The Secretary and Chief of the Defence Force – "the Diarchy"
The "diarchy" is a commonly used Defence term to describe the joint leadership of Defence by the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), both under the Minister for Defence.
The "diarchy" encompasses the individual responsibilities and accountabilities of the Secretary and the CDF, and also their joint responsibilities and accountabilities.
The Defence Act 1903 gives the Minister general control and administration of the Defence Force. Under this authority, joint administration of the Defence Force is vested in the Secretary and the CDF subject to, and in accordance with, any directions of the Minister.
There is one exception to this joint authority, with CDF having sole authority over matters falling within the command of the Defence Force, or the command of an arm of the Defence Force by the service chief of that arm of the Defence Force.
Within the "diarchy":
- the CDF commands the ADF and is the principal military adviser to the Minister. In this regard, the Minister looks to the CDF for advice on matters that relate to military activity, including operations.
- the Secretary is the principal civilian adviser to the Minister and carries out the functions of an agency head within the Australian Public Service. As an agency head the Secretary has, on behalf of the Commonwealth, all the rights, duties and powers of an employer in respect of APS employees in Defence. The Minister looks to the Secretary for advice on policy, departmental issues and on the stewardship of Defence resources. This role arises directly from the exercise of statutory responsibilities under the Public Service Act 1999 and the responsibilities under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
For the purpose of administering the FMA Act the Secretary is, by virtue of the Public Service Act, the Chief Executive. ADF members including the CDF are allocated to the Department of Defence under the FMA Regulations and therefore are ‘officials’ required to comply with the requirements of the FMA Act.
The manner in which the diarchy operates is further clarified in the Ministerial directive to the Secretary and the CDF by the Minister for Defence. In the past, the Minister issued separate directions to the Secretary and the CDF. Since the mid 1990s, the Minister has issued a joint ministerial directive to the Secretary and the CDF that details how the Minister expects the Secretary and CDF to conduct their business in delivering Defence outcomes to Government.
A more detailed explanation of the diarchy is available here.