Attorney-General's Department (Australia)

Attorney-General's Department

Robert Garran Offices, head office of the Attorney-General's Department, Barton, Australian Capital Territory.
Department overview
Formed	1 January 1901 [1]
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Employees	1,195 (estimate for 2024–25) [2]
Annual budget	A$1.138 billion (2024–25) [3]
Minister responsible	Mark Dreyfus, Attorney-General of Australia
Department executive	Katherine Jones PSM , Secretary  (2021–present)
Child agencies	Administrative Review Tribunal Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Australian Human Rights Commission Australian Federal Police Australian Financial Security Authority Australian Institute of Criminology Australian Law Reform Commission Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Federal Court of Australia High Court of Australia Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security National Anti-Corruption Commission Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman Office of the Special Investigator Office of Parliamentary Counsel
Website	www.ag.gov.au
Agency ID	NAA CA 5

The Attorney-General's Department, also known as the Department of the Attorney-General, is the law enforcement and justice department of the Australian Government. The department is responsible for improving Australia's federal law and justice framework and provides legal services to the Australian Government. ^[4] The department also oversees various sub-agencies and services including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The head of the department is Attorney-General for Australia, currently Mark Dreyfus, who is assisted by the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, currently Katherine Jones PSM .

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. ^[5]

Organisation

The department is organised into five groups, ^[6] 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
• Justice and Communities
• National Security and Criminal Justice
• Integrity and International
• Enabling Services.

The Attorney-General's Department is located at the Robert Garran Offices, 3-5 National Circuit, Barton in the Australian Capital Territory. ^[7]

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 (1901-01-01)	9 February 1932 (1932-02-09)	31 years, 39 days	[8]
2	Sir George Knowles		10 February 1932 (1932-02-10)	8 May 1946 (1946-05-08)	14 years, 87 days	[9]
3	Sir Kenneth Bailey		9 May 1946 (1946-05-09)	2 February 1964 (1964-02-02)	17 years, 269 days	[10]
4	Ted Hook		3 February 1964 (1964-02-03)	2 February 1970 (1970-02-02)	5 years, 364 days	[10] [11]
5	Sir Clarrie Harders OBE		1970	July 1979	9 years	[12] [13]
6	Alan Neaves		July 1979	March 1983	4 years	[14]
7	Pat Brazil AO		16 March 1983 (1983-03-16)	1989	6 years	[15]
8	Alan Rose AO		1989	23 May 1994 (1994-05-23)	5 years	[16]
9	Stephen Skehill		23 May 1994 (1994-05-23)	1998	4 years	[17]
10	Tony Blunn AO		1998	17 December 1999 (1999-12-17)	2 years	[18]
11	Robert Cornall AO		24 January 2000 (2000-01-24)	31 August 2008 (2008-08-31)	8 years, 220 days	[18] [19]
12	Roger Wilkins AO		1 September 2008 (2008-09-01)	31 August 2014 (2014-08-31)	5 years, 364 days	[19] [20] [21]
13	Chris Moraitis PSM		15 September 2014 (2014-09-15)	15 September 2021 (2021-09-15)	6 years, 110 days	[22] [23] [24]
14	Katherine Jones PSM		16 August 2021 (2021-08-16)	incumbent	3 years, 195 days	[25]

Mission and outcomes

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

The mission of the department is to "deliver programs and policies to maintain and improve Australia's law and justice framework" and to provide legal services to the Australian Government. ^[26]

Operational functions

The Administrative Arrangements Order made on 1 June 2022 details the following responsibilities to the Department: ^[27]

• Law and justice, including -
  • Administrative law
  • Alternative dispute resolution
  • Bankruptcy
  • 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
• Law enforcement policy and operations
• 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
• Protective services at Commonwealth establishments and diplomatic and consular premises in Australia
• Administrative support for Royal Commissions and certain other inquiries
• Privacy
• Freedom of Information
• Native title
• Fraud and anti-corruption policy
• Whole of government integrity policy and activities
• Copyright
• National child protection policy and strategy

See also

• Australia portal
• Politics portal

• Attorney-General's Department (South Australia)
• Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
• List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities

References

1. CA 5: Attorney-General's Department, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 9 February 2021
2. Australian Government. "Portfolio Budget Statements: Attorney-General's Department" (PDF). 2024-25 Commonwealth Budget. Australian Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2024.
3. Australian Government. "Portfolio Budget Statements: Attorney-General's Department" (PDF). 2024-25 Commonwealth Budget. Australian Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2024.
4. "Administrative Order Arrangements". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
5. 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.
6. "Who we are". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
7. "Contact us". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
8. Key People, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 11 February 2014
9. Whitlam, E.G. (1983), "Sir George Shaw Knowles (1882–1947)", Knowles, Sir George Shaw (1882–1947), National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 28 February 2014
10. Jennings, Rosemary (2007), "Edwin John (Ted) Hook (1910–1990)", Hook, Edwin John (Ted) (1910–1990), National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 28 February 2014
11. "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.
12. 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.
13. Fraser, Malcolm (3 July 1979). "Retirement of Sir Clarrie Harders" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
14. Title: Senator the Honourable Gareth Evans, Attorney General with Alan Neaves, Secretary of the Attorney General's Department and another, National Archives of Australia
15. Hawke, Robert (16 March 1983). "Appointment of permanent heads" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
16. Mr Alan Rose AO, Australian Government Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, archived from the original on 4 February 2014
17. Keating, Paul (11 May 1994). "Statement by the Prime Minister" (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
18. New Secretary Appointed To Attorney-General's Department, Australian Politics, 8 December 1999, archived from the original on 30 April 2013
19. "Management and Accountability", Annual Report 2008–09, Attorney-General's Department, archived from the original on 12 February 2014
20. "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
21. Thomson, Phillip (1 September 2014). "Retired public servant Roger Wilkins urges colleagues to loosen up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
22. Abbott, Tony (3 September 2014). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
23. Mannheim, Markus (3 September 2014). "Chris Moraitis joins the top table in Abbott's latest reshuffle of department heads". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
24. "Attorney General's Department Annual Report 2020-21". Transparency portal.
25. "Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department". Our ministers – Attorney-General’s portfolio. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
26. "What we do". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
27. "Administrative Arrangements Order" (PDF). Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.