Defence Australia is a department of the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

charged with the responsibility to defend

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and its national interests. Along with the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

(ADF), it forms part of the

Australian Defence Organisation The Australian Defence Organisation (ADO), also known as simply Defence, is an Australian Government organisation that consists of both the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Department of Defence (DoD). The ADO's collective aims are to "de ...

(ADO) and is accountable to the

Commonwealth Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

, 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 A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the Department of Defence (SECDEF), currently

Greg Moriarty Gregory Laurence Moriarty (born 4 April 1964) is a senior Australian public servant and diplomat, and the current Secretary of the Department of Defence (Australia), Secretary of the Department of Defence since 4 September 2017. He was previousl ...

. The Secretary reports to the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

Richard Marles Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician serving as the 19th deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence. He has been the deputy leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and previously served as D ...

History

Australia has had at least one defence-related government department since

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

in 1901. The first Department of Defence existed from 1901 until 1921. In 1915, during World War I, a separate

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the ...

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 An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, and

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

), the Supply and Development (for munitions and materiel), and

Civil Aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

. The current Department of Defence was formally created in 1942, when Prime Minister

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

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 The Department of Defence Support was an Australian government department that existed between May 1982 and December 1984. History The department was established by the Fraser Government after a recommendation from the Defence Review ...

was created in 1982, but abolished in 1984. In May 2022 the department was renamed Defence Australia.

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

and shared accountability of the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force. The members of the Defence Committee are: * Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF) * Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) *

Vice Chief of the Defence Force The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements. Vice Admiral David Johnston, the incumbent VCDF, has ...

(VCDF) * Associate Secretary * Chief of Navy (CN) * Chief of Army (CA) * Chief of Air Force (CAF) * Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) * Deputy Secretary for Capability Acquisition and Sustainment * Deputy Secretary for Strategic Policy and Intelligence * Chief Defence Scientist (CDS) *

Chief of Joint Capabilities The Chief of Joint Capabilities (CJC) is the head of the Joint Capabilities Group (JCG) in the Australian Department of Defence, part of the Australian Defence Organisation. This position was created on 1 July 2017. The current chief is Lieuten ...

(CJC) * Chief Information Officer (CIO) * Chief Finance Officer (CFO) * Deputy Secretary for People * Deputy Secretary for Estate and Infrastructure

Organisational groups

the Department of Defence consists of ten major organisational groups: * Associate Secretary Groupprovides 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 Groupleads the integrated design, cost effective delivery, and sustained operation of Defence information * Chief Finance Officer Groupto 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 The Chief of Capability Development Group (CCDG) was head of the Capability Development Group (CDG) in the Australian Department of Defence, part of the Australian Defence Organisation. This position was created in December 2003 and disbanded ...

and

Defence Materiel Organisation The Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) is an organisation within the Department of Defence (Australia), Australian Department of Defence, responsible for Military acquisition, acquisition and Military supply chain management, su ...

in 2015. * Defence People Grouphuman resource outcomes across the Defence employment cycle from strategy and policy development, through to implementation and service delivery *

Defence Estate and Infrastructure Group The Defence Estate and Infrastructure Group (abbreviated as ''E&IG'') is the infrastructure and service delivery organisation of the Australian Department of Defence responsible for environmental stewardship, land management and facilities mainten ...

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 Grouplead agency charged with applying science and technology to protect and defend Australia and its national interests *

Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group The Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group (SP&I) of the Australian Government Department of Defence is responsible for defence diplomacy, strategic policy, international security, and military intelligence co-ordination and advice ...

provides policy advice and coordination for strategy and intelligence for Defence, including overseeing the

Defence Intelligence Organisation The Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) is an Australian government military intelligence agency responsible for strategic intelligence and technical intelligence assessments, advising defence and government decision-making on national se ...

, Australian Signals Directorate, and the

Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO) is an Australian government intelligence agency that is part of the Department of Defence responsible for the collection, analysis, and distribution of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in ...

Intelligence and Security Group
, Australian Government Directory

Diarchy

The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) and the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF) jointly manage the

(ADO) under a

diarchy Diarchy (from ancient Greek, Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', ...

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.

References

External links

Department of Defence website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Department Of Defence (Australia) Military of Australia Australian Defence Force

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...