Australian Border Force

The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. 
The ABF was established on 1 July 2015 merging the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service with the immigration detention and compliance functions of the then Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
The ABF operates under the Australian Border Force Act 2015 with broadened legislative powers including the introduction of sworn officers. A new uniform was introduced and following the transition there was an increase in the number of officers authorised to carry firearms. As of 2016, approximately 15% of the Force is firearms trained which will increase by 2020 to no less than 25%.
Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison announced the establishment of the Force on 9 May 2014 to be based on a hybrid of the United Kingdom Border Force model.
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.
The 1950s saw large changes to Customs, primarily in the creation of preventative officers; uniformed personnel charged with examining 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.
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.
In 1976 Customs introduced the Customs On-Line Method of Preparing for Invoices Lodgeable Entries (COMPILE) system. The system allowed for 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.
1985–2009 - Australian Customs Service.
On 10 June 1985, the Government of Australia formally established the Australian Customs Service (ACS) as an independent agency of the Australian Public Service within the portfolio of the Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce. The statutory office of Comptroller-General of Customs, responsible for administering the ACS, was also established on that date. The Australian Customs Service formally commenced operations on 1 July 1985.
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.
In January 2001, the Australian Customs Service celebrated 100 years of service with the Centenary of Federation.
Border Protection Command (BPC) was established in 2005 as the leader and coordinator of Australian maritime security operations. It brought together elements of the Australian Defence Force, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. As part of the introduction of BPC, the Australian Customs Service and Royal Australian Navy take the lead on commanding and controlling Operation Resolute.
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.
2009–2015 - Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
Operation Sovereign Borders was announced in September 2013 by then Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Scott Morrison and Lieutenant General Angus Campbell as a Joint Agency Task Force to bring together 16 different agencies to coordinate the whole-of-government response to illegal maritime arrivals. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is then formally moved from the Attorney General's Department to the newly formed Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
In May 2014, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott 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 deployment of Border Force Officers in specified geographic areas to achieve strategic outcomes. The Australian Border Force was formally established on 1 July 2015.
Organisational structure.
The ABF has approximately 5800 employees across operational and support roles divided into an Operations Group and an Support Group.
Operations Group.
The Operations Group has responsibilities for all operational activity relating to the management of travellers, goods and cargo throughout the border continuum, through Compliance, Enforcement and Investigation activities. The Operations Group consists of the following commands:
Support Group.
The Support Group has responsibility for providing planning, support and specialist services to ensure operational continuity across the border continuum and the operational management responsibility for detention services management including health, detention estate management, and regional processing and settlement. The Support Group includes the following commands:
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.
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.
Personnel.
Ranks and insignia.
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 ABF rank insignia's have four components placed against an ink navy coloured field:
Equipment.
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. Since 1 July 2015, with the creation of the Australian Border Force came a change 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 it officers to carry firearms and PDE at all major Australian international airports.
ABF Officers are supplied with current generation Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol. ASP 21 inch telescopic baton, SAF-LOK MK5 hinged handcuffs, Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray.
The uniforms are dark/navy blue and have the ABF logos on them.
The Marine Unit is a Coast Guard which operates alongside the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the Maritime Border Command. The Marine Unit officers are equipped with the Glock 17 pistol and Remington Model 870 shotgun. The Marine Unit vessels are equipped similar to RAN vessels with the M2 Browning 12.7mm machine gun that is on loan from the Australian Defence Force.
The ABF also has an aviation Coast Guard component operating a fleet of ten privately contracted Dash 8 aircraft which operate alongside the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the Maritime Border Command.
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.
Media.
"" is a TV series which 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.
References.
Attribution.
 Content in this Wikipedia article was based on the "Australian Border Force: Who we are", listed on the "Department of Immigration and Border Protection", published by the Commonwealth of Australia under CC-BY 3.0 licence (accessed on 30 May 2016).