Maritime Border Command
The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actors. It is responsible for border protection in the exclusive economic zone of Australia and its 19,650 kilometres of coastline and issues such as illegal fishing and exploitation of natural resources, maritime terrorism and piracy, biosecurity threats, and marine pollution.
| Maritime Border Command | |
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| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2005 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Australia |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
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| Operational structure | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Australian Border Force |
| Website | |
| www | |
It is a multi-agency command within the Department of Home Affairs comprising both Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, led by a rear admiral in the Royal Australian Navy. In February 2019, Lee Goddard was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and became the Commander of MBC.
The command was established in 2005 and originally named the Joint Offshore Protection Command. In October 2006 it was renamed to Border Protection Command and was again retitled to its current name in July 2015 to coincide with the establishment of ABF.