Department of Defence (Australia)

Defence Australia is a department of the Government of Australia charged with the responsibility to defend Australia and its national interests. Along with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), it forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) and is accountable to the Commonwealth Parliament, on behalf of the Australian people, for the efficiency and effectiveness with which it carries out the Government's defence policy.

The head of the department, who leads it on a daily basis, is the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF), currently Greg Moriarty. The Secretary reports to the Minister of Defence, Richard Marles.

History

Australia has had at least one defence-related government department since Federation in 1901. The first Department of Defence existed from 1901 until 1921. In 1915, during World War I, a separate Department of the Navy was created. The two departments merged in 1921 to form the second Department of Defence, regarded as a separate body.

A major departmental reorganisation occurred in the lead-up to World War II. The Department of Defence was abolished and replaced with six smaller departments – the Defence Co-ordination (for defence policy, financial, and administrative matters), three "service departments" (Army, Navy, and Air), the Supply and Development (for munitions and materiel), and Civil Aviation. The current Department of Defence was formally created in 1942, when Prime Minister John Curtin renamed the existing Department of Defence Co-ordination. The other defence-related departments underwent a series of reorganisations, before being merged into the primary department over the following decades. This culminated in the abolition of the three service departments in 1973. A new Department of Defence Support was created in 1982, but abolished in 1984.

In May 2022, the department was renamed Defence Australia.

The Australian Department of Defence, along with the Australian state and other governments are known to fund the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Defence Committee

The Defence Committee is the primary decision-making committee in the Department of Defence, supported by six subordinate committees, groups and boards. The Defence Committee is focused on major capability development and resource management for the Australian Defence Organisation and shared accountability of the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force.

The members of the Defence Committee are:

Organisational groups

As of 2016 the Department of Defence consists of ten major organisational groups:

• Associate Secretary Group – provides administrative, legal and governance services including audit and fraud control, security and vetting, the Judge Advocate General, and communications and ministerial support.
• Chief Information Officer Group – leads the integrated design, cost effective delivery, and sustained operation of Defence information
• Chief Finance Officer Group – to drive the financial and management improvement programs for Defence
• Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) – Australia's largest project management organisation and its mission is to acquire and sustain equipment for the Australian Defence Force, created through the amalgamation of the Capability Development Group and Defence Materiel Organisation in 2015.
• Defence People Group – human resource outcomes across the Defence employment cycle from strategy and policy development, through to implementation and service delivery
• Defence Estate and Infrastructure Group – consolidated service delivery organisation for Defence that enables Defence capability by working in partnership to deliver integrated services through a highly capable workforce
• Defence Science and Technology Group – lead agency charged with applying science and technology to protect and defend Australia and its national interests
• Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group – provides policy advice and coordination for strategy and intelligence for Defence, including overseeing the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Australian Signals Directorate, and the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation

Diarchy

The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) and the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF) jointly manage the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) under a diarchy in which both report directly to the Minister for Defence and the Assistant Minister for Defence. The ADO diarchy is a governance structure unique in the Australian Public Service.

List of departmental secretaries

The Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF) is a senior public service officer and historically the appointees have not come from military service.

See also

• Australian Defence Organisation
• Current senior Australian Defence Organisation personnel
• Minister for Defence
• Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
• Minister for Veterans' Affairs
• Minister for Defence Industry
• List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities
• Department of the Army (Australia)
• Department of the Navy (Australia)
• Department of Air (Australia)
• United States Department of Defense
• United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
• Canadian Department of National Defence
• New Zealand Ministry of Defence

References

External links

• Department of Defence website
• "Defence Organisational Structure Chart" (PDF). Department of Defence. Commonwealth of Australia. 21 September 2015.
• "Defence Senior Leaders". Department of Defence. 2016.
• "Dennis Richardson AO". Biography of the Secretary of the Department of Defence. Department of Defence. 2016.