The Minister for Defence is the principal minister responsible for the organisation, implementation, and formulation of government policy in defence and military matters for the

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

. The individual who holds this office directs the government’s approach to such matters through 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 ...

and, by extension, the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and 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 ...

. The office of the Minister for Defence, like all Cabinet positions, is not referenced in the

Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...

but rather exists through convention and the prerogative of the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

to appoint ministers of state. As the Minister for Defence is responsible for the executive management of Australia's defence and military forces and the portfolio's accountability to the Parliament, the Secretary of Defence is required under section 63(1) of the ''Public Service Act 1999'' and the ''Requirements for Annual Reports'' from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit to submit a report to the responsible ministers on the activities of the Department of Defence after the end of each financial year for presentation to the Parliament. It is one of only four ministerial positions (along with Prime Minister,

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

) that have existed 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 ...

Defence policy

The primary function of the Minister for Defence is to direct the formulation of the government's defence policy relating to the universal conduct of any entity of the Australian Government, or working on behalf of the Australian Government, and the agencies and personnel of the Australian Defence Organisation as a whole. The Australian Government operates three principal entities responsible for creating and maintaining defence policy within the 'Defence' superstructure: the

Air Power Development Centre 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 for ...

Australian Strategic Policy Institute The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government and funded by the Australian and overseas governments, industry ...

, and

Sea Power Centre - Australia The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. Additionally, the Australian Government, often at the direct request of the Prime Minister, will expend extensive introspective resources for the publication of Defence white papers so as to assess the current extent of Australia's defence capabilities and infrastructure and investigate the best manner of improving Defence in such a way that will positively inform the government's policy. The most recent white paper publication is the ''

2016 Defence White Paper The 2016 Defence White Paper is a white paper published by the Australian Department of Defence outlining a strategic plan for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) over the following decade. The paper describes the need for improvement in the cap ...

'' that includes three elements: the 2016 Defence White Paper itself, ''2016 Integrated Investment Program'', and ''2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement''. Presented on 24 February 2016 and published the same day, it is the eighth defence whitepaper since 1976 and defined three key strategic objectives that the defence portfolios and governments of both parties have had little debate over. Recent Ministers for Defence for both political parties have typically formed their policy around the strict and professional advice of Australia's leading policy experts and senior military personnel and has generally caused little controversy.

Composition of the defence portfolio

Over the years there have been a number of ministers with a variety of functions involved in the defence portfolio; in the period November 1939 to April 1942, there was no position named "Minister of Defence". Instead, several ministers were responsible for the various tasks and duties that are presently under the purview of the Minister for Defence. Previous governments have included ministers with titles using one or more of the following terms: *Air *Aircraft production *Army *Defence *Defence Coordination *Defence Industry *Defence Materiel *Defence Personnel *Defence Production *Defence Science *Defence Support *Development *MunitionsThe

Department of Munitions The Department of Munitions was an Australian government department that existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948. Reporting to it was the Factory Board, which was in charge of the six Small Arms Ammunition Factories, along with a n ...

was created during World War II, and existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948. *Navy *Repatriation *Shipping *Supply *Veterans' Affairs

List of ministers for defence

There was a Minister for Defence from 1 January 1901 until 13 November 1939, with the exception of two small breaks.

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, the Prime Minister, abolished the position on the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and created separate Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air, with himself as Minister for Defence Coordination in his first ministry. He retained this position until the fall of his government, and then held the post in the brief government of

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

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 ...

initially followed the same arrangement as Menzies in his ministry until 14 April 1942, when he took the title of Minister for Defence. The separate titles of Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air were abolished in the second Whitlam Ministry on 30 November 1973, when the separate departments of

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 ...

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 ...

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 for ...

were also abolished. There had also been a separate Navy portfolio between 1915 and 1921. The following have served as Minister for Defence:

List of assistant ministers for defence

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Defence, or any of its precedent titles:

Individual service branch ministers

Ministers for the Navy

The following served as Minister for the Navy:

Ministers for the Army

The following served as Minister for the Army:

Ministers for Air

The following served as Minister for Air:

Notes

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

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 industr ...

Military of Australia