Attorney-General's Department (Australia)

The Attorney-General's Department is a department of the federal government of Australia responsible for law and justice, and since 29 May 2019, industrial relations.[3]

Attorney-General's Department

Robert Garran Offices, head office of the Attorney-General's Department, located in Barton, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Department overview
Formed	1 January 1901[1]
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Employees	1,461 (estimate for 2013–14)[2]
Annual budget	A$800 million (2011–12)
Minister responsible	The Hon. Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General of Australia
Department executive	Chris Moraitis PSM, Secretary (2014–)
Child Department	Australian Government Solicitor Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Administrative Appeals Tribunal Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Australian Human Rights Commission Australian Institute of Criminology Australian Law Reform Commission Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Family Court of Australia Federal Court of Australia Federal Circuit Court of Australia National Library of Australia National Native Title Tribunal Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Office of Parliamentary Counsel Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia
Website	www.ag.gov.au
Agency ID	NAA CA 5

The head of the department is the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, currently Chris Moraitis PSM, who reports to the Attorney-General for Australia, currently The Hon. Christian Porter MP.

History

The Attorney-General's Department is one of seven original Commonwealth Departments of state, commencing with the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. It is one of only three departments, along with Defence and Treasury, to have operated continuously under their original name and charter since Federation.[4]

Organisation

The department is organised into five groups, each headed by a Deputy Secretary. These Deputy Secretaries report to the Secretary who co-ordinates and devises departmental structure and policy.

These five groups are:

• Australian Government Solicitor
• Legal services and Families
• Integrity and International
• Industrial Relations
• Enabling Services

The Attorney-General's Department is located at the Robert Garran Offices, 3-5 National Circuit, Barton in the Australian Capital Territory.[5]

Departmental Secretary

The permanent secretary of the Attorney-General's Department is the non-political public service head of the department. This role dates from federation, and the first incumbent, Sir Robert Garran, was the first (and for a time the only) public servant employed by the federal government. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the first federal election and setting up the rest of the federal bureaucracy by transferring state government functions to the federal government.

From 1916, when the position of Solicitor-General of Australia was created as the second law officer and deputy of the Attorney-General, the permanent secretary served concurrently as Solicitor-General, until the two roles were separated in 1964. Under the Law Officers Act passed that year, the Solicitor-General's role was clarified as statutory counsel deputising for the Attorney-General, separate from the role of the permanent secretary.

On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Governor-General has appointed the following individuals as Secretary of the department:

Order	Official	Official title	Date appointment commenced	Date appointment ceased	Term in office	Ref(s)
1	Sir Robert Garran	Secretary of the Attorney‑General's Department	1 January 1901	9 February 1932	31 years, 39 days	[6]
2	Sir George Knowles		10 February 1932	8 May 1946	14 years, 87 days	[7]
3	Sir Kenneth Bailey		9 May 1946	2 February 1964	17 years, 269 days	[8]
4	Ted Hook		3 February 1964	2 February 1970	5 years, 364 days	[8][9]
5	Sir Clarrie Harders OBE		1970	July 1979	9 years	[10][11]
6	Alan Neaves		July 1979	March 1983	4 years	[12]
7	Pat Brazil AO		16 March 1983	1989	6 years	[13]
8	Alan Rose AO		1989	23 May 1994	5 years	[14]
9	Stephen Skehill		23 May 1994	1998	4 years	[15]
10	Tony Blunn AO		1998	17 December 1999	2 years	[16]
11	Robert Cornall AO		24 January 2000	31 August 2008	8 years, 220 days	[16][17]
12	Roger Wilkins AO		1 September 2008	31 August 2014	5 years, 364 days	[17][18][19]
13	Chris Moraitis PSM		15 September 2014	incumbent	6 years, 126 days	[20][21]

Mission and outcomes

The Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing in Deakin, ACT. The Office is a division of the Attorney-General's Department.

The mission of the department is "achieving a just and secure society". In pursuing this mission, the department works towards achieving *A just and secure society through the maintenance and improvement of Australia's law and justice framework and its national security and emergency management system".

Operational functions

The Administrative Arrangements Order made on 19 April 2018 details the following responsibilities to the Department:[22]

• Law and justice, including -
  • Administrative law
  • Alternative dispute resolution
  • Bankruptcy
  • Censorship
  • Constitutional law
  • Courts and tribunals
  • Human rights
  • International law
  • Law reform
  • Legal assistance
  • Legislative drafting
  • Marriage and family law
  • Personal property securities
• Legal services to the Commonwealth
• Administration of criminal justice, including -
  • Criminal law policy and principles of criminal responsibility
  • Matters relating to prosecution
  • Sentencing and management of federal offenders
  • Internal crime cooperation, including extradition and mutual assistance in criminal matters
• Protective security policy
• Administrative support for Royal Commissions and certain other inquiries
• Privacy
• Freedom of Information
• Management of government records
• Native title
• Fraud and anti-corruption policy
• Whole of government integrity policy and activities
• Work health and safety, rehabilitation and compensation
• Workplace relations policy development, advocacy and implementation
• Promotion of flexible workplace relations policies and practices, including workplace productivity

See also

• List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities
• Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council

References

1. CA 5: Attorney-General's Department, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 25 October 2013
2. Australian Government. "Budget Paper No. 1". 2013-14 Commonwealth Budget. Statement 6: Expenses and Net Capital Investment: Australian Government. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013.CS1 maint: location (link)
3. "Administrative Order Arrangements" (PDF). Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
4. Cornall, Robert (2 November 2007). "Redefining the role of Government lawyers in today's Public Service – ACLA National Conference 2007". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. The Attorney-General’s Department was one of the seven original Commonwealth departments of State. It is one of only three departments, along with Defence and The Treasury, which have operated for over one hundred years under their original name and broad charter.
5. "Contact us". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
6. Key People, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 11 February 2014
7. Whitlam, E.G. (1983), Knowles, Sir George Shaw (1882–1947), archived from the original on 28 February 2014
8. Jennings, Rosemary (2007), Hook, Edwin John (Ted) (1910–1990), archived from the original on 28 February 2014
9. "Obituary: Edwin Hook: Sound lawyer, good officer, reliable friend". The Canberra Times. 5 April 1990. p. 7. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
10. Whitlam, Edward Gough; Hughes, Tom (10 March 1997). "An Adviser Who Gave His All". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013.
11. Fraser, Malcolm (3 July 1979). "Retirement of Sir Clarrie Harders" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
12. Title: Senator the Honourable Gareth Evans, Attorney General with Alan Neaves, Secretary of the Attorney General's Department and another, National Archives of Australia
13. Hawke, Robert (16 March 1983). "Appointment of permanent heads" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
14. Mr Alan Rose AO, Australian Government Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, archived from the original on 4 February 2014
15. Keating, Paul (11 May 1994). "Statement by the Prime Minister" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
16. New Secretary Appointed To Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Politics, 8 December 1999, archived from the original on 30 April 2013
17. "Management and Accountability", Annual Report 2008–09, Attorney-General's Department, archived from the original on 12 February 2014
18. "New Secretary for Attorney-General's Department" (PDF), The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 24 (1), February 2009, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014
19. Thomson, Phillip (1 September 2014). "Retired public servant Roger Wilkins urges colleagues to loosen up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
20. Abbott, Tony (3 September 2014). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
21. Mannheim, Markus (3 September 2014). "Chris Moraitis joins the top table in Abbott's latest reshuffle of department heads". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
22. "Administrative Arrangements Order". Federal Register of Registration. Commonwealth of Australia. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.