Department of Defence (Australia)

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The Department of Defence and the ADF Headquarters are located in the Russell Offices complex in Canberra

The Department of Defence is an Australian Department of State. It consists of the Australian Defence Force (members of the Navy, Army and Air Force) and civilians in the Australian Public Service. The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests. It 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 Department conists of nine major organisational groups:

Australian Defence Headquarters
Royal Australian Navy
Australian Army
Royal Australian Air Force
Defence Intelligence Group
Defence Support Group
Chief Information Officer
Joint Logistics Group
Defence Science and Technology Organisation

The Defence Materiel Organisation is a prescribed agency within the Department of Defence resposnsible for acquisition, sustinment and disposal of Defence equipment.

The Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary for the Department of Defence jointly manage the Defence organisation under a 'diarchy', a commonly used term to describe the relationship between the Chief of the Defence Force and Secretary, who both report directly to the Minister for Defence. The diarchy is a governance structure unique in the Australian Commonwealth public service.