Attorney-General's Department
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Attorney-General's Department | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1901 |
| Jurisdiction | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Employees | 1,098 |
| Annual Budget | $203.6 m AUD (05–06) |
| Agency Executives | Roger Wilkins AO, Secretary Miles Jordana, Deputy Secretary, National Security and Criminal Justice Ian Govey, Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice and Legal Services |
| Website | |
| www.ag.gov.au | |
The Attorney-General's Department is an Australian government department. Its role is to provide essential expert support to the Government in the maintenance and improvement of law and justice in Australia. It is also the key policy co-ordinating agency for which the Attorney-General and Minister for Home Affairs are responsible. The Department does not provide legal advice to members of the public.
The current secretary of the department is Roger Wilkins AO and the current Attorney-General is The Hon Robert McClelland MP. The Minister for Home Affairs, who also holds responsibility for the department is The Hon Bob Debus MP.
Contents |
[edit] Organization
The department is organized into five groups, each headed by a General Manager. These General Managers report to the Secretary who co-ordinates and devises departmental structure and policy
These five groups are:
- Civil Justice and Legal Services
- National Security and Criminal Justice
- Information and Knowledge Services
- Corporate Services
- Financial Services
The Attorney-General's Department is located at the Robert Garran Offices, National Circuit, Barton in the ACT.
[edit] Mission, charter & values
The recorded mission statement of the Attorney-General's Department is "achieving a just and secure society". The Charter of the Attorney-General's Department states that "...[the] Department serves the Government, and through it the people of Australia, by providing legal policy advice and law-related services covering criminal, civil and family law, judicial administration, human rights, information and security law, international law, legislative drafting, legal aid and family services, bankruptcy administration and community protection."
The Department's responsibilities also include administering:
- Administrative law and civil procedure
- Constitutional policy
- Copyright law
- Criminal justice (see also Australian criminal law, Law enforcement in Australia)
- Dispute resolution
- e-commerce
- Family law
- Human rights
- Legal aid
- Territories of Australia[1]
- Natural disasters[2]
The Department's stated values include integrity, honesty, equity and professional expertise, acting with care and diligence, sensitivity to the needs of their clients, being responsive to Government and alert to public interest considerations, maintaining a close focus on results and a strong commitment to accountability and continuous improvement & treating patrons with courtesy, fairness and respect.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ First Assistant Secretary, Territories Division (2008-01-30). "Territories of Australia". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. "The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General's Department administers Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay, and Norfolk Island as Territories."
- ^ Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. "Natural Disasters". Retrieved on 2008-02-07. "As part of the Machinery of Government Changes following the Federal Election on 29 November 2007, administrative responsibility for Natural Disasters has been transferred to the Attorney General's Department."
