In recent times, the Department of Defence has come under close scrutiny due to a range of problems.

Issues have included faltering multi-billion dollar acquisition projects, uncertain financial management, and inability to maintain current capabilities such as the Collins-class submarines and the amphibious fleet. The Special Report was prepared to help understand why problems like this arise and suggest how they might be fixed.

Serving Australia, authored by Mark Thomson, contains a detailed examination of the control and administration of Defence. Topics covered include: civil-military relations, Defence’s structure and processes, accountability and governance, transparency and oversight, and Defence reform.