Defence from external aggression and internal threat is the prime responsibility of any government in a state. Soon after becoming a federation of all colonies in 1901, the Australian Defence Forces were created after merger of all colonial forces.1 The structure of the forces has seen many changes based on national and international influences and requirements. Initially the forces were built on British pattern, however after participation in various campaigns with other allied nations, the structure, and command and control framework has changed substantially. Since World War II and especially after the ANZUS alliance with US in 1951, the structure of the defence force has been influenced by US system. With the establishment of Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQ JOC), the responsibility of individual forces has been limited to raise, train and sustain roles only. Other than these changes, due to global financial crises the forces are undergoing Strategic Reform Programme (SRP) to increase efficiency and optimum utilization of allocated resources. Since the legal basis for establishment and management of Australian Defence Forces (ADF) is provided by the Australian Constitution and Defence Act 1903, it is argued that both the documents need to be updated according to recent modifications in command and control framework. In this backdrop, initially the legal basis provided in Australian Constitution and Defence Act 1903 have been described, thereafter recent changes in command and control framework have been discussed vis-a-vis their applicability to legal documents.
In Australian concept, the Command and Control can be defined as, ‘… the system that empowers designated commanders to exercise lawful authority and direction over assigned forces for the accomplishment of missions and tasks’.2 These are two different but mutually supporting concepts. Command means, ‘the creative expression of human will necessary to accomplish the mission’ and control as ‘those structures and processes devised by command to enable it and to manage risk’.3 Defence is among the largest employers in Australia. The total workforce is over 100,000 personnel operating in all states and territories. The overall value of defence assets amounts to $73 billion and its annual budget is about 1.8% of Australian gross domestic product.4 In order to manage these resources, a robust command and control mechanism is required. The command and control arrangements are given in Australian Constitution which has been explained in Defence Act 1903.
The review of the Australian constitution reveals that only the basic guidelines are provided in the constitution. According to section 51(vi) of Australian Constitution, the parliament is empowered, ‘to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to … The naval and military Defence of the Commonwealth and of the several States, and the control of the forces to execute and maintain the laws of the Commonwealth’.5 Additionally, section 119 of the constitution states, ‘The Commonwealth shall protect every State against invasion and, on the application of the Executive Government of the State, against domestic violence’.6 However the provisions of the constitution have been explained and further amplified by the Defence Act 1903 which has been amended time to time, the latest amendment was incorporation of Act 174 of 2012 (Fair work Amendment Act 2012).7 The overall command and control framework of the departments are covered in section 7 – 28.8 These sections cover the powers of Governor General and Minister of Defence with respect to CDF, VCDF, Secretary, Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air force and Council of Defence. The other important section is 68 which give Governor General the overarching authority over defence force. The section states ‘The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen’s representative’.9 Whereas, section 8 states.
The Minister shall have the general control and administration of the Defence Force, and the powers vested in the Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Navy, the Chief of Army and the Chief of Air Force by virtue of section 9, and the powers vested jointly in the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force by virtue of section 9A, shall be exercised subject to and in accordance with any directions of the Minister.10
However, the command and control of the defence forces cannot be considered independently. The defence of any state depends upon external and internal factors which include threat perception, trade and security partners, regional environment, diplomatic clout and public perception and interest in the defence matters. Last hundred years have seen two costly world wars and other conflicts involving Australian forces from Korean War to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other than pure combat roles, the forces have also been deployed as part of Whole of the Government (WGA) approach to various national and regional problems e.g. border protection, Solomon Islands etc. The later half of 20th century has seen the transformation of forces from large government organizations to a hybrid organization focussing on combat capabilities and outsourcing various non-combat and administrative roles. The armed forces have also been re-organized and managed as large corporate organizations involving training of personnel to management of human, financial and organizational resources and research and development. Similar to large multinational corporations, the defence forces are also being considered as delivering different products. Their products are security to the nation state, defence diplomacy and advice/options in time of national crises. Similar to market forces in business economics, the defence products change according to threat perception and operating environment. Products may change from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts to combat roles. In order to improve the efficiency or effectiveness, the defence department has been reformed keeping in view the US and UK experiences. The first was formation of unified Department of Defence in 1973 and later on Defence Reform Programme 1997-2000 and current Strategic Reform Programme which commenced in 2009.
However, it is important to recognise that unlike other government and private organizations the department of defence is not independent. Due to huge amount of human and material resources available to defence forces, laws have been drafted to keep defence forces accountable to elected governments through minister of defence, beyond service chiefs and CDFs authority. However, below the Defence Minister level, CDF and Secretary have joint responsibility of the administration of defence force except the matters which are specific to CDF or individual force chiefs.11 The concept of diarchy often comes under debate due to various reasons. The most prominent is the joint responsibility which is against the basic norm of unity of command. However, it is being argued that involvement of civilians in the higher domains of defence force needs to be seen in broader aspects. It is necessary because of involvement of large number of civilians (nearly 22, 344)12 in the organization and better transparency of public resources in a hierarchical defence organization. This also results in dilution of defence force authority at the top and keeps higher echelons subordinate to elected government. Moreover, there are many skills which are not developed in defence personnel so civilians are hired to fill those positions. Similarly defence personnel are constantly trained and educated to meet the emerging challenges.
Such highly trained and educated personnel may not be suitable for some lower level jobs. It is also argued that the skills which civilians bring to the defence force can also be brought by personnel junior to CDF; however, it is considered that present system brings a separate entity within the organization to give Defence Minister an independent advice other than military personnel. It increases transparency in the system. However, in order to deliver the effect desired by the secretary it is necessary that he should have the requisite experience relative to CDF and his length of tenure should also be sufficient so that he is able to understand and perform well. Otherwise he is likely to become subordinate CDFs who have around 35 years of experience in the department from grass root level. If the civilians are not experienced and lack detailed knowledge of the department, they will not be able to give policy advice to the minister. Especially the advice on future force structure becomes beyond the understanding of civilians. As the highest level of command has diarchy, the lower levels do not have these arrangements. Despite all the pros and cons of diarchy, it is considered the legislation is adequate in this regard.
The responsibilities within the department also need to be considered. After the CDF, the most important role is played by the Chiefs of respective services. They are responsible to raise, train and sustain the forces as well as to provide independent advice to the minister. However, the trained forces are not deployed by the services chief but by CDF who delegates the authority to Chief of Joint Operations. Interestingly, he is not mentioned in the defence act. The HQ JOC and Chief of Joint Operations Command (CJOPS) were established after the Wilson’s Review. The higher command and control organization of the ADF were reviewed and formation of new integrated headquarter was recommended in the review, So HQ JOC was established in Bungendore in 2008. This is a major development in the command and control of forces. Although CJOPS directs the assigned forces under the authority of CDF, it is considered that his roles, responsibilities be explicitly defined in the Defence Act 1903 to make is updated and relevant to the existing structure of the Australian Defence Forces.
In conclusion, Australian Forces were created after the merger of forces from all colonies; the initial command and control arrangement were given by Australian Constitution and explained by Defence Act 1903. The concept of diarchy are generally criticised but it has worked so far and it is considered important for transparency and dilution of authority at top level. The legislation about the diarchy is also sufficient. However, after the Wilson’s Review, the HQ JOC and CJOPS were created and they have proved their worth in recent operation. In order to make Defence Act more comprehensive and relevant, it is necessary to include the demarcation of responsibility about CJOPS and other higher echelons.
End Notes
1Australian Constitution, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~/link.aspx?id=1A1B66A3736843429A99D8F6D0F67FDB&_z=z
2Burnett, Mark et al, An Analysis of the Command and Control Arrangements in Two Recent Operations, 75, http://www.adfjournal.adc.edu.au/UserFiles/issues/176%202008%20Mar_Apr.pdf
3Burnett, Mark et al, An Analysis of the Command and Control Arrangements in Two Recent Operations, 75, http://www.adfjournal.adc.edu.au/UserFiles/issues/176%202008%20Mar_Apr.pdf
4Thompson, Mark. Serving Australia, 5, http://www.aspi.org.au/publications/publication_details.aspx?ContentID=301&pubtype=0
5Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~/link.aspx?id=AE5927DE2F0148F2B8B701857EBEB2F3&_z=z
6Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~/link.aspx?_id=6ED2CAE61E7742A1B2C42F95D4C05252&_z=z
7Defence Act 1903 – Notes, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/da190356/notes.html
8Defence Act 1903, Act No. 20 of 1903 as amended, http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2012C00270
9Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, section 69, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~link.aspx?id=1A1B66A3736843429A99D8F6D0FDB&_z=z
10Defence Act 1903, Section 8, http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2012C00270/Html/Text#_Toc318377418
11Section 9A of Defence Act 1903.
12Budget 2011-12: Defence civilian workforce, anticipated civilian workforce 2013-14 http://aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201112/Civilian
