50-586: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ( DFAT ) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations , international aid (using the branding Australian Aid ), consular services and trade and investment (including trade and investment promotion Austrade ). Australia's total official development assistance (ODA) (USD 3 billion) decreased in 2022 due to differences in Australia's financial year reporting and
100-639: A dominion of the British Empire in the then British Commonwealth meant its foreign relations were mostly defined by the United Kingdom . During this time, Australia's overseas activities were predominantly related to trade and commercial interests, while its external affairs were concerned mostly with immigration, exploration and publicity. The political and economic changes wrought by the Great Depression and Second World War, and
150-455: A Torres Strait Treaty Liaison Office on Thursday Island . Additionally, the department manages a network of 116 overseas posts , including Australian embassies, high commissions and consulates-general. DFAT also manages several agencies within its portfolio, including: DFAT also manages foundations, councils and institutes including: Australian Government [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Australian Government , also known as
200-424: A cabinet minister. The cabinet consists of the prime minister and senior ministers and makes most of the important policy decisions of the government. Members of the cabinet are selected by the prime minister and may be added or removed at any time, usually through a cabinet reshuffle . Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. The cabinet
250-562: A central platform of good government management as the orders set the basic structure of cabinet, ministerial responsibilities, portfolios, and departments. When an Administrative Arrangements Order orders departments to be split, cut, or combined, the costs involved in public service machinery of government may include: According to KPMG , in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Chief Minister of
300-642: A predominant influence over who was elected to Labor ministries, although the leaders of the party factions also exercised considerable influence. However, in 2007 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , assumed the power to choose the ministry alone. Later, the caucus regained this power in 2013. According to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald , ministerial positions are allocated by the Left and Right factions proportionally according to their representation in
350-713: A primary method to make machinery of government changes. At the Commonwealth Government level, Administrative Arrangements Orders (AAOs) are made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister formally allocating executive responsibility among ministers. AAOs establish Departments of State under the Constitution , including the principal matters and legislation dealt with by each department and its minister(s). The AAO
400-418: Is difficult to apply as many actions by executive agencies are wide-ranging, binding and conducted independently of Parliament. The executive can also be delegated legislative power through provisions allowing for statutory instruments and Henry VIII clauses . Ultimately whether power is executive or legislative is determined on a case-by-case basis, and involves the weighing up of various factors, rather than
450-584: Is generally only updated when functions move between departments, ordering machinery of government changes. Since 1901, there have been over 170 AAOs ordered by the Governor-General. Only one AAO remains active at any one time; when a new AAO is made, all previous AAOs are revoked. Administrative Arrangement Orders are generally published in the Commonwealth Gazette . Administrative Arrangements Orders are seen by some academics as
500-582: Is not a legal entity; it exists solely by convention. Its decisions do not in and of themselves have legal force. However, it serves as the practical expression of the Federal Executive Council , which is Australia's highest formal governmental body. In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the cabinet. All members of the cabinet are members of
550-551: Is the interconnected structures and processes of government , such as the functions and accountability of departments in the executive branch of government. The term is used particularly in the context of changes to established systems of public administration where different elements of machinery are created. The phrase 'machinery of government' was thought to have been first used by author John Stuart Mill in Considerations on Representative Government (1861). It
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#1732797283844600-580: The Australian Capital Territory . The head offices of all the federal departments are located in Canberra, along with Parliament House and the High Court . The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". This was the name used in many early federal government publications. However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for
650-484: The Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election . The prime minister is the head of the federal government and is a role which exists by constitutional convention, rather than by law. They are appointed to the role by the governor-general (the representative of the monarch of Australia ). The governor-general normally appoints the parliamentary leader who commands
700-726: The Commonwealth Government or simply as the Federal government , is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy . The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives (the lower house) and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of
750-561: The Department of Trade and Customs and the Department of External Affairs (DEA), headed by Harry Wollaston and Atlee Hunt respectively. The first DEA was abolished on 14 November 1916 and its responsibilities were undertaken by the Prime Minister's Department and the Department of Home and Territories . It was re-established under the same name on 21 December 1921. Until the Second World War , Australia's status as
800-698: The Governor may establish, alter and abolish government departments under powers provided in section 26 of the Public Service Act 2009 . In Tasmania , administrative arrangements are set out in Administrative Arrangements Orders The orders cover which Minister is responsible for the administration of legislation. In Victoria (Vic), government structure is set by an Order in Council made under section 10 of
850-850: The Governor of Queensland sets out the responsibilities of ministers and their portfolios in AAOs. AAOs are re-issued or amended when government structural changes take place. The biggest machinery of government changes in Queensland's history were in December 1989, under the Labor Government headed by Wayne Goss . Machinery of government changes made in March 2009 were also significant, collapsing 23 stand-alone government departments into 13. According to KPMG, in South Australia
900-636: The Public Administration Act 2004 . The Act gives the Governor of Victoria the power to create departments and allocate functions. Staff and work units can also be transferred between departments by declaration of the relevant Minister. According to KPMG, under section 35(1) of the Western Australian Public Sector Management Act 1994 , the Governor of Western Australia may establish, amalgamate or abolish government departments on
950-601: The ACT is given full power to allocate executive power to ministers and to establish government 'administrative units'. According to KPMG , in New South Wales (NSW) government structure is established under section 104 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 . The Act gives the Governor of New South Wales the power to create, rename or abolish any NSW Government department through
1000-462: The Constitution . These were defined by High Court Justice Anthony Mason , as powers "peculiarly adapted to the government of a nation and which cannot otherwise be carried on for the benefit of the nation". They have been found to include the power to provide financial stimulus payments to households during a financial crisis and the power to prevent "unlawful non-citizens" from entering
1050-551: The Dismissal of 1975. In that case, the Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the prime minister and government due to his conclusion that the government had failed to secure supply. The propriety of the use of the powers during that event remain highly contested. The Federal Executive Council is the body that formally advises the governor-general in the exercise of executive power. Decisions of
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#17327972838441100-680: The Executive Council. A senior member of the cabinet holds the office of vice-president of the Executive Council and acts as presiding officer of the Executive Council in the absence of the governor-general. The cabinet meets not only in Canberra but also in state capitals, most frequently Sydney and Melbourne. Kevin Rudd was in favour of the cabinet meeting in other places, such as major regional cities. There are Commonwealth Parliament Offices in each state capital, with those in Sydney located in 1 Bligh Street . Until 1956 all members of
1150-515: The King and the governor-general must follow the advice of the prime minister or other ministers in the exercise of his powers. Powers subject to the governor-general’s discretion are known as reserve powers. While certain reserve powers, such as the ability to choose the prime minister most likely to command the confidence of the lower house, are uncontroversial, others are subject to much greater debate. The most notable example of their use occurring in
1200-549: The Parliament. The King is not involved with the day-to-day operations of the government, belonging (according to the Bagehot formulation) to the "dignified" rather than the "efficient" part of government. While the executive power of the Commonwealth is formally vested in the monarch, the Constitution requires those powers to be exercisable by a governor-general, appointed by the monarch as their representative (but since
1250-501: The adoption of the 1931 Statute of Westminster (ratified by Australia in 1942), necessitated the establishment and expansion of Australian representation overseas, independent of the United Kingdom Foreign Office . Australia began to establish its first overseas missions (outside London ) in 1940, beginning with Washington, D.C. , and now has a network of over 80 diplomatic (and 22 trade) posts. The DEA
1300-588: The allocation of their portfolios. When Labor first held office under Chris Watson , Watson assumed the right to choose members of his cabinet. In 1907, however, the party decided that future Labor cabinets would be elected by the members of the Parliamentary Labor Party, the Caucus , and the prime minister would retain the right to allocate portfolios. This practice was followed until 2007. Between 1907 and 2007, Labor prime ministers exercised
1350-488: The application of a strict test. As most executive power is granted by statute, the executive power of the government is similarly limited to those areas in which the Commonwealth is granted the power to legislate under the constitution (primarily under section 51 ). They also retain certain powers traditionally part of the royal prerogative , such as the power to declare war and enter into treaties. Finally, there exists certain "nationhood powers", implied from section 61 of
1400-444: The appointing of Sir Isaac Isaacs in 1931, always appointed according to the advice of federal ministers, rather than British ministers). Members of the government do not exercise executive power of their own accord but are instead appointed by the governor-general as ministers, formally as the "Queen's [or King's] Ministers of State". As such, while government ministers make most major decisions in cabinet, if those decisions require
1450-414: The body give legal effect to decisions already deliberated at cabinet. All current and formers ministers are members of the council, although only current ministers are summoned to meetings. The governor-general usually presides at council meetings, but in his or her absence another minister nominated as the vice-president of the Executive Council presides at the meeting of the council. Since 1 June 2022,
1500-599: The bottom layer includes public servants , police, government departments and independent statutory bodies who directly implement policy and laws. Executive power is also difficult to clearly define. In the British context, it was defined by John Locke as all government power not legislative or judicial in nature. The key distinction is that while legislative power involves setting down rules of general application, executive power involves applying those rules to specific situations. In practice, however, this definition
1550-696: The branch was dissolved. In 2005, DFAT became embroiled in the Oil-for-Food Programme scandal after it was revealed it had approved the Australian Wheat Board 's (AWB) request allowing it to pay 'trucking charges' to Alia, a Jordanian trucking company with no actual involvement in the trucking of Australian wheat within Iraq . The Cole Inquiry into the AWB was established, however its terms of reference excluded any investigation of
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1600-575: The changes to the structure of government and the allocation of government functions between departments and ministers. Machinery of government changes may occur at any time, however the most significant changes generally occur immediately following an election. There is usually very little consultation or discussion prior to machinery of government changes in Australia, especially those following elections. The Commonwealth Government and some state and territory governments use Administrative Arrangements Orders (also called AAOs) as legal instruments as
1650-470: The confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives. Also by convention, the prime minister is a member of the lower house. The prime minister and their sworn ministers form the cabinet , the key decision-making organ of the government that makes policy and decides the agenda of the government. Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of
1700-553: The country . Ministers drawn from the Australian parliament form the core of the Australian Government. A subset of these ministers form the cabinet, the de facto highest executive body of the government. Ministers not part of cabinet belong to the outer ministry. Additionally, there are also assistant ministers (formally parliamentary secretaries ), responsible for a specific policy area, reporting directly to
1750-419: The formal endorsement of the governor-general in council, those decisions do not have legal force until approved by the Federal Executive Council , which is presided over by the governor-general. Similarly, laws passed by both houses of parliament require royal assent before being enacted, as the monarch is a constituent part of the Parliament. However, in all these cases, except for certain reserve powers,
1800-718: The issue of an executive order, acting on the advice of the elected government. In the Northern Territory (NT), according to KPMG, the Administrator of the Northern Territory determines government structural arrangements, acting on the advice of the government of the day. In Queensland (Qld), the Premier has sole responsibility for determining ministerial portfolios. On the Premier's advice,
1850-790: The ministry differs depending on their party. When the Liberal Party and its predecessors (the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party ) have been in coalition with the National Party or its predecessor the Country Party , the leader of the junior Coalition party has had the right to nominate their party's members of the Coalition ministry, and to be consulted by the prime minister on
1900-464: The ministry were members of the cabinet. The growth of the ministry in the 1940s and 1950s made this increasingly impractical, and in 1956 Robert Menzies created a two-tier ministry, with only senior ministers holding cabinet rank, also known within parliament as the front bench . This practice has been continued by all governments except the Whitlam government . The prime minister's power to select
1950-399: The name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations . The Whitlam government legislated the use of "Government of Australia" in 1973 in line with its policy of promoting national goals and aspirations. However, academic Anne Twomey argues that the government was also motivated by a desire to blur the differences between the Commonwealth and
2000-404: The other two branches of government, however, membership of the executive is not clearly defined. One definition describes the executive as a pyramid, consisting of three layers. At the top stands the king, as the symbolic apex and formal repository of executive power. Below him lies a second layer made up of the prime minister, cabinet and other ministers who in practice lead the executive. Finally,
2050-674: The overseas network. Additionally, DFAT employed 2,267 locally engaged staff (LES) in the overseas network. LES are citizens of the country in which the relevant DFAT Post is located, providing invaluable administrative and policy support to Australian officers whilst they conduct their overseas duties. The Department is structured into seven groups, each led by a Deputy Secretary at the SES Band 3 level. DFAT maintains offices in each state and mainland territory to provide consular and passport services, and to perform an important liaison service for business throughout Australia. In addition, it has
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2100-418: The parliament) and executive power (as ministers on behalf of the governor-general and the monarch). However, in accordance with responsible government , and to ensure accountability, actions of the government in its executive capacity are subject to scrutiny from parliament. The Australian Government is headquartered in the executive wing of Parliament House , located in the nation's capital, Canberra , in
2150-726: The recommendation of the Prime Minister , the Governor-General has appointed the following individuals as Secretary to the department: The Department is responsible to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment , the Minister for International Development and the Pacific , and the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. As at June 2023, 3,881 Australian Public Service (APS) staff worked for DFAT in Australia and 959 worked in
2200-458: The role of DFAT. The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters as laid out in an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013: Four additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the Department, as of 2022: DFAT is administered by a senior executive, comprising a secretary and five deputy secretaries. On
2250-512: The states in an attempt to increase federal power. The Parliament of Australia website also notes that the name "Australian Government" is preferable in order to avoid confusion with the Commonwealth of Nations and the US federal government by those not familiar with Australia's system of government. This terminology remains preferred by the government. However, the terms Commonwealth Government and federal government are also common. In some contexts,
2300-459: The term "government" refers to all public agencies that exercise the power of the State , whether legislative, executive or judicial. The government's primary role, in its executive capacity, is to implement the laws passed by the parliament. However, laws are frequently drafted according to the interests of the executive branch as the government often also controls the legislative branch. Unlike
2350-406: The timing of its COVID-19-related expenditure, representing 0.19% of gross national income (GNI) . The head of the department is its secretary , presently Jan Adams . She reports to Penny Wong , who has held the position of Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2022. The department finds its origins in two of the seven original Commonwealth Departments established following Federation in 1901:
2400-708: The vice-president has been senator Katy Gallagher . As of 17 August 2024 , there are 16 departments of the Australian Government. Additionally, there are four departments which support the Parliament of Australia : The following corporations are prescribed by Acts of Parliament: As of March 2024 , the following Corporate Commonwealth entities are prescribed as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs): The following Commonwealth companies are prescribed as GBEs: Machinery of government#Australian Government Administrative Arrangement Orders The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG )
2450-653: Was notably used to a public audience by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a radio broadcast in 1934, commenting on the role of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) in delivering the New Deal . A number of national governments, including those of Australia , Canada , South Africa , and the United Kingdom , have adopted the term in official usage. In Australia, the terms 'machinery of government changes' and 'administrative re-arrangements' are interchangeable and are used to refer to
2500-719: Was renamed the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970. On 24 July 1987, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Trade were amalgamated by the Hawke government to form the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). In 1994 , the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS, formerly Australian Information Service) became a branch in DFAT known as the International Public Affairs Branch. In 1996
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