The Australian Government has made changes to functions overseen by the Attorney-General's Department and Department of Home Affairs. These changes involve the transfers of:

  • identity and biometrics functions into the Attorney-General's Department
  • protective security policy and government and major event security functions to the Department of Home Affairs.

Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Program

The Pacific Legal Policy Twinning Program provides a unique opportunity for high performing Pacific law and justice officers to undertake a 2 month placement in the Australian Attorney-General’s Department. The program focus is on improving participant legal policy skills and progressing an identified policy project of priority to their home agency.

Twinning participants undertake the department's Legal Policy Champions Program and receive intensive training in legal policy development and legislative reform, including undertaking the Legal Policy Development Course. This includes formal training sessions and group discussions with expert legal policy officers, lawyers, drafters and academics. On returning home, participants share their knowledge and build institutional capability by delivering the Legal Policy Development Course to their home agency and across government.

After completing the Policy Champions Program, Twinning participants work closely with departmental officers on a priority legal policy or law reform project with a crime or policing focus, as nominated by their home agency. Projects typically align with regional policy priorities of the Pacific Islands Law Officers' Network (PILON) and Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP), such as cybercrime, sexual and gender-based violence or corruption. This project may be one that the home agency is already working on or one that the agency intends to develop or become involved with in the near future. The project should be of strategic importance and priority for the agency which the applicant is likely to be involved in progressing after undertaking this program.

Participants actively engage with our network of Pacific policy alumni and PILON, including sharing their program experience in Talanoa, the PILON newsletter. Information about the Twinning Program and previous participants and projects can be downloaded below:

Next Twinning Program

Applications for the 2023 Twinning Program have closed and applicants have been notified of the outcome.

For the 2024 Twinning Program, please check this website in late 2023/early 2024 when applications are expected to open.

Contact details

Pacific Section
International Cooperation Unit
Pacific@ag.gov.au
3-5 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600