Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Department of Defence (Australia)

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Headquarters
  
Canberra

Number of employees
  
65,647

Founded
  
14 April 1942

Department of Defence (Australia) videodefencegovaudistimgdodlogopng

Formed
  
14 April 1942 (1942-04-14)

Preceding agencies
  
Department of Defence Co-ordinationDepartment of Information

Jurisdiction
  
Commonwealth of Australia

Annual budget
  
A$32.4 billion (2016/2017)

Ministers responsible
  
Marise Payne,Minister for DefenceDan Tehan,the Minister for Defence Materiel, Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZACChristopher Pyne,Minister for Defence IndustryMichael McCormack,Assistant Minister to the Minister for Defence

Parent department
  
Australian Defence Organisation

Subsidiaries
  
Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy

Predecessors
  
Department of Air, Department of Defence Co-ordination

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The Australian Department of Defence is a department of the Government of Australia charged with the responsibility to defend Australia and its national interests. The department forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) along with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The department 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.

Contents

The head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF), currently Dennis Richardson AO, who leads the department on a daily basis.

Organisational groups

The Department of Defence consists of ten major organisational groups:

  • Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group (VCDF) – provides military strategic effects and commitments advice and planning, joint military professional education and training, logistics support, health support, ADF cadet and reserve policy, joint capability coordination, preparedness management, and joint and combined force doctrine.
  • Chief Information Officer Group – leads the integrated design, cost effective delivery, and sustained operation of Defence information
  • Chief Finance Officer Group – to 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 and Defence Materiel Organisation in 2015.
  • Defence People Group – human resource outcomes across the Defence employment cycle from strategy and policy development, through to implementation and service delivery
  • Defence Estate and Infrastructure Group – 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 Group – lead agency charged with applying science and technology to protect and defend Australia and its national interests
  • Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group – provides 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

    • The Australian Defence Force (ADF) consists of the three uniformed armed forces: Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army (Army), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). There are also joint forces commands including the Joint Operations Command (JOC), Joint Logistics Command, and Joint Health Command.

    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 wherein 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.

    Secretary of Defence

    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

    Department of Defence (Australia) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA