Australian Federal Police

The Australian Federal Police, commonly known as the AFP, is Australia's principal federal law enforcement agency, formed on 19 October 1979 through the merger of the Commonwealth Police and the Australian Capital Territory Police under the Australian Federal Police Act 1979. Its central mission is preventing, investigating and disrupting transnational, serious, complex and organised crime, a mandate spanning terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking and drug smuggling reaching across Australia's borders. Beyond this national and international role, the AFP also serves as the territorial police force for the Australian Capital Territory and for external territories such as Christmas Island and Norfolk Island, giving it a dual character as both a specialist federal agency and an ordinary community police force in the jurisdictions it directly polices. The AFP reports to the Minister for Home Affairs and is accountable to the Parliament of Australia, with its activities subject to oversight by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement.