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Department of Defence (Australia)

Federal defence department of the Australian Government From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the civilian department of the Australian Public Service which supports the Australian Defence Force. For the military force itself, see Australian Defence Force.

The Department of Defence, also known simply as Defence, is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related entities, and is charged with the defence of Australia and its national interests.[4] Along with the ADF, it forms part of the larger Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) and is accountable to the Parliament of Australia, on behalf of the Australian people, for the efficiency and effectiveness with which it carries out government policy.

Quick Facts Formed, Preceding department ...
Department of Defence
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Logo of the Department of Defence
Department overview
Formed14 April 1942 (1942-04-14)[1]
Preceding department
JurisdictionAustralia
HeadquartersCanberra
Employees16,272 (2020)[2]
Annual budgetA$37.82 billion (2019–20)[3]
Minister responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
Websitedefence.gov.au
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The executive head of the department, who leads it on a day-to-day basis, independent of a change of government, is the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF), currently Greg Moriarty. SECDEF reports to the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles.

History

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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.[5]

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.[5] 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.[6]

In May 2022, the Canberra Times reported that department had been renamed Defence Australia.[7] However, the department's corporate documents continue to refer to it as the Department of Defence.[8]

The Australian Department of Defence, along with the Australian state and other governments partially fund the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.[9]

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.[10]

The members of the Defence Committee are:

Organisational groups

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Department headquarters at the Russell Offices complex in Canberra

As of 2016 the Department of Defence consists of ten major organisational groups:[11]

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

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

More information Name, Post-nominlal's ...
NamePost-nominlal'sDate appointment
commenced		Date appointment
ceased		Term in officeNotesRef(s)
Captain Sir Muirhead CollinsKCMG, PVNF 190119109 years, 0 daysPethebridge was acting Secretary 1906–1910
Brigadier General Sir Samuel Pethebridge KCMG 191019188 years, 0 daysTrumble was acting Secretary 1914–1918
Thomas TrumbleCMG, CBE 191819279 years, 0 days
Malcolm ShepherdCMG, ISO 1927193710 years, 0 days
Sir Frederick SheddenKCMG, OBE 19371956 19 years, 301 days
Sir Edwin HicksCBE 28 October 19565 January 196811 years, 69 days[16]
Sir Henry Bland 1 May 196819701 year, 361 days[17][18]
Sir Arthur TangeAC, CBE March 1970August 19799 years, 92 days[19]
Bill PritchettAO August 19796 February 19844 years, 189 days[20][21]
Sir William Cole 6 February 198415 October 19862 years, 251 days[21]
Alan WoodsAC December 198631 July 19881 year, 243 days[21]
Tony AyersAC 1 August 1988February 19989 years, 184 days[21][22]
Paul BarrattAO February 199831 August 19991 year, 211 daysAppointment terminated by the Governor-General on the recommendation of Prime Minister Howard.
Barratt fought the decision in the Federal Court, losing on appeal.		[23][24]
Dr Allan HawkeAC21 October 199920 October 20022 years, 364 days[21][25][26]
Ric SmithAO, PSM 11 November 20023 December 20064 years, 22 days[21][26][27]
Nick WarnerAO, PSM4 December 200613 August 20092 years, 252 days[21][27][28][29]
Dr Ian WattAO13 August 20095 September 20112 years, 23 days[21][28][30]
Major General Duncan LewisAO, DSC, CSC 5 September 201118 October 20121 year, 43 days[21][30][31]
Dennis RichardsonAO18 October 201212 May 20174 years, 206 days[31]
Greg MoriartyAO4 September 2017Incumbent 7 years, 171 days[32]
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See also

References

External links

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