Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)

History

Before 1911, the Prime Minister had no department of his own as such. The Prime Minister was concurrently the Minister for External Affairs, and used the services of the Department of External Affairs.

On 1 July 1911, the Prime Minister's Department was created.

On 11 March 1968, a separate Department of the Cabinet Office was created.

On 12 March 1971, these two departments were merged to create the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Portfolio Ministers

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio includes the following Ministers:

Secretary of the Department

The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is the head of the department, also known as the Secretary, of the level of Senior Executive Service Band 4 in the Australian Public Service as per the Public Service Act 1999.

The Secretary of the Department is the equivalent of the Cabinet Secretary in the United Kingdom or the Clerk of the Privy Council in Canada.

The position of Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet should not be confused with the ministerial position of Cabinet Secretary which is a Cabinet Minister within the portfolio.

The Secretary is supported by a senior executive of the department, composed of the Senior Executive Service Band 3 officials, of the Associate Secretary (Indigenous Affairs), the Deputy Secretary (Economic), Deputy Secretary (Social Policy), Deputy Secretary (Innovation and Transformation), Deputy Secretary (Governance), Deputy Secretary (National Security), the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security, the Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, and the Deputy Secretary (Indigenous Affairs).

Functions

In an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 1 September 2016 with an amendment on 27 October 2016, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters:

Structure

The structure of PM&C is organised along four policy and program groups: the Domestic Policy Group (responsible for cities, women's policy, science and innovation, economic policy, infrastructure, social policy, and environmental policy), the National Security and International Policy Group (responsible for counterterrorism, intelligence, national security, cybersecurity, international policy, and defence strategy), the Governance Group, and the Indigenous Affairs Group.

In addition to the National Office in Canberra, the department has 33 offices and an in-community presence in another 60 locations across Australia for the Indigenous Affairs regional network.

Staff are employed as Australian Public Service officials under the Public Service Act 1999. In February 2014, The Canberra Times examined pay conditions and staffing records and found that PM&C is one of the public service's best-paid departments and among its least culturally diverse. The following month, then Secretary Ian Watt told his staff that the department was battling to balance its budget and deliver its programs, and that staff would be cut and service delivery reviewed.

Domestic Policy Group

The Domestic Policy Group has responsibilities for supporting the development of policy and coordinating implementation across economic policy, social policy, and environmental policy. The Group also coordinates the implementation of whole of government regulatory reform, supports government priorities for gender equality and the empowerment of women, coordinates the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) arrangements, provides advice and support for Australian federal budget process, coordinates whole of government service delivery policy (through Digital Transformation Agency), and formulates national policy on public data, population, and cities. The Group is led by Deputy Secretary (Economic), Deputy Secretary (Social Policy), Deputy Secretary (Innovation and Transformation).

National Security and International Policy Group

The National Security and International Policy Group provides the Prime Minister with high quality advice on foreign policy, international trade, overseas aid, international treaties, engagement with foreign governments and international organisations, defence strategy, non-proliferation, information sharing, law enforcement, border security, and crisis coordination and emergency management. The Group also plays a coordinating role in the development of whole of government national security policy, provides secretariat functions to the National Security Committee of Cabinet, and policy settings for the Australian Intelligence Community. The Group also coordinates the foreign affairs, trade and national security aspects of the Australian federal budget.

The Group is led by the Deputy Secretary (National Security), the Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, and the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security. The Group was formerly led by the post of National Security Adviser (NSA) which was established in December 2008 by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and disbanded in 2013 by Prime Minister Tony Abbott with responsibilities transferred back to the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and International Policy Group. The inaugural NSA was Major General Duncan Lewis serving until 2011. The second and final NSA was Dr Margot McCarthy serving from 2011 to 2013.

Governance Group

The Governance Group, led by the Deputy Secretary (Governance) provides advice on legal policy, parliamentary and government matters and honours and symbols policy. In addition it provides support services to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, Cabinet committees, and the department’s Portfolio Ministers and Assistant Ministers. The group delivers the department’s enabling and support functions and also oversees the implementation and ongoing delivery of key Government programmes, policies and initiatives.

Indigenous Affairs Group

The Indigenous Affairs Group, led by the Associate Secretary (Indigenous Affairs) and Deputy Secretary (Indigenous Affairs), is responsible for most Commonwealth Indigenous-specific policy and programmes. The group works with other Commonwealth departments, state and territory governments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations, and peak bodies to achieve the Government’s priorities across issues of education, employment, health, and community safety. The Group includes the department’s Regional Network that works in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities and other stakeholders to develop and implement programmes. The PM&C Regional Network has more than 500 staff in over 90 locations across the country, and engage with more than an additional 200 communities.

The Indigenous Affairs Group is responsible to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. The Indigenous Affairs portfolio was formerly part of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs until integration into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet by Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2013.

The Group is composed of the following Divisions and Branches: