Directorate of Civil Defence
Civil Defence Directorate · Commonwealth Directorate of Civil Defence
1955 – 1974
Commonwealth civil defence planning and training organisation of the Cold War period, which prepared for the protection of the civil population against attack and ran the Australian Civil Defence School at Mount Macedon, Victoria.
How it came into existence
Set up in the Department of the Interior in the mid-1950s when the Commonwealth revived civil defence planning; responsibility for civil defence had passed to the Interior department from the abolished Department of Home Security in 1946.
- Civil defence
Changes during its life
- 19 December 1972Responsibility for civil defence passed to the Defence portfolio when the Department of the Interior was abolished (timing of the transfer not confirmed).
- Civil defence training
How it ended
Replaced in 1974 by the Natural Disasters Organisation in the Department of Defence, which shifted the Commonwealth's focus from civil defence to natural disaster planning and response.
- Civil defence planning
- Liaison with state emergency services
- Civil defence training
Main functions
- Civil defence planning
- Coordination with state civil defence organisations
- Civil defence training (Australian Civil Defence School)
- Public information on civil protection
Where it sits
Last in the portfolio of Department of Defence.
Lineage
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Sources
Some dates or links for this organisation are uncertain. Corrections are welcome.