Department of Defence (Australia)


The Department of Defence is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for supporting the Australian Defence Force, and is charged with the defence of Australia and its national interests. Along with the ADF, it forms part of the larger Australian Defence Organisation 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.
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, currently Greg Moriarty. SECDEF reports to the Minister for 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, three "service departments", the Supply and Development, 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 Canberra Times reported that department had been renamed Defence Australia. However, the department's corporate documents continue to refer to it as the Department of Defence.
The Australian Department of Defence, along with the Australian state and other governments, partially fund the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 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:
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 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 and Defence Materiel Organisation 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 Groupconsolidated 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 Groupprovides policy advice and coordination for strategy and intelligence for Defence, including overseeing the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Australian Signals Directorate, and the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation

    Diarchy

The Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary of the Department of Defence jointly manage the Australian Defence Organisation 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 is a senior public service officer and historically the appointees have not come from military service.
NamePost-nominlal'sDate appointment
commenced		Date appointment
ceased		Term in officeNotesRef
, PVNFPethebridge was acting Secretary 1906–1910
Trumble was acting Secretary 1914–1918
Appointment terminated by the Governor-General on the recommendation of Prime Minister Howard.
Barratt fought the decision in the Federal Court, losing on appeal.
Incumbent