agent with the AIS.
That stands for the Australian Intelligence Service and is one of that government's agencies responsible for keep the country safe from terrorists and other threats. It is run by General Patrick 'Hulk' Scott. Within that intelligence department, Shaw's codename is 'Prince".
In the first recorded adventure we meet Shaw after he has been an agent for some time and in that interim he has risen to become their best, most efficient operative. In the second adventure we learn how Shaw was recruited for the AIS and can follow him through his training and indoctrination into the cloak and dagger world.
Shaw is described as standing "six feet three inches with broad shoulders and a clearly toned body from hours of work in the gym. He had short dark brown hair messed up with product, deep brown eyes and a short-trimmed dark beard over a strong chin." Born in 1985, Shaw is in his mid-30s when the main adventures take place. An excellent student-athlete in college, graduating with double degrees in International Relations and in Psychology, Shaw was recommended to the AIS by a professor who worked as a talent scout for the intelligence agency.
The highly impressive nature of his athletic accomplishments made him desirable by the AIS but it was his psychology expertise that sealed the deal. As Hulk Scott told him, "we need agents capable of reading people and understanding their motives, someone able to get into the heads of these psychopaths [referring to terrorists] and break them down, find out what makes them tick. We need people who can mimic their moves to find them, stop them and get out of there again unseen."
Shaw proves on several occasions that he not only has those skillsets that the General mentioned but that he can be as ruthless and thorough as he needs to be in the performance of his job though this will fly against his desire to live a normal life as a gay man.