Australia Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Military=== {{Main|Australian Defence Force}} [[File:HMAS Arunta and Canberra sailing in formation with other warships.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[HMAS Canberra]], a [[Canberra-class landing helicopter dock|Canberra class]] [[landing helicopter dock]], and [[HMAS Arunta]], an [[Anzac-class frigate|Anzac-class]] [[frigate]], sailing in formation]] The two main institutions involved in the management of Australia's armed forces are the [[Australian Defence Force]] (ADF) and the [[Department of Defence (Australia)|Department of Defence]], together known as "[[Australian Defence Organisation|Defence]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Organisation structure |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/organisation-structure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103154937/https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/organisation-structure |archive-date=3 November 2023 |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Australian Government: Defence}}</ref> The Australian Defence Force is the military wing, headed by the [[Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)|chief of the defence force]], and contains three branches: the [[Royal Australian Navy]], the [[Australian Army]] and the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]. In 2021, it had 84,865 currently serving personnel (including 60,286 regulars and 24,581 reservists).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-29 |title=Australian Defence Force service |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-defence-force-service |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119193626/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-defence-force-service |archive-date=2023-11-19 |website=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref> The Department of Defence is the civilian wing and is headed by the secretary of defence. These two leaders collective manage Defence as a [[diarchy]], with shared and joint responsibilities.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/Defence-Annual-Report-2022-23.pdf |title=Defence Annual Report 2022β23 |date=18 September 2023 |publisher=Australian Government: Defence |page=23 |isbn=978-1-925890-47-1 |issn=1323-5036 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217203427/https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/Defence-Annual-Report-2022-23.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> The titular role of [[Commander-in-Chief|commander-in-chief]] is held by the [[Governor-General of Australia|governor-general]], however actual command is vested in the chief of the Defence Force.<ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|da190356|Defence Act 1903|9}}</ref> The executive branch of the Commonwealth government has overall control of the military through the [[Minister for Defence (Australia)|minister of defence]], who is subject to the decisions of Cabinet and its [[National Security Committee (Australia)|National Security Committee]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/import/12_53_35_PM_ASPI_defence_almanac_2011_12.pdf?VersionId=vNzXEQtA5bqdxWO9r60xyDAD45g2_d1H |title=Australian Defence Almanac: 2011β2012 |last=Khosa |first=Raspal |date=July 2011 |publisher=Australian Strategic Policy Institute |pages=2, 12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002182101/https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/import/12_53_35_PM_ASPI_defence_almanac_2011_12.pdf?VersionId=vNzXEQtA5bqdxWO9r60xyDAD45g2_d1H |archive-date=2 October 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, defence spending was 1.9% of GDP, representing the world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|13th largest defence budget]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=29 April 2023 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]}}</ref> In 2024, the ADF had active operations in the Middle-East and the Indo-Pacific (including security and aid provisions), was contributing to UN forces in relation to [[United Nations Mission in South Sudan|South Sudan]], [[United Nations Disengagement Observer Force|Syria-Israel]] and [[Operation Argos|North Korea]], and domestically was [[Operation Resolute|assisting to prevent asylum-seekers enter the country]] and with [[natural disaster]] relief.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Operations |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/defence-activities/operations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130011529/https://www.defence.gov.au/defence-activities/operations |archive-date=30 January 2024 |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=[[Australian Defence Organisation|Defence]] |publisher=[[Australian Government]]}}</ref> Major [[Australian intelligence agencies]] include the [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] (foreign intelligence), the [[Australian Signals Directorate]] (signals intelligence) and the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (domestic security). Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page