The Attorney-General's Department is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 Department. Its role is to serve the people of Australia by providing essential expert support to the Government in the maintenance and improvement of Australia's system of law and justice

Law of Australia

The law of Australia consists of the Australian common law , federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Australia, and laws enacted by the Parliaments of the Australian states and territories...

. It is also the central policy and co-coordinating element of the Attorney-General's portfolio for which the Attorney-General

Attorney-General of Australia

The Attorney-General of Australia is the first law officer of the Crown, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a minister of the Crown. The Attorney-General is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but there is no constitutional requirement that this be the case since the...

 and Minister for Home Affairs are responsible.

The current secretary of the department is Roger Wilkins AO and the current Attorney-General is The Hon Robert McClelland

Robert McClelland (Australian politician)

Robert Bruce McClelland is the Attorney-General of Australia. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Barton, New South Wales...

 MP. The Minister for Home Affairs is The Hon Brendan O'Connor MP.

History

The Attorney-General's Department is one of seven original Commonwealth Departments of state, commencing with the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. It is one of only 3 departments, along with Defence

Department of Defence (Australia)

The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...

 and Treasury

Department of the Treasury (Australia)

The Department of the Treasury is an Australian Government department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.-History:The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901....

, to have operated continuously under their original name and charter since Federation

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

.

Organisation

The Department is organised into three groups, each headed by a Deputy Secretary. These Deputy Secretaries report to the Secretary who co-ordinates and devises departmental structure and policy.

These three groups are:

• Civil Justice and Legal Services
• National Security and Criminal Justice
• Strategic Policy and Coordination

The Attorney-General's Department is located at the Robert Garran Offices, 3-5 National Circuit, Barton

Barton

Barton is an archaic English word meaning lands of the manor or meadow and may refer to several places or people:-Australia:* Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra...

 in the ACT

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

.

Mission and outcomes

The Attorney-General's Department mission is "achieving a just and secure society". In pursuing this mission, the Department works towards achieving one outcome:

• A just and secure society through the maintenance and improvement of Australia’s law and justice framework and its national security and emergency management system

The Department's responsibilities include:

• Law and justice
  • Administrative law
    Australian administrative law
    Australian administrative law define the extent of the powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of the Australian government. It is a common law system, with a highly significant statutory overlay that has shifted focus to generalist tribunals and codified judicial...
    
    
  • Alternative dispute resolution
  • Bankruptcy
  • Censorship
  • Constitutional law
  • Copyright
    Australian copyright law
    The copyright law of Australia defines the legally enforceable rights of creators of creative and artistic works under Australian law. The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 , which applies the national law throughout Australia...
    
    
  • Courts and tribunals
  • Human rights
    Human rights in Australia
    Human Rights in Australia have largely been developed under Australian Parliamentary democracy, and safeguarded by such institutions as the Australian Human Rights Commission and an independent judiciary and High Court who apply the Common Law, the Australian Constitution and various other laws...
    
    
  • Indigenous law and justice programs
  • International law
  • Law reform
  • Legal assistance
  • Legislative drafting
  • Marriage and family law
    Australian family law
    Family Law in Australia is contained in various pieces of legislation, but also includes the common law and laws of equity, which affect the family and the relationship between those people - including when those relationships end....
    
    
  • Native Title
    Native title
    Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
    
    
  • Personal property securities
• Legal services to the Commonwealth
• Criminal law
  Australian criminal law
  The criminal law of Australia generally administered by individual jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Australia. These jurisdictions include the six states, the Commonwealth, and the self-governing territories...
  
   and law enforcement
  Law enforcement in Australia
  Law enforcement in Australia is facilitated by police, sheriffs and bailiffs under the control of state, territory and the Federal governments. A number of specialist agencies also administer a wide variety of legislation related to white-collar crime....
  
  
• Customs and border control other than quarantine and inspection, and immigration
• National security
  National security
  National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
  
  , protective security policy and co-ordination
• Protective services at Commonwealth establishments and diplomatic and consular premises in Australia
• 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
• Administrative support for Royal Commissions
• Critical infrastructure protection co-ordination

The Department does not provide legal advice to members of the public.

External links

• Attorney-General's Department website