Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Annual Report 2004-05 Part 1 Overviews

Readers' Guide

This is the Secretary's report to the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice and Customs for the financial year 2004–05.

The report meets the Department's formal reporting obligations under the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's Requirements for annual reports for departments, executive agencies and FMA Act bodies of June 2005, as approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

The report sets out progress the Department made towards fulfilling its mission of achieving a just and secure society.

Structure of the report

The report is in six parts.

Part 1: Overviews

Part 2: Performance reports

Part 3: Management and accountability

Part 4: Financial statements - PDF 1.5MB

Part 5: Appendixes

Part 6: Glossaries and indexes

Further information

As soon as possible after its tabling in Parliament, the annual report will be accessible on the Department's web site, http://www.ag.gov.au.

Secretary's review

Robert Cornall, Secretary
Robert Cornall, Secretary

The Attorney-General's Department contributes to the Government's policy agenda in many areas. Examples of its achievements in 2004–05 are set out in thehighlights which follow this review.

When I reflect on the Department's overall performance during the year, five things stand out.

International involvement

The first reflection is that the Department has had a much increased international involvement over the last few years. This involvement has included our traditional role of providing advice on Australia's obligations under international law in areas ranging from treaty negotiations to free trade agreements and military engagements.

Shoulder ride in Bougainville
Shoulder ride in Bougainville. Photo by Richard Fairbrother.

But it has also included direct participation in a number of Australia's important recent international commitments. These examples demonstrate the point.

Australia and Indonesia co-hosted a regional ministerial forum on counter-terrorism in 2004. The forum established a Legal Issues Working Group chaired by the Attorney-General's Department to improve cooperation and encourage implementation of United Nations counter-terrorism obligations. Since early 2005, we have provided drafting and policy expertise to develop a counter-terrorism bill for Cambodia which can be used as a template for similar laws in other nearby countries which do not have terrorism laws.

The Department is assisting Pacific island countries to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

We have been negotiating arrangements for extradition of alleged offenders and for mutual assistance in criminal matters with countries in our region to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases, including terrorism.

Another illustration is our participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative, under which 20 countries are taking steps to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by limiting the movement of WMD and their components.

Then there is the Enhanced Cooperation Program (ECP) for Papua New Guinea. One of the program's aims is to help PNG's law and justice sector to fight corruption, protect the citizens of PNG and ensure that the country does not become a haven for criminal and terrorist activity.

Under the ECP, the Attorney-General's Department agreed to provide judges, prosecutors, legal policy officers and a solicitor-general. Some of them are in Port Moresby now, working in those positions, despite the complications caused by the successful constitutional challenge to aspects of the ECP in the Wenge Case.

A final example is the involvement of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in our response to the Boxing Day tsunami. EMA provided national management and coordination for seven Australian Government medical and public health teams and an engineering team sent to Banda Aceh, Phuket, the Maldives and Sri Lanka as part of Operation Tsunami Assist.

Diversity of activities

The second reflection concerns the diversity of our activities.

The Attorney-General's Department administers 145 Acts of Parliament. They cover telephone interception and copyright; extradition and age discrimination; family law and the Geneva Conventions; criminal law and native title.

That in itself creates a broad range of challenging responsibilities. But what has been particularly noticeable over the last few years is the increase in our administrativeroles.

These include the establishment of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments; the coordination of national preparedness and response to all sorts of disasters through the Australian Emergency Management Committee; the management of the Australian Government's national security media awareness campaign; the National Security Hotline; security for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and APEC meetings in 2007; and management of the ASNET secure communications system.

Whole-of-government

Next is our increasing participation with other departments and agencies in whole-of-government initiatives.

National security measures are in the forefront of this category. The Protective Security Coordination Centre provides a great deal of support to the activities of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and manages our relationships with States and Territories. Emergency Management Australia supplies the secretariat for the Australian Emergency Management Committee. The Department gives legal and policy advice to portfolio agencies and other departments. In the international area, we frequently work in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We are leading a significant cross-portfolio program to strengthen Australia's identity security system.

The most recent addition to this list is our participation in the whole-of-government approach to the delivery of services to Indigenous people since 1 July 2004. We are directly responsible for the Indigenous law and justice programs. During the year, we placed contracts for the provision of these services with successful tenderers in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland and established 13 new family violence prevention legal centres.

Equally important, we contributed to shared responsibility agreements with other departments and provided advice on the legal issues relating to the more effective economic use of Indigenous land.

Adaptability

Taking on the Indigenous law and justice programs is one recent example of the Department's ability to adapt to meet the changing needs of government. Establishing the National Security Hotline is another. But they are not the only ones.

A very important part of the Government's family policy is the introduction of major reforms to family law. The Department was allocated funds in the 2005-06 Budget to implement these reforms, which include the establishment of 65 family relationship centres over the next three years, in conjunction with the Department of Family and Community Services. Families will be encouraged to go to the centres at the first sign of relationship difficulties to obtain information and referral to services. Separating families will access the centres for advice and dispute resolution.

Another area is critical infrastructure protection. One major project which commenced during the year was to test computer vulnerability. Under that project, we join with non-government bodies and retain computer experts to attack that body's computer network to detect weaknesses in order to improve its security.

This adaptability is, in my view, the main reason why the Attorney-General's Department is one of only three departments of state that commenced with Federation on 1 January 1901 and are still operating under the same name and broadly the same charter 104 years later.

Visiting the new National Emergency Management Coordination Centre at Bruce
Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP (right), visits the new National Emergency Management Coordination Centre at Bruce with Secretary Robert Cornall (left) and Director-General if Emergency Management Australia, David Templeman.

We are able - and will continue - to meet the Government's needs today and adapt to meet different needs tomorrow. Thevalidity of this observation can be tested by comparing the Department's roles and responsibilities say 10 years ago with the roles and responsibilities highlighted in this report.

Resources and funding

The fifth reflection is that adaptability and growth bring their own pressures onto an organisation.

In our case, extraordinary increases in workload since 1 July 2001 meant that the Department's running costs exceeded its budget allocation. We undertook an analysis of our financial position during the year with the Department of Finance and Administration. That review resulted in the Department's base funding being increased by $7.5 million from July 2005.

However, our funding will only be adequate to meet the Department's projected financial needs if we manage it very carefully. We engaged a new Chief Finance Officer in April 2005 to assist in this task and are paying very close attention to expenditure and cost control. In addition, we are working hard to improve our management of new policy proposals to better align our expenditures with the allocations made for each year.

We also restructured the Department in 2004–05 to reflect the changes in our activities. The current structure is set out in the organisational chart included in this annual report. The National Security and Criminal Justice Group includes all of the areas of the Department that fall under that new title. The divisions within the group reflect our current national security, criminal law and law enforcement responsibilities, including critical infrastructure protection and identity security projects.

The Civil Justice and Legal Services Group now has divisions covering all of the Department's civil responsibilities. The administrative support groups have been varied to include a third group - the Financial Services Group - to more strictly oversee our financial management.

Our growth during the year meant that we continued to acquire more accommodation. Our Corporate Services and Information and Knowledge Services Groups responded well to the demanding task of establishing new offices in a short time with a minimum of fuss and disruption.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to the coming year, we have a lot to do.

We must implement the new Indigenous affairs arrangements. We have to deliver the family law reforms. The Government has foreshadowed major enhancements to national security laws and the aviation security review undertaken by Sir John Wheeler could lead to further work for the Department. The Government's ambitious program of free trade negotiations will stretch our international law resources; copyright is becoming an increasingly important area of our activities (particularly in free trade negotiations); and the security demands of the Commonwealth Games and preparations for APEC necessitate the engagement and training of more staff. We have a leading role in the implementation and management of the continuity of government plan.

Hurricane Katrina and the demolition of New Orleans have dramatically underscored the importance of thorough preparation for, and an immediate and coordinated response to, a catastrophe, however caused. Reviewing and enhancing disaster plans in conjunction with State and Territory colleagues will be a major part of Emergency Management Australia's work in 2005-06.

Opportunities not guarantees

While these new demands and changing responsibilities have provided the Department wit h the opportunity to take a more central role in achieving the Government's agenda, we recognise they do not come with a guarantee that we can meet the challenges they present.

The fact that we have done so during 2004–05 is the result of the combined efforts of all our staff and I congratulate each of them on their contribution to our successes over the last year.

Robert Cornall signature

Robert Cornall

Highlights

National security and counter-terrorism reforms

The Department was instrumental in building on national security and counter-terrorism reforms, assisting the Government with a range of legislation in the national security, counter-terrorism and telecommunications interception areas (see Output 2.2).

Appointments

Some significant court appointments were made, namely: a Chief Federal Magistrate, eight magistrates and the Chief Executive Officer to the Federal Magistrates Court; the Chief Justice and two judges to the Family Court of Australia; three judges to the Federal Court of Australia; and one judge to the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island.

The additional funding in the May 2005 Budget for the appointment of two additional federal magistrates will enable the Federal Magistrates Court to hear family law disputes in the Sydney CBD on a regular basis (see Output 1.1).

Administrative law reform

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Amendment Act 2005 commenced on 16 May 2005. The Act implements a range of reforms aimed at delivering efficient and effective justice for parties involved in AAT disputes (see Output 1.1).

Accessible legislation—Federal Register of Legislative Instruments

On 1 January 2005, the Legislative Instruments Act 2003introduced a new regime for managing Commonwealth legislative instruments. It established the new Federal Register of Legislative Instruments as an authoritative source of legislative instruments in electronic form. The Act requires that all new legislative instruments must be registered to be enforceable and that all existing legislative instruments must be lodged for registration by the end of 2007 if they are to remain in force (see see Output 1.1).

The Department developed a new IT system to manage the lodgment and registration of the large number of legislative instruments requiring registration, and created a new web site, ComLaw, to make the contents of the Register accessible to the public. As ComLaw also contains Commonwealth Acts and other legislative material, it provides the public with access to both primary and subordinate legislation in the one integrated site (see see Output 1.5).

Family law reform—the Government's response to Every picture tells a story

A major focus of the year was assisting the Government to develop its response to the parliamentary report on child custody Every picture tells a story. Working closely with the Department of Family and Community Services, we undertook public consultations and provided advice to the Government on a range of reforms responding to that report. In May 2005, the Government announced the biggest ever investment in the family law system - costing $397 million over four years to implement - and the most significant changes to family law in 30 years (see see Output 1.3).

Australia's National Framework for Human Rights—National Action Plan

On 23 December 2004, the Australian Government published and launched a new framework for the protection of human rights in Australia. This document is the first substantial revision of Australia's National Action Plan on Human Rights since 1994.

The new framework outlines the Government's priorities for enhancing the enjoyment of human rights in Australia. The document also describes the comprehensive human rights protections that are already in place in Australia (see Output 1.1).

Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement

Preparation for the entry into force of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) on 1 January 2005 involved close collaboration between officers of our Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and was made possible by the enactment of final implementing legislation shortly before that date. This legislation resulted from intensive deliberations and the rapid preparation of amendments to copyright legislation (see see Output 1.6).

Legal Services Directions

In 2004–05, we enhanced our communication of information about the Legal Services Directions issued under the Judiciary Act 1903 to those subject to the Directions. For example, we engaged stakeholders through a regular discussion group at which agencies exchanged information about issues of common interest in relation to the Directions and their purchase of legal services. We also revamped our web site, www.ag.gov.au/olsc, including by publishing guidance notes on topical legal issues on that site (see page 51), and expanded our email circulation list, which we used to notify web site changes and other updates.

Native title—Indigenous Land Use Agreements

We worked to promote fair and sustainable outcomes in native title matters. The Government's continued focus was on resolving native title claims through consent determinations and through the development and negotiation of Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). Our work on native title has also seen an increased engagement in consultations on broader Indigenous policy issues. This includes developing possible measures to ensure that Indigenous title to land facilitates home ownership and business opportunities for Indigenous people (see see Output 1.7).

Indigenous legal aid

The purpose of this program is to provide high quality, culturally sensitive, and accessible legal aid services to Indigenous Australians. In late 2004, the Australian Government commenced a new approach to funding Indigenous legal aid services which involved progressively moving away from a historical grant based scheme to an open tendering process.

In April 2005, the Attorney-General announced the successful tenders in Victoria and Western Australia. In both these States, the relevant Aboriginal Legal Service was awarded the contract. In June 2005, the successful tenderers were announced for Queensland. Together these three States are the beneficiaries of contracts worth over $64 million over a three year period. Requests for tender for all other States and the Northern Territory will be released during 2005-06 (see see Output 1.8).

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services units

In the 2004–05 Budget, the Australian Government allocated $22.7 million over four years to fund the expansion of the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) program. The program funds a series of FVPLS units, located in high-need rural and remote areas. The new funding, which the Attorney-General approved in December 2004, was to increase the program's existing 13 units to 26 units. On 21 June 2005, the Attorney-General announced that the Australian Government had successfully delivered in full on its commitment to expand the FVPLS program by 13 units (see see Output 1.8).

Legal aid agreements

Following intensive negotiations between the Commonwealth and each jurisdiction as well as National Legal Aid, in March and April 2005 State and Territory governments and legal aid commissions signed new agreements for the provision of legal aid services for Commonwealth law matters. The new agreements enable additional funding from the 2004–05 Budget to flow to legal aid commissions. This additional funding enabled redistribution of legal aid funds across jurisdictions to reflect demographic and socioeconomic variables as well as individual circumstances of each jurisdiction, increase caps on grants associated with family law matters, establish a family law duty lawyer service and increase the minimum amount paid to private legal aid practitioners in Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia (see see Output 1.3).

Extended continental shelf

The Office of International Law, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Geoscience Australia, prepared and presented Australia's submission to support its assertion of an 'extended continental shelf' to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The lodgment of Australia's submission in late 2004 and its presentation to the Commission members in April 2005 represented the culmination of years of detailed work necessary to support this important and exclusive area of Australian seabed jurisdiction (see see Output 1.4).

Extradition and mutual assistance relationships in the region

Strengthening extradition and mutual assistance relationships in the region is a high priority for Australia in the fight against transnational crime in our region. Australia shares a common goal with countries in the region of tackling crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering and people trafficking. In 2004–05, the Department undertook extensive work to advance bilateral treaties on mutual assistance, extradition and international transfer of prisoners. These treaties will play a vital role in enhancing international criminal law cooperation in the region (see see Output 2.1).

Combating people trafficking

The Department continued to coordinate the Government's implementation of the $20 million package to combat people trafficking (announced in October 2003). A key measure implemented in 2004–05 was the Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Persons Offences) Act 2005, which completed the legislative review announced in October 2003. The passage of this legislation enabled Australia to progress the ratification of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (see see Output 2.1).

Migration litigation reform

The Migration Litigation Reform Bill 2005, which is an integral part of the Government's comprehensive package of reforms to improve migration litigation processes, was passed in the House of Representatives (see see Output 1.1).

Critical infrastructure protection

Our critical infrastructure protection (CIP) activities were significantly expanded this year with a major allocation of new resources and tasks. We commenced two new major projects: computer network vulnerability and CIP modelling and analysis. These projects work in support of, and through, the Trusted Information Sharing Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (TISN). The TISN expanded to cover two more sectors: icons and public gatherings, and transport. CIP activities within the TISN and the National Counter-Terrorism Committee were brought into closer alignment, with positive benefits for both government and business (see see Output 2.2).

Coordination of responses to national security threats

During 2004–05, the Department continued to provide whole-of-government coordination for preventing or responding to threats to our national security. This integral function was largely achieved through the 24 hour operations of the Protective Security Coordination Centre's Watch Office and the National Security Hotline. The effectiveness and primacy of this information coordination, consolidation and dissemination role, was successfully demonstrated during the various 'white powder' incidents throughout June 2005 (see see Output 2.4).

Enhanced counter-terrorism capability

On behalf of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, the Department made a major contribution to enhancing nation-wide counter-terrorism capability through the conduct of six major counter-terrorism exercises throughout the country and planning for exercise Mercury 05 to be held in October 2005. Further counter-terrorism measures included the revision of the National Counter-Terrorism Handbook and work on the current revision of the National Counter-Terrorism Plan (see see Output 2.4).

Building awareness of protective security

In 2004–05, the Australian Government's Protective Security Manual (PSM), issued by the Attorney-General's Department on behalf of the Australian Government was comprehensively reviewed and redrafted. In April 2005, the Protective Security Training Centre achieved status as a Registered Training Organisation under the Australian Quality Training Framework. In May 2005, the annual Security in Government Conference was held in Canberra, with the theme 'Working Together for Australia's Security'. The conference continues to provide a valuable forum for discussion of protective security policies and for sharing experience with the latest security technologies (see see Output 2.4).

Emergency management

In response to the devastating 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, some 36 Emergency Management Australia (EMA) staff were recalled from leave. Most worked in the National Emergency Management Coordination Centre, with the remainder serving as liaison officers in Indonesia, Thailand and with other agencies, including an officer to assist United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination operations. The immediate assistance involved the coordination and deployment of Australian Government medical, engineering and logistics teams to the affected areas. EMA provided assistance with repatriation of injured and deceased Australians, including liaison with State and Territory Coroners (see Outcome 2).

The 2004 National Australian Safer Community Awards were presented by the Attorney-General on 1 December 2004. The awards highlighted the benefits for the Australian community of a wide range of cooperative and innovative projects dealing with complex community issues relating to emergency management. The involvement of the insurance industry in a number of the award-winning projects underscored the excellent partnerships being established between private enterprise and the emergency management sector. Participation by the local government sector in the awards was encouraging, with four of the 13 awards directly involving municipalities.

Protection for dignitaries and special events

The Department successfully provided security coordination for some 136 visits to Australia by foreign dignitaries. We also worked closely with stakeholders to ensure that the 90th Anzac Day services at Gallipoli proceeded without serious security incident. In addition, the Department continued collaborative security planning and preparations in readiness for the Commonwealth Games in March 2006 (see Output 2.4).

In 2004–05, the Department established the APEC 2007 Security Branch to coordinate security arrangements for Australia's hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2007. Planning for this major international event has commenced in partnership with a range of Australian Government, State and Territory agencies (see Output 2.4).

Portfolio overview

Portfolio ministers

 Attorney-General The Hon Philip Ruddock MP
Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP

Responsibilities

Minister for Justice and Customs Senator the Hon Chris Ellison
Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator The Hon Chris Ellison

Responsibilities

Portfolio structure

The Attorney-General's Department is the central policy and coordinating element of the portfolio. The portfolio also includes the statutory office of the Solicitor-General, Second Law Officer of the Commonwealth (the Attorney-General is the First Law Officer).

The bodies within the Attorney-General's portfolio are grouped below by subject matter/function, and in alphabetical order, for ease of reference. Annual reporting requirements and arrangements for portfolio elements not covered by this report are set out at Appendix 1.

Administrative law
Administrative Review Council

Bankruptcy
Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia

Censorship and classification
Classification Board
Classification Review Board
Office of Film and Literature Classification

Common police services
Australasian Centre for Policing Research
Australian Institute of Police Management
CrimTrac
National Crime Statistics Unit
National Institute of Forensic Science

Courts and tribunals
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Copyright Tribunal
Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal
Family Court of Australia Federal Court of Australia
Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal
High Court of Australia
National Native Title Tribunal

Criminal law and law enforcement
Australian Crime Commission
Australian Federal Police
Australian Institute of Criminology
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
Criminology Research Council
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Customs
Australian Customs Service

Drafting and other legislative services
Office of Parliamentary Counsel

Human rights
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

Law reform
Australian Law Reform Commission

Legal services
Australian Government Solicitor

Marriage and family law
Family Law Council

National security
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

Privacy
Office of the Privacy Commissioner

Departmental overview

Role and mission

The Attorney-General's Department serves the people of Australia by providing essential expert support to the Government in the maintenance and improvement of Australia's law and justice, and national security and emergency management systems.

The Department is the central policy and coordinating element of the Attorney-General's portfolio, for which the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Customs are responsible.

The mission of the Attorney-General's Department is achieving a just and secure society.

Outcomes and outputs framework

In pursuing its mission, the Department works towards achieving two outcomes:

Outcome 1: An equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice

Outcome 2: Coordinated federal criminal justice, security and emergency management activity, for a safer Australia

The Department's outcomes and outputs structure and performance targets are set out each year in the Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES). This annual report responds directly to the performance measures established in those accountability documents, giving a clear indication of the Department's intended and actual performance for the year.

Two changes have been made to our outcomes and outputs structure since our 2003-04 report:

Organisational structure

The Department's organisational structure is aligned as closely as possible with the outcomes and outputs structure, as shown in Figure 1 on page 26.

The Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice and Legal Services Group, has responsibility for outputs within Outcome 1.

The Deputy Secretary, National Security and Criminal Justice Group, is responsible for outputs falling under Outcome 2.

The General Manager, Information and Knowledge Services Group; the General Manager, Corporate Services Group; and the General Manager, Financial Services Group, support the two deputy secretaries in producing all the Department's outputs.

The role of the General Manager, Financial Services Group as Chief Finance Officer was created in April 2005 to support the Secretary in discharging financial management responsibilities in accordance with relevant legislation and to achieve high quality financial performance.

Division and office responsibilities

The functions of the divisions and offices, within broad structural groupings, are described below. The descriptions reflect the Department's structure at 30 June 2005.

Civil Justice and Legal Services Group

The Civil Justice Division (CJD) is responsible for legal and policy advice on family law (including primary dispute resolution and related services for separated families), administrative law, evidence, service and execution of process, legal practice and procedure, and courts and tribunals. It is also responsible for promoting international cooperation on civil legal procedures. In addition, the Division provides research and support services to the Administrative Review Council, the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council and the Family Law Council.

The Indigenous Justice and Legal Assistance Division (IJLAD) is responsible for the development, implementation and administration of Australian Government policy on legal aid, including management of the Legal Aid Commission program and the Community Legal Services program. The Division is also responsible for the administration of various law and justice programs to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Division also provides financial assistance in matters arising under a number of statutory and non-statutory schemes.

The Information Law and Human Rights Division (ILHRD) provides legal and policy advice relating to human rights, privacy, freedom of information, parliamentary privilege, defamation, electronic commerce and copyright and related rights.

The Legal Services and Native Title Division (LSNTD) supports the Attorney-General in the performance of his role as First Law Officer, providing advice on litigation policy and guidance on the performance of the Commonwealth's legal work. The Division is also responsible for advising the Attorney-General on constitutional policy issues and, with the relevant portfolio agency, on censorship and bankruptcy. The Division coordinates departmental support for the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General and provides the International Legal Services Advisory Council with a secretariat and with advice on international trade in legal services.

The Division is also responsible for the formulation and provision of policy advice on native title, and for assisting the Attorney-General in the administration of the Native Title Act 1993. This includes advising on the operation of the Native Title Act and the native title system, assisting Commonwealth agencies to carry out future acts under the Native Title Act, and managing Commonwealth involvement in native title mediation and litigation.

The Office of International Law (OIL) provides legal advice and advocacy services on issues involving international law, and assists with the development and implementation of international law projects. OIL also undertakes international human rights report writing and complaints work.

The Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing (OLDP) is responsible for drafting Regulations and other legislative instruments; giving advice to the Attorney-General, Ministers, and departments and agencies about drafting and interpreting legislative instruments; operating the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, established on 1January2005 by the Legislative Instruments Act 2003; consolidating Commonwealth Acts and Regulations; publishing Commonwealth legislation in electronic form on the ComLaw and SCALEplus web sites; printing and distributing Acts and Select Legislative Instruments; and publishing the Government Notices series of the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.

National Security and Criminal Justice Group

The Criminal Justice Division (CrJD) is responsible for policy advice, and for the administration and improvement of legislation and international arrangements (bilateral and multilateral) relating to criminal law and the criminal justice process, including issues that address the challenges that terrorism has brought to the criminal justice system. CrJD is also responsible for policy matters relating to operational law enforcement agencies, illicit drugs, identity security, emerging financial sector crime and firearms. It also administers the National Crime Prevention Program, the National Community Crime Prevention Programme, programs of expenditure funded under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the Agreement between the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government establishing a juvenile pre-charge diversion program and Aboriginal Interpreter Services. It is responsible for managing casework requests for extradition, mutual assistance, the international transfer of prisoners and federal prisoners administration. It also provides secretariat support to the Ministerial Council on the Administration of Justice and provides law and justice assistance in the South Pacific.

Emergency Management Australia (EMA) - in conjunction with a wide range of Commonwealth authorities, State and Territory agencies, local government and industry bodies - develops strategic policy in support of emergency management initiatives, sponsors partnerships between emergency management and other sector stakeholders, develops State and Territory capability in the emergency management sector in order to protect life and property, and facilitates the process of developing resilient and sustainable communities. EMA coordinates Australian Government physical assistance to States and Territories, upon request, during major disasters and delivers senior-level emergency management education and training programs. As an agent of AusAID, EMA has a significant relationship with the countries of the South Pacific region.

The Protective Security Coordination Centre (PSCC) is responsible for coordinating and managing, in cooperation with federal, State and Territory agencies, Australia's protective security and counter-terrorism and crisis management arrangements. It coordinates protection arrangements for high-risk persons, premises and facilities, including ministers and their staff, foreign diplomats and visiting foreign dignitaries, as well as special event security. The PSCC Watch Office channels communications between the Australian Government and States and Territories on national security and counter-terrorism matters, including time-critical information reported by the public through the National Security Hotline. Both the Watch Office and National Security Hotline operate 24 hours a day.

The PSCC also supports the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Customs by providing policy advice and implementing government decisions in the field of protective security. This includes the provision of security awareness training and security vetting services.

The Security and Critical Infrastructure Division (SCID) is responsible for the administration and development of legislation and the provision of legal and policy advice with respect to counter-terrorism, national security, surveillance devices, telecommunications interception and critical infrastructure protection. Onnational security and counter-terrorism, the Division undertakes a central coordinating role across the Department and the portfolio, as well as interfacing with other departments and agencies in the whole-of-government context. The Division also provides legal development assistance to countries within the South-East Asia region on counter-terrorism laws.

The Division also coordinates Australian Government activities in critical infrastructure protection, building on the work to protect Australia's national information infrastructure that began in 1999, and provides policy and legal policy advice on these issues. The Division performs a leadership role in the development of a business-government partnership for critical infrastructure protection with Australian industry. Each area of the Division carries out its work in the context of promoting international cooperation on bilateral, regional and multilateral bases and through our prominence in international fora.

Corporate Services Group

Corporate Services Group (CSG) provides administrative advice and services to the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice and Customs. It also provides general support to the Department, including advice and services relating to human and physical resources, ministerial and parliamentary matters, public affairs, freedom of information, international travel, and corporate governance and performance.

The Trade Measures Review Secretariat (TMRS) is located within the CSG. The TMRS provides administrative support to the Trad e Measures Review Officer (TMRO), a statutory function that is performed by the General Manager, Corporate Services. The TMRO undertakes administrative reviews of decisions relating to anti-dumping and countervailing matters and provides strategic policy advice on issues relating to anti-dumping and countervailing matters.

Financial Services Group

Financial Services Group (FSG) manages the Department's financial system including financial budgeting and reporting for both departmental and administered funds, coordination and preparation of portfolio Budget documents and the annual audited financial statements. FSG is also responsible for the development and maintenance of the Chief Executive's Instructions, financial policy and delegations. The Group manages centralised accounts processing including the Collector of Public Moneys, treasury and credit card functions. Financial monitoring of agencies within the Attorney-General's portfolio is also an FSG responsibility.

Information and Knowledge Services Group

Information and Knowledge Services Group (IKS) provides services and support in the areas of information technology, information systems development and information management (including knowledge management, records management and archival services). The Group is also responsible for library services, voice and data communications, the Australian Secure Network (ASNET), information technology security matters, IT contract management, intranet services and Internet services. Some examples of Internet services are Australian Law Online at http://www.law.gov.au; the Attorney-General's Department web site, http://www.ag.gov.au; and ComLaw, a searchable list of Commonwealth legislation and legislative instruments, at http://www.comlaw.gov.au.

Figure 1: Organisational structure, outcomes and outputs

(click on image to open the full size version in a new window)

Figure 1: Organisational structure, outcomes and outputs

Snapshots: finance and staffing

Financial performance

The total annual appropriation funding for the Department for 2004–05 was $509.7 million comprising $175.5 million for departmental outputs and $334.2 million for administered expenses and capital (see Figure 2).

In addition, the Department budgeted for expenditures totalling $52.7 million for special appropriations relating to the handgun buyback program, judges' pensions and High Court Justices' salaries and allowances.

See page 142 for more information on the Department's financial performance.

Figure 2: Appropriations 2004–05

Figure 2 - Appropriations 2004-05 - Departmental outputs 31 percent - Administered expenses 59 per cent - Special appropriations 10 per cent

Staffing

The Department continues to grow and the staffing complement reflects the nature of its responsibilities - not only to provide expert advice to government on a wide range of legal and policy issues but also to carry out critical operational functions in the protective security and emergency management areas. At 30 June 2005 we had a workforce of 941, of whom 824 were ongoing employees. While only one-quarter of the employees are in formally identified legal positions, many more have legal or other qualifications. Nearly 50 per cent work at a Senior Executive or Executive level.