Department of Defence (Australia)

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Department of Defence
Department of defence.png
Department overview
Formed 14 April 1942 (1942-04-14)[1]
Preceding agencies Department of Defence Co-ordination
Department of Information
Jurisdiction Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters Canberra
Employees 65,647
Annual budget A$27.371 billion (2013/2014)[2]
Ministers responsible David Johnston,
Minister for Defence
Michael Ronaldson,
Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Stuart Robert,
Assistant Minister for Defence
Darren Chester,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence
Department executive Dennis Richardson, Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF)
Parent Department Australian Defence Organisation (ADO)
Child agencies Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO)
Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO)
Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)
Defence Intelligence Group
Defence Housing Australia
Army & Air Force Canteen Service
Army Amenities Fund[4]
Website www.defence.gov.au
Footnotes
[3]

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.

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 and, along with the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), is jointly[5] responsible to the Minister for Defence, currently Senator the Hon. David Johnston, the Assistant Minister for Defence, currently the Hon. Stuart Robert MP, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, currently the Hon. Darren Chester MP.

Organisational groups[edit]

The Department of Defence consists of 11 major organisational groups:

(The Australian Defence Force (ADF) consists of the uniformed groups. i.e. RAN, Army, RAAF, JOC and VCDF.)

The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) is a prescribed agency responsible for acquisition, sustainment and disposal of Defence equipment. Although the DMO forms part of the Department of Defence, it is also separately accountable to the Minister for its budget and performance.

Diarchy[edit]

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[5] and the Assistant Minister for Defence. The ADO diarchy is a governance structure unique in the Australian public service.

Secretary, Department of Defence (SECDEF)[edit]

Name Date appointment
commenced		 Date appointment
ceased		 Term in office Notes Ref(s)
Collins, Captain Sir MuirheadCaptain Sir Muirhead Collins, KCMG, RN 1901 1910 9 years, 0 days Pethebridge was acting Secretary 1906–1910
Pethebridge, Brigadier General Sir SamuelBrigadier General Sir Samuel Pethebridge, KCMG 1910 1918 8 years, 0 days Trumble was acting Secretary 1914–1918
Trumble, ThomasThomas Trumble, CMG 1918 1927 9 years, 0 days
Shepherd, MalcolmMalcolm Shepherd, CMG 1927 1937 10 years, 0 days
Shedden, Sir FrederickSir Frederick Shedden, KCMG, OBE 1937 1956 19 years, 301 days
Hicks, Sir EdwinSir Edwin Hicks, CBE 28 October 1956 5 January 1968 11 years, 69 days [7]
Bland, Sir HenrySir Henry Bland 1 May 1968 1970 1 year, 361 days [8]
Tange, Sir ArthurSir Arthur Tange, AC, CBE March 1970 August 1979 9 years, 92 days [9]
Pritchett, BillBill Pritchett August 1979 6 February 1984 4 years, 189 days [10][11]
Cole, Sir WilliamSir William Cole 6 February 1984 15 October 1986 2 years, 251 days [11]
Woods, AlanAlan Woods, AC December 1986 31 July 1988 1 year, 243 days [11]
Ayers, TonyTony Ayers, AC 1 August 1988 February 1998 9 years, 184 days [11][12]
Barratt, PaulPaul Barratt, AO February 1998 31 August 1999 1 year, 211 days Appointment terminated by the Governor-General on the recommendation of Prime Minister Howard;
Barratt fought the decision in the Federal Court, losing on appeal.		 [13][14]
Hawke, Dr AllanDr Allan Hawke, AC 21 October 1999 20 October 2002 2 years, 364 days [11][15][16]
Smith, RicRic Smith, AO, PSM 11 November 2002 3 December 2006 4 years, 22 days [11][16][17]
Warner, NickNick Warner, AO, PSM 4 December 2006 13 August 2009 2 years, 252 days [11][17][18][19]
Watt, Dr IanDr Ian Watt, AO 13 August 2009 5 September 2011 2 years, 23 days [11][18][20]
Lewis, Major General DuncanMajor General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC 5 September 2011 18 October 2012 1 year, 43 days [11][20][21]
Richardson, DennisDennis Richardson, AO 18 October 2012 2 years, 155 days [21]

See also[edit]

Portal icon Australia portal
Portal icon Politics portal

References[edit]

  1. ^ CA 46: Department of Defence [III], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 8 February 2014 
  2. ^ "Portfolio overview: Portfolio Resource Statement" (PDF). Defence Portfolio Budget Statements 2013–14. Department of Defence. 2013. p. 10. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  3. ^ "Defence Leaders: Senior Managers". Department of Defence. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  4. ^ Flipchart of FMA Act Agencies, finance.gov.au
  5. ^ a b "Portfolio overview: Defence Organisational Chart" (PDF). Defence Portfolio Budget Statements 2013–14. Department of Defence. 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  6. ^ Intelligence and Security Group, Australian Government Directory
  7. ^ Farquharson, John (2007). "Hicks, Sir Edwin William (Ted) (1910–1984)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  8. ^ Farquharson, John. "Bland, Sir Henry (Harry) (1909–1997)". Obituaries Australia. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  9. ^ James, Lieutenant Colonel Neil (May 2000). "Reform of the Defence Management Paradigm : A Fresh View" (PDF). Working Paper Series. Australian Defence Studies Centre. p. 40. ISBN 0-7317-0441-X. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  10. ^ NLA Catalogue
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jennings, Peter; Channer, Hayley (October 2012). "Look Behind You, Mr Richardson". The Strategist (Australian Strategic Policy Institute). Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  12. ^ Hawke, Bob (2 June 1988). "For the media". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  13. ^ Colvin, Mark; Reynolds, Fiona (31 August 1999). "Barratt sacked" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio) (Australia). Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  14. ^ Colvin, Mark; Reynolds, Fiona (10 March 2000). "Barrett loses appeal against dismissal" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio) (Australia). Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  15. ^ Howard, John (21 October 1999). "New Secretary to the Department of Defence". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  16. ^ a b Farnsworth, Malcolm (25 September 2002). "Defence Department Head Removed By Government". australianpolitics.com. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  17. ^ a b Howard, John (2 November 2006). "Secretary – Department of Defence". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  18. ^ a b Rudd, Kevin (13 August 2009). "Departmental secretaries and statutory office-holders, Canberra". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  19. ^ Keane, Bernard (30 March 2009). "Defence is simply too big for Nick Warner". Crikey. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  20. ^ a b Gillard, Julia (4 August 2011). "Departmental Secretaries". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 29 October 2013. 
  21. ^ a b Gillard, Julia (17 September 2012). "Diplomatic Appointment and Appointment of Secretaries of the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 27 October 2013. 

External links[edit]
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