The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The portfolio also includes federal agencies such as the Australian Border Force and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs, currently held by Clare O'Neil, and is led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo. In 2022, the Australian Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Australian Transaction and Analysis Center were de-merged from the department and moved to the Attorney General portfolio.
The Department was officially established on 20 December 2017, building on the former Department of Immigration and Border Protection and bringing policy responsibilities and agencies from the Attorney-General's Department, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Department of Social Services. The Department of Home Affairs is seen as the Australian version of the United Kingdom's Home Office or the United States Department of Homeland Security.
History
One of the seven inaugural Australian Public Service departments at the federation of Australia was the Department of Home Affairs (1901–16) with wide-ranging responsibilities for public works, elections, census, the public service, pensions, and inter-state relations. This department was followed by the Department of Home and Territories (1916–1928), the Department of Home Affairs (1928–32), the Department of the Interior (1932–39), the Department of the Interior (1939–72), the Department of Home Affairs (1977–80), and the Department of Home Affairs and Environment (1980–84). Prior to the formation of the current Department of Home Affairs, the Attorney-General's Department had responsibility for national security, law enforcement, emergency management as well as border protection alongside the various forms of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The proposed establishment of the Department of Home Affairs was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 18 July 2017 to be headed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton as the designated Minister for Home Affairs to bring together all national security, border control and law enforcement agencies of the government. The Department was officially stood up on the 20 December 2017 through an Administrative Arrangements Order.
The Department combines the national security, law enforcement and emergency management functions of the Attorney-General's Department, the transport security functions of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, the counterterrorism and cybersecurity functions of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the multicultural affairs functions of the Department of Social Services, and the entirety of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Ministers
The ministers of the Home Affairs portfolio were announced on 31 May 2022 by the newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese including a Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs held by Andrew Giles and a Minister for Emergency Management held by Murray Watt.
The following are the ministers of the portfolio: Minister for Home Affairs: Clare O'Neil Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs: Andrew Giles Minister for Emergency Management: Murray Watt
Portfolio responsibilities
The Department is responsible for the following functions:
National security policy and operations, including
Countering terrorism policy and coordination
Countering foreign interference
Countering violent extremism programs
Law enforcement policy and operations
Immigration and migration, including
border security
entry, stay and departure arrangements for non-citizens
customs and border control other than quarantine and inspection
Multicultural affairs
Transport Security
Cyber policy coordination
Protective Services at Commonwealth establishments and diplomatic and consular premises in Australia Critical infrastructure protection co-ordination Commonwealth emergency management Natural disaster relief, recovery and mitigation policy and financial assistance including payments to the States and Territories and the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
