The Attorney-General's Department, also known as the Department of the Attorney-General, is the law enforcement and justice department of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

. The department is responsible for improving Australia's

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a country has a central government as well as regional governments, such as subnational states or provinces, each with constituti ...

and justice framework and provides legal services to the Australian Government. The department also oversees various sub-agencies and services including the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is the Intelligence agency, domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign inte ...

(ASIO), the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

(AFP), the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...

(AHRC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The head of the department is

Attorney-General for Australia The attorney-general of Australia (AG), also known as the Commonwealth attorney-general, is the Minister (government), minister of state and Attorney general, chief law officer of the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing ...

, currently

Michelle Rowland Michelle Anne Rowland (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian politician. She is serving as the Attorney-General of Australia in the second Albanese ministry since 13 May 2025. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represe ...

, who is assisted by the

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Attorney-General's Department, currently Katherine Jones .

History

The Attorney-General's Department is one of seven original Commonwealth Departments of state, commencing with the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. It is one of only three departments, along with Defence and

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

, to have operated continuously under their original name and charter since

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Organisation

The department is organised into five groups, each headed by a Deputy Secretary. These Deputy Secretaries report to the Secretary who co-ordinates and devises departmental structure and policy. These five groups are: *

Australian Government Solicitor The Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) is an Australian public servant and a federal government agency of the same name which provides legal advice to the federal government and its agencies. AGS was originally the Crown Solicitor's Office, ...

* Justice and Communities * National Security and Criminal Justice * Integrity and International * Enabling Services. The Attorney-General's Department is located at the Robert Garran Offices, 3-5 National Circuit, Barton in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

Departmental Secretary

The permanent secretary of the Attorney-General's Department is the non-political public service head of the department. This role dates from federation, and the first incumbent, Sir Robert Garran, was the first (and for a time the only) public servant employed by the federal government. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the first federal election and setting up the rest of the federal bureaucracy by transferring state government functions to the federal government. From 1916, when the position of Solicitor-General of Australia was created as the second law officer and deputy of the Attorney-General, the permanent secretary served concurrently as Solicitor-General, until the two roles were separated in 1964. Under the Law Officers Act passed that year, the Solicitor-General's role was clarified as statutory counsel deputising for the Attorney-General, separate from the role of the permanent secretary. On the recommendation of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

has appointed the following individuals as Secretary of the department:

Mission and outcomes

The mission of the department is to "deliver programs and policies to maintain and improve Australia's law and justice framework" and to provide legal services to the Australian Government.

Operational functions

In an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 13 May 2025, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters: * Law and justice, including - **

Administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

** Alternative dispute resolution ** Constitutional law ** Courts and tribunals **

Human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

** International law ** Law reform ** Legal assistance ** Legislative drafting ** Marriage and family law * Legal services to the Commonwealth * Administration of criminal justice, including – ** Criminal law policy and principles of criminal responsibility ** Matters relating to prosecution ** Sentencing and management of federal offenders ** Internal crime co-operation, including extradition and mutual assistance in criminal matters * Identity and biometrics * Administrative support for Royal Commissions and certain other inquiries * Privacy * Freedom of Information * Native title * Fraud and anti-corruption policy * Whole of government integrity policy and activities * Copyright * National child protection policy and strategy * Modern Slavery

References