Defence & veteransDepartment of StateExists today
Department of Defence
14 April 1942 – present
Previously Department of Defence Co-ordination (1939–1942).
Department of State responsible for defence policy and, since the integration of the service departments in 1973–1976, for administering and supporting the Australian Defence Force, including capability acquisition, defence science, intelligence and the defence estate.
Names over time
- Department of Defence Co-ordination1939–1942
- Department of Defence1942–present
How it came into existence
Formed on 14 April 1942 by the renaming of the Department of Defence Co-ordination. On 30 November 1973 it absorbed the separate Departments of the Navy, the Army and Air, and in 1974 it took over defence research and development from the abolished Department of Supply.
- Defence policy
- Co-ordination of the service departments
Changes during its life
- 9 February 1976Defence Force Re-organization Act 1975 commenced: the Naval, Military and Air Boards were abolished and the Chief of Defence Force Staff given command of the Defence Force, jointly administering Defence with the Secretary.
- 1 July 2015First Principles Review 'One Defence' reforms: the Defence Materiel Organisation was brought back into the department and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation became the Defence Science and Technology Group.
- Administration of the Royal Australian Navy (as the Navy Office)
- Administration of the Australian Army (as the Army Office)
- Administration of the RAAF (as the Air Office)
- Defence research and development (Australian Defence Scientific Service)
- Administration of the Navy
Abolished under the Defence Force Re-organization Act 1975; command passed to the Chief of Naval Staff and administration to the department.
- Administration of the Army
Abolished under the Defence Force Re-organization Act 1975; command passed to the Chief of the General Staff and administration to the department.
- Administration of the Air Force
Abolished under the Defence Force Re-organization Act 1975; command passed to the Chief of the Air Staff and administration to the department.
- Defence factories and dockyards (Office of Defence Production)
- Defence purchasing
- Defence industry development
- Capability acquisition and sustainment (Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group)
- Joint strategic, economic and geographic intelligence
- Signals intelligence
- Communications security
- Scientific units of the Department of Defence and the former service departments
- Naval dockyards at Garden Island and Williamstown
- Defence industry development
- Provision and management of service housing
- Major capital equipment acquisition
- Equipment maintenance and logistics support (Support Command Australia)
- National support functions
- Strategic military geographic information
- Topographic mapping for the ADF
From the Directorate of Strategic Military Geographic Information and the Defence Topographic Agency, Defence units that have no records of their own.
- Emergency management (Emergency Management Australia)
- Review and oversight of military justice
- Coordination of Defence maritime surveillance and patrol assets
- Prosecution of service offences
From the interim Director of Military Prosecutions within Defence Legal.
- Security clearance vetting
- Future submarine planning
- Defence Innovation Hub
Main functions
- Defence policy and strategy
- Administration and support of the Australian Defence Force
- Capability acquisition and sustainment
- Defence science and technology
- Defence intelligence
- Defence estate and infrastructure
- Defence industry policy
- Security clearance vetting
Where it sits
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Defence
- Accountable authority
- Secretary of the Department – Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 section 12(2) item 1
- ABN
- 68 706 814 312
Bodies in this portfolio (73)
- Military Board 1905–1976
- Explosives Factory Maribyrnong 1910–1989
- Australian Commonwealth Naval Board 1911–1976
- Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory 1912–1989
- Commonwealth Small Arms Factory 1912–1989
- Air Board 1920–1976
- Ordnance Factory Maribyrnong 1924–1989
- Ammunition Factory Footscray 1927–1989
- Munitions Filling Factory St Marys 1942–1989
- Ordnance Factory Bendigo 1942–1989
- Williamstown Naval Dockyard 1942–1988
- Explosives Factory Mulwala 1943–1989
- Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board 1943–present
- AAF Company 1946–present
- Government Aircraft Factories 1946–1987
- Australian Military Forces Relief Trust Fund 1947–present
- Joint Intelligence Bureau 1947–1969
- Royal Australian Air Force Welfare Trust Fund 1947–present
- Royal Australian Navy Relief Trust Fund 1947–present
- Defence Signals Bureau 1947–1949
- Aeronautical Research Laboratories 1949–1994
- Australian Defence Scientific Service 1949–1974
- Defence Signals Branch 1949–1964
- Defence Standards Laboratories 1953–1974
- Royal Australian Air Force Veterans' Residences Trust Fund 1953–present
- Directorate of Civil Defence 1955–1974
- Weapons Research Establishment 1955–1978
- Australian Civil Defence School 1956–1978
- Courts-Martial Appeal Tribunal 1957–1985
- Australian Services Canteens Organisation 1959–1979
- Defence Signals Division 1964–1978
- Joint Intelligence Organisation 1969–1990
- RAAF Welfare Recreational Company 1969–present
- Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Authority 1972–2011
- Defence Science and Technology Organisation 1974–2015
- Materials Research Laboratories 1974–1994
- Natural Disasters Organisation 1974–1993
- Australian Counter Disaster College 1978–1993
- Defence Signals Directorate 1978–2013
- Defence Research Centre Salisbury 1978–1987
- Army and Air Force Canteen Service 1979–present
- Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal 1984–present
- Office of Defence Production 1984–1989
- Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal 1985–present
- Aerospace Technologies of Australia Pty Ltd 1987–1995
- Defence Housing Authority 1988–2006
- Australian Defence Industries Pty Ltd 1989–1999
- Defence Intelligence Organisation 1990–present
- Military Superannuation and Benefits Board of Trustees No. 1 1991–2011
- Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory 1994–2002
- Defence Acquisition Organisation 1997–2000
- Australian Imagery Organisation 1998–2000
- Defence Materiel Organisation 2000–2015
- Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation 2000–2013
- Australian Strategic Policy Institute Ltd 2001–present
- Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force 2003–present
- Office of the Director of Military Prosecutions 2006–present
- Defence Housing Australia 2006–present
- Australian Military Court 2007–2009
- Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence 2008–2012
- Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal 2008–2011
- Australian Government Security Vetting Agency 2010–present
- Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal 2011–present
- Australian Civil-Military Centre 2012–present
- Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation 2013–present
- Australian Signals Directorate 2013–present
- Australian Cyber Security Centre 2014–present
- Defence Science and Technology Group 2015–present
- Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce 2021–2023
- Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator 2023–present
- Australian Submarine Agency 2023–present
- Defence and Veterans' Service Commission 2025–present
- Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator 2025–present
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 November 1950 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025, as amended to 1 July 2025 (sets it out)
43 more Administrative Arrangements Orders set it out
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 December 1972 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 22 December 1975 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 11 March 1983 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 11 March 1983, as amended to 30 January 1987 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 11 March 1996 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 November 2001 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 December 2003 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 October 2004 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 December 2004 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 21 September 2006 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 21 September 2006, as amended to 30 January 2007 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 3 December 2007 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 25 January 2008 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 September 2010 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 October 2010 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 December 2011 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 9 February 2012 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 May 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 September 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 12 December 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 December 2014 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 9 July 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 18 February 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 19 July 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 27 October 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 13 April 2017 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018, as amended to 28 August 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 4 April 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019, as amended to 1 September 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019, as amended to 2 April 2020 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 March 2021 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 8 June 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 3 August 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 29 July 2024 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025 (sets it out)
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance)
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))