The ABF was formed under the Australian Border Force Act 2015 with broadened legislative powers including the introduction of sworn officers.[5] A new uniform was introduced and following the transition there was an increase in the number of officers authorised to carry firearms.[6][7] As of 2016, approximately 15% of the Force is firearms trained which will increase by 2020 to no less than 25%.[1]
History
1901–1985 – Customs
The origins of the Australian Border Force are traced back to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Department of Trade and Customs was formed as one of the first seven Commonwealth Departments of state. On 4 July 1901, The Honourable Charles Kingston announced that Dr. Harry Wollaston would be appointed the first Comptroller-General of Commonwealth Customs. The Customs Act 1901 received Royal Assent on 4 October 1901 as the sixth Act of Federation, giving Customs legal powers to enforce tariffs, duties and excise.[8]
The 1950s saw large changes to Customs, primarily in the creation of preventative officers; uniformed personnel charged with examining the baggage of incoming passengers, searching vessels, and deterring the importation of contraband into Australia. In 1957, Customs employed its first woman, Athena Antonopoulou, as an interpreter. She was credited with creating the first female uniform, as one did not exist prior. In 1969, Customs expanded its staffing to include detector dogs, to assist in sniffing out illicit substances following similar successes overseas. In December 1969, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established within Customs, as part of responsibilities transferred by then Prime Minister John Gorton to the Department. The Bureau conducted operations against illegal drug trafficking, fraud, and smuggling activities. The introduction of this Bureau saw Customs acquire broad powers in relation to drug control in a law enforcement capacity, and marked a change from the previous operations of the service.[8]
In 1972, Customs introduced the world's first computerised entry system, the Integrated National System for Processing Entries from Customs Terminals (INSPECT). Prior to its introduction, all customs entries were processed manually, marking a significant improvement in customs procedures. Similarly, in August 1974 Customs introduced the Passenger Automatic Selection System (PASS), as a standard method of alert-list checking at the airport, replacing cumbersome and time-consuming Teledex machines for sourcing passenger information. In 1975, Customs was briefly merged with the Commonwealth Police, Northern Territory Police and ACT Police to form the Australia Police (the failed precursor to the Australian Federal Police and part of the Department of Police and Customs) by the Whitlam government. After six months of operations, following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Department was dismantled, the Australia Police disbanded and the Bureau of Customs was transferred to the Department of Business and Consumer Affairs.[8]
In 1976 Customs introduced the Customs On-Line Method of Preparing for Invoices Lodgeable Entries (COMPILE) system. The system allowed agents and importers to use visual display units and printers in their offices to connect to departmental systems. The system was so successful it was only decommissioned in 2006, with the introduction of the Integrated Cargo System (ICS). On 6 November 1980, at the recommendation of the Williams Royal Commission, the Australian Narcotics Bureau was disbanded by the Fraser government. The government re-purposed Customs as the agency responsible for enforcing federal laws relating to importation of drugs at the border. The Australian Federal Police assumed responsibility for drug enforcement operations onshore. In 1982 the Bureau of Customs was transferred to the portfolio of the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce and formally became the Australian Customs Service.[8]
In August 1988, the Australian Coastal Surveillance Organisation became Coastwatch and was transferred to the Australian Customs Service. The organisation assumed the role of coordinating all civil maritime surveillance on behalf of the Australian government. In October 1998, the Australian Customs Service was transferred to the portfolio of the Attorney-General's Department. That same month, machinery of government changes removed the administration of excise duties from Customs and transferred them to the Australian Taxation Office, with 248 staff transferred by July 1999 and the end of a 98-year history of collecting excise duties on manufactured alcohol, tobacco and petroleum products. In 1999, the Australian Customs Service conducted its first support role for United Nations in assisting to establish border control in East Timor, following the 1999 East Timorese crisis.[8]
In January 2001, the Australian Customs Service celebrated 100 years of service with the Centenary of Federation.[8]
In December 2008 then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the Australian Government would be augmenting, re-tasking and renaming the Australian Customs Service to create the new Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Royal assent was given to the changes on 22 May 2009 and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was established thereafter, remaining within the Attorney General's Department.[8]
2009–2015 – Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
In May 2014, Morrison announced large changes to the border protection arrangements within Australia, through the consolidation of all frontline immigration and customs functions in a single organisation, the Australian Border Force. As a result, Regional Commands are established across Australia to provide local Command and Control functions. Each Regional Command became responsible for the deployment of Border Force Officers in specified geographic areas to achieve strategic outcomes. The Australian Border Force was formally established on 1 July 2015.[8] The new agency to be based on the hybrid of the United Kingdom Border Force model.[9][10][11]
As of 2022 Australian Border Force has 5,968 staff spread across 70 locations. ABF is divided into 2 administrative groups overseen by senior ABF or APS employees and 2 operational groups each led by an ABF Deputy Commissioner.[12][13]
Commissioner of the Australian Border Force and Comptroller-General of Customs
Chief of Staff
Customs Group (Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs)
Customs and Trade Policy (Assistant Secretary)
Trusted Trader and Trade Compliance (Assistant Secretary)
Special Investigations (Commander)
Ministerial, Governance, Risk and Assurance (Chief Superintendent)
Industry and Border Systems Group
Customs and Border Modernisation (Assistant Secretary)
Traveller Policy and Industry Engagement (Assistant Secretary)
Border Systems and Program Management (Commander)
Strategic Coordination (Assistant Secretary)
Industry and Border Systems Program Coordination (Senior Director)
South, East and Workforce (Deputy Commissioner)
South (Assistant Commissioner)
Aviation and Regional Operations South (Commander)
Maritime and Enforcement South (Commander)
Operations South Australia (Chief Superintendent)
East (Assistant Commissioner)
Trade and Travel East (Commander)
Enforcement and Detained Goods East (Commander)
ABF Workforce (Assistant Commissioner)
Operational Readiness (Commander)
Workforce Management (Commander)
ABF College (Commander)
Workforce Capability (Commander)
North, West and Detention (Deputy Commissioner)
North and Detention (Assistant Commissioner)
Operations Queensland (Commander)
Operations North (Commander)
National Detention Operations (Commander)
Detention Governance, Strategy and Standards (Chief Superintendent)
ABF maintains a fleet of ships and a number of coastal patrol vessels which act as a Coast Guard, the majority of ABF's vessels are assigned to Maritime Border Command and operate alongside the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)'s patrol boat group. ABF vessels are staffed by Marine Tactical Officers (MTO), Engineers, Technical Officers, and other specialists who receive extra training in seamanship, navigation, and boarding operations.[14][15] ABF Ships are prefixed with Australian Border Force Cutter (ABFC).
Counter Terrorism Unit
To better enhance the capabilities of the ABF to deal with national security threats, the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) was established. CTU officers are based at eight major Australian international airports and proactively intercept inbound and outbound passengers of national security interest.[4]
ABF officers of the Counter Terrorism Unit receive use of force training and are equipped with personal defensive equipment (PDE) including firearms.[16]
Detector dogs
Australian Border Force breeds, trains and utilises detector dogs for the purposes of detecting prohibited and restricted goods on people, in products and in large areas. Such substances include illicit drugs, firearms, explosives, currency and tobacco. The detector dog program is based in a purpose-built facility in Melbourne, Victoria. Dogs are selectively bred and trained for at least seven months. Dogs are evaluated at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of age. 60 to 70 percent of dogs bred by Australian Border Force are put to work, with the remainder sold to the general public. Dogs which complete the training program are used by the Australian Federal Police, Department of Agriculture, State and territory police forces, correctional services, Seeing Eye Dogs Australia, Australian Defence Force and various undisclosed international agencies.[17][18][19]
Passenger profiling and watchlists
The Australian Border Force uses a "big data" analysis ecosystem to monitor people and cargo entering and leaving Australia. This includes the use of machine learning capabilities across a range of analytical platforms that draw together multiple data sources to provide insights.
The Central Movement Alert List (CMAL) is an electronic watch list, containing information about individuals who pose either an immigration or national security concern to the Australian Government as well as information on lost, stolen or fraudulent travel documents. CMAL comprises two databases, the Person Alert List (PAL) and the Document Alert List (DAL). The PAL database stores the biographical details of identities of concern and DAL is a list of lost, fraudulent or stolen travel documents. PAL records are categorised according to the reason for listing the identity—the alert reason code (ARC). There are 19 ARCs with each being categorised as high, medium, or low risk.
Australian Members of Parliament have expressed concerns about the lack of systematic control over data input and maintenance of the Alert List, stating that Australian citizens and visitors may suffer inconvenience or harassment due to misinformation or incorrect information being entered into the system.[20]
The Australian Border Force receives Passenger Name Record data from airlines operating into and out of Australia. PNR data is information about passengers that is held by airlines on their computer reservation system. PNR data includes approximately 106 different fields such as passenger name(s), sex, passport number, nationality, travel companions, frequent flyer Information, date and place of ticket issue, contact phone numbers, credit card number and expiry date, number of bags, seat allocation, and the passenger's full itinerary.[21]
Personnel
Ranks and insignia
ABF officer in an airport.
The Australian Border Force has its own rank structure. Uniformed Australian Border Force officers have their rank displayed on their shoulder epaulettes, attached to shirts, jumpers or jacket. The rank and epaulette styling is in line with many other border agencies and shares close similarities with its United Kingdom counterpart, the Border Force.
The uniforms are dark navy blue and feature shoulder patches of the ABF logo on them.
The ABF rank insignia's have four components placed against an ink navy coloured field:
(commonly seen at Airports, Seaports, Border Patrol, Enforcement & Maritime Ops, Air Cargo, Container Examination Facility, Postal Exams, Detector Dog Unit.)
Rank
Border Force Supervisor
Senior Border Force Officer
Leading Border Force Officer
Border Force Officer
Assistant Border Force Officer (level 2)
Assistant Border Force Officer (level 1)
Australian Public Service (APS) level
APS 6
APS 5
APS 4
APS 3
APS 2
APS 1
Insignia
ABF Executive level ranks and insignia
Rank
Commissioner of the ABF (Comptroller-General of Customs)
Deputy Commissioner of the ABF
Assistant Commissioner of the ABF
Commander (Regional Commander)
Border Force Chief Superintendent
Border Force Superintendent
Border Force Inspector
Australian Public Service (APS) level
Department Secretary/Director-General/CEO
SES 3
SES 2
SES 1
EL 2
EL 1
Insignia
Law enforcement powers
An ABF Investigator of the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF) forces entry into a container.
Australian Border Force officer's law enforcement powers are primarily derived from the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) and the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) which empower officers to enforce Australian Customs and immigration laws. These laws empower officers to carry arms, conduct arrests and searches under specific circumstances, and allow officers to detain persons suspected of committing certain state and federal offenses or who are subject to a warrant when that person is in a designated place such as an Airport or Port. Australian Border Force officers do not enjoy the same level of law enforcement powers as members of the Australian Federal Police and are not considered constables at common law, however, many commonwealth laws provide additional powers to Australian Border Force officers including arrest and search powers.[22] For example, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 and the Fisheries Management Act 1991 each confer additional search and arrest powers among other powers on Australian Border Force officers.
In addition to the powers mentioned above, Marine Unit officers can be granted wide-sweeping powers when authorised under the Maritime Powers Act 2013, this authorisation allows for wide-sweeping search and arrest powers, including for state offenses. Authorisation under Maritime Powers Act can only be made by certain officers and commanders and can only be made in limited circumstances and for limited periods of time.
A 2017 report from the Australian National Audit Office found that 534 provisions in commonwealth legislation conferred powers on Australian Border Force officers, these powers ranged from questioning to arrest, detain and search powers. The report found a series of issues sounding the ABF's training in the use of their powers, the report made recommendations to improve training and oversight, all of which were agreed to or agreed to in part by the Australian Border Force.[22]
Australian Border Force recruits are trained over the course of 12 months in both classroom and operational environments. Officers receive training in basic law enforcement duties and customs clearance and examination procedures and undergo physical assessments. ABF Officers are required to obtain a security clearance before beginning their training and maintain it for the duration of their employment.[23]
Prior to the standing up of the Australian Border Force, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service had Officers in certain operational instances where they were armed with Personal Defensive Equipment (PDE). These Officers were generally those that worked in Enforcement Operations, Investigations, and the Marine Unit.[6] Since 1 July 2015, with the creation of the Australian Border Force came a change in direction and environment. The ABF has geared itself more to a law enforcement aspect to help adapt itself with the increasing threat of terrorism, on both a global and local standpoint, people smuggling, and highly organised criminal syndicates and organisations. As a result, the ABF allows its officers to carry firearms and PDE at all major Australian international airports.
In 2015, an Australian Border Force officer confiscated a passenger's mobile phone and laptop, demanded their passwords and sent text messages without the passenger's knowledge or consent.[26] The officer was disciplined and the passenger sued the Australian Border Force.[27]
In 2017, commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg was suspended and placed on paid leave, pending an investigation into his conduct by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.[28] He was later sacked over abuse of power, having helped his partner pursue a job at the Australian Border Force and failing to disclose his relationship with her.[29] There was media criticism that Quaedvlieg was paid in excess of $500,000 between May 2017 and February 2018 while on paid leave.[30][31]
In 2017, the Australian National Audit Office found instances of potentially unlawful searches and failure by the Australian Border Force to comply with instructions under the Customs Act 1901 and the Migration Act 1958.[22] It found that 29% of airport searches were unlawful because one or more officers involved were not authorised to conduct the search.[32]
In 2017, an Australian Border Force officer and former customs officer was arrested for their involvement in an international drug and tobacco ring operating between Sydney and Dubai.[33] The drug ring was part of a conspiracy to import 200 kg of MDMA via sea cargo and were responsible for smuggling 50 million cigarettes into Australia.[34]
In 2021, an officer defrauded the Australian Border Force of $93,898.75 by using his work credit card for unauthorised cash withdrawals and other expenses. He was also found to have used fake medical certificates to obtain sick leave and two fake statutory declarations to substantiate charges to his work credit card.[35]
Saudi Arabia asylum
In 2019, a Four Corners report found that Saudi Arabian women traveling to Australia to seek asylum were being questioned by the Australian Border Force about why they weren't traveling with their male guardian. Despite making their asylum claims clear, they had their visas blocked and were deported.[36][37]
Notable operations
Operation Sovereign Borders – A joint agency operation introduced to minimise the amount of unlawful maritime arrivals and people smuggling into Australia's border.
Taskforce Cadena – The Australian Government established Taskforce Cadena in June 2015 to target and disrupt the criminals organising visa fraud, illegal work and the exploitation of foreign workers.
Serious Financial Crime Taskforce – An Australian Taxation Office-led joint agency taskforce established to target serious offences relating to fraud, money laundering and defrauding the Commonwealth.
Operation Fortitude – A visa checking operation was held in Melbourne in August 2015, Operation Fortitude.[38] It was cancelled following protests and community concern that racial profiling would take place.[39] In addition, concerns were raised over the immigration system's "militarisation".[40] On the day of Operation Fortitude's launch, over 200 protestors converged on Flinders Street railway station in Melbourne, at the same time as Operation Fortitude was officially launched by the ABF and Victoria Police.[41] In October 2015, talking points released by the ABF revealed that the focus of the exercise would have been taxi ranks.[42]
Media
Border Security: Australia's Front Line is a TV series that follows the work of officers within the Department of Home Affairs, Australian Border Force, and Biosecurity, as they enforce Australian immigration, customs, quarantine/biosecurity and finance laws based on factual events.
ABF officers and investigators were featured in the 2017 ABC documentary series Keeping Australia Safe.[43][44]
^ ab"ABF 2020"(PDF). Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Australian Border Force. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
Australia
