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Department of Defence (Australia)

Source From Wikipedia English.

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.

Defence Australia
Department overview
Formed14 April 1942 (1942-04-14)
Preceding department
JurisdictionAustralia
HeadquartersCanberra
Employees16,272 (2020)
Annual budgetA$37.82 billion (2019–20)
Minister responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
Websitedefence.gov.au

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

 
Department headquarters at the Russell Offices complex in Canberra

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

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.

Name Post-nominlal's Date appointment
commenced		 Date appointment
ceased		 Term in office Notes Ref(s)
Captain Sir Muirhead Collins KCMG, PVNF 1901 1910 9 years, 0 days Pethebridge was acting Secretary 1906–1910
Brigadier General Sir Samuel Pethebridge KCMG 1910 1918 8 years, 0 days Trumble was acting Secretary 1914–1918
Thomas Trumble CMG, CBE 1918 1927 9 years, 0 days
Malcolm Shepherd CMG, ISO 1927 1937 10 years, 0 days
Sir Frederick Shedden KCMG, OBE 1937 1956 19 years, 301 days
Sir Edwin Hicks CBE 28 October 1956 5 January 1968 11 years, 69 days
Sir Henry Bland 1 May 1968 1970 1 year, 361 days
Sir Arthur Tange AC, CBE March 1970 August 1979 9 years, 92 days
Bill Pritchett AO August 1979 6 February 1984 4 years, 189 days
Sir William Cole 6 February 1984 15 October 1986 2 years, 251 days
Alan Woods AC December 1986 31 July 1988 1 year, 243 days
Tony Ayers AC 1 August 1988 February 1998 9 years, 184 days
Paul Barratt AO February 1998 31 August 1999 1 year, 211 days Appointment terminated by the Governor-General on the recommendation of Prime Minister Howard.
Barratt fought the decision in the Federal Court, losing on appeal.
Dr Allan Hawke AC 21 October 1999 20 October 2002 2 years, 364 days
Ric Smith AO, PSM 11 November 2002 3 December 2006 4 years, 22 days
Nick Warner AO, PSM 4 December 2006 13 August 2009 2 years, 252 days
Dr Ian Watt AO 13 August 2009 5 September 2011 2 years, 23 days
Major General Duncan Lewis AO, DSC, CSC 5 September 2011 18 October 2012 1 year, 43 days
Dennis Richardson AO 18 October 2012 12 May 2017 4 years, 206 days
Greg Moriarty 4 September 2017 Incumbent 6 years, 248 days

See also

References

External links

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