PROTECTING THE AUSTRALIAN MARITIME DOMAIN
Australia’s maritime jurisdiction is vast, stretching from the mid-Indian Ocean, north to near the equator, to the east of continental Australia and then south and along the Antarctic coast. This area includes 37,000 kilometres of coastline and covers 53 million kilometres of seas and oceans, 10% of the Earth’s surface.
Australia has a number of remote external territories, including:
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- Cocos (keeling) Islands
- Christmas Island
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands
- the Coral Sea Islands and
- Norfolk Island.
The Australian Antarctic Territory is also an external territory of Australia and comprises 42 per cent of the Antarctic mainland continent, as well as the adjacent maritime zones.
Deter
Maritime Border Command uses
various strategies to deter would be offenders and perpetrators of the 8 civil maritime security threats.
These include:
- water and aerial presence
- international and domestic community engagement and
- communication strategies.
Detect
Maritime Border Command uses an intelligence-informed, risk-based approach to combat the 8 civil maritime security threats within the Australian Maritime Domain.
Maritime Border Command has the lead role for ensuring maritime domain awareness. We coordinate national awareness and response efforts to protect Australia’s interests in its maritime jurisdiction.
Maritime Border Command works with federal, state and territory agencies as well as international partners to identify assess risks across Australia’s maritime domain and determine whole of government mitigation strategies.
Learn more about the 8
civil maritime security threats.
Respond
Maritime Border Command is a multi-agency task force. We tailor our operations to anticipate and respond to identified threats. We do this using various surface and air assets from the Australian Border Force and Australian Defence Force to conduct civil maritime security operations. Assets assigned to Maritime Border Command conduct law enforcement activities on behalf of other Australian government agencies. They are able to exercise powers under the Maritime Powers Act 2013, primarily to enforce the Customs Act 1901, Migration Act 1958, and Fisheries Management Act 1991.
