- Oversight of all aspects of the Defence portfolio
- Defence Budget
- Defence Reform and Enterprise Management
- Strategic Policy
- International Policy and Engagement
- Intelligence
- Australian Signals Directorate
- ADF Operations
- Defence Planning Guidance
- The Integrated Investment Program
- Force Structure Review
- Development of capability requirements
- Capability/cost trade off during capability lifecycle
- People, Equipment and Readiness
- Force Posture, including USFPI and ASMTI
- Science and Technology policy and support to capability and operations
- Defence Security and Vetting Policy
- Estate and Infrastructure Policy
- Defence Information and Communication Technology
Designation
Minister for Defence
March 2021 – May 2022
Media contacts
Defence Media: media@defence.gov.au
Designation
Minister for Defence
March 2021 – May 2022
Minister profile
Peter Dutton is the Member for Dickson and Minister for Defence.
Minister Dutton was sworn in as the Minister for Defence on 30 March 2021.
Peter has been a member of the National Security Committee of Cabinet for 6 years. He is also a member of the Expenditure Review Committee and the Prime Minister’s leadership team.
Previously, he served as the inaugural Home Affairs Minister in its modern form from December 2017, with responsibility for the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.
Peter has also previously served as the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection from December 2014 until August 2018 overseeing Operation Sovereign Borders – stopping the boats, getting every child out of detention, closing the Manus Regional Processing Centre and overseeing the special intake of 12,000 refugees from the Syria and Iraq conflicts.
Prior to that appointment, Peter was Minister for Health and Minister for Sport from September 2013 establishing the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.
Peter is married to Kirilly and is the proud father of Rebecca, Harry and Tom and lives in Dayboro in the Dickson electorate.
First elected to the Australian Parliament as the Member for Dickson in November 2001 at age 30, Peter became one of the youngest Ministers since Federation when appointed to the Ministry by Prime Minister John Howard in 2004.
In January 2006, he was promoted to Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer.
Whilst in Opposition between 2008 and 2013, Peter served as Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation and Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing.
Before his election to Parliament, Peter was a successful small businessman and employed a staff of 40.
Peter also served as a Queensland Police Officer for a decade and worked in the National Crime Authority and Drug and Sex Offenders’ Squads.