Annual Report 2003-04

Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group

With representatives at every Defence site around the country, the Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group provides essential services and support to more than 90,000 personnel. The overriding objectives of the Group are to be an accountable and responsive organisation to the Government and Parliament, to our customers, to our industry partners and to the communities in which the Defence estate is located.

The Group consists of four divisions that are responsible for the delivery of corporate support (including maintenance and garrison support to over 60 major Defence bases); information infrastructure; the acquisition, development and disposal of Defence property; and Defence's legal services.

Results for 2003-04

Capital Facilities

The Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group develops facilities to support major capital equipment projects forecast in the Defence Capability Plan, sustain current capability requirements, to support other government initiatives and to meet legislative obligations. During 2003-04, a total of $306m was spent on delivering major and medium capital facilities projects.

The Government endorsed the infrastructure asset development process during 2003-04, which links directly to the 'two pass' Defence Capability Plan approval process. The linkage between the two processes ensures that the facilities implications and costs are identified when Government is considering a major capital equipment project. During the reporting period, the group delivered three major capital facilities projects (over $6m) and 13 medium capital facilities projects (between $250,000 and $6m). The major projects were the Defence Intelligence Training Centre in Queensland, RAAF Darwin Development of Operational Facilities in the Northern Territory, and the Canberra Multi-User Depot at HMAS Harman in the Australian Capital Territory. More details on the major and medium facilities projects approved by Government in 2003-04 can be found in Chapter Four (Capital Budget).

Capability Upgrades for Training Areas

The Standard Training Area Range Safety Net project will deliver comprehensive safety communications to the 24 major land training areas. Commencing in 2002, the safety net system was commissioned on a total of 14 training areas this year, with the remainder to be commissioned by the end of 2004-05. The system contributed to the success of Exercise Crocodile 03 in Shoalwater Bay in Queensland during August-September 2003.

The final marksmanship training range was commissioned at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka, New South Wales, on 25 September 2003. This was the 11th range to be upgraded, providing the ADF with a capability offering the world's best practice in marksmanship training. The procurement of 600 portable infantry target systems enhanced the capacity for realistic training, with delivery commencing in March and concluding in July 2004. Target systems for armoured vehicles were also upgraded at Puckapunyal, Victoria, in May and at Mount Bundey, Northern Territory, in July 2004.

The continued development of the national training area safety and management information system also enhanced Defence's capacity for safe and sustainable management of its training area resource. This project will be completed during 2004-05 and will assist in the safe operation and sustainable use of these training areas.

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Operational Support

The Group provided administrative, garrison and information support services to ADF units and commands involved in the mounting and drawdown phases of ADF operations in the Solomon Islands. Training range, environment and garrison support services were provided by the Group to the Australia-United States bilateral Exercise Crocodile 03. Support was also provided to the ADF's involvement in the Rugby World Cup 2003, and to ADF units involved in ongoing peacetime national tasks. Further details on these exercises can be found in Chapter Two - Outcome One.

Legal Services

During 2003-04, significant progress was made to improve the independence and transparency of the military justice system. This was achieved through the appointment in January 2004 of the Chief Judge Advocate (a military judge) as a statutory appointment, independent of the ADF chain of command, and the appointment of an interim Director of Military Prosecutions. Similar to a civil Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Military Prosecutions determines whether to prosecute offences under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982. Once the necessary legislation is passed, the director will become a statutory appointment independent of the ADF chain of command.

Operational legal issues, in the international arena particularly, have rarely been more complex over the past 12 months. During 2003-04, approximately 20 ADF legal officers from the Navy, Army and Air Force were deployed in support of Operations Catalyst (Iraq), Anode (the Solomon Islands) and Citadel (East Timor). These deployed legal officers, together with their Australian-based counterparts, provided advice to commanders on a range of complex legal issues at the strategic, operational and tactical level of operations. The legal officers were instrumental in ensuring that Australia and the ADF complied with our domestic and international legal obligations. In Iraq, some were also embedded in other commands of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Environmental and Heritage Management

A highlight for Defence's environmental and heritage management has been improved levels of awareness over the last few years to ensure that environmental and heritage considerations are integrated into Defence's business processes. During 2003-04, Defence's achievements included a risk assessment of Defence activities conducted in the marine environment; a study to identify contaminants of concern, their use by Defence, and their impacts; and the establishment of the new Environment and Heritage Panel. Further information on Defence's performance on environment and heritage issues can be found in the Ecologically Sustainable Development and Environmental Performance section of the Appendices.

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