Chief of Navy Australia

The Chief of Navy Australia is the most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy. The rank associated with the position is Vice Admiral (3-star). The Chief of Navy Australia (CN) has overall command of the RAN and all uniformed naval personnel, regardless of where they work in Defence. Additionally, the Chief of Navy Australia is the principal naval adviser on strategic affairs and provides advice to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) on current capability, military affairs and future capability development; and also represents the RAN on various higher defence committees.

The Chief of Navy Australia is responsible to Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary of the Department of Defence, for:

• Providing naval forces that:
  • contribute to the ADF’s capability to ensure the defence of Australia and its direct approaches
  • contribute to the security of Australia’s nearer region
  • support Australia’s wider regional interests and a rules based global order
• Raising, training and sustaining naval forces by proper stewardship of human, financial and environmental resources
• Providing timely and accurate advice to the government on strategic direction and military capability of both the current and future force.

The Chief of Navy Australia delegates responsibilities to five principal subordinates within Navy Strategic Command and Fleet Command. These are:

• Deputy Chief of Navy and Head Navy People Training and Resources (DCN / HNPTAR)
• Head Navy Capability (HNC)
• Head Navy Engineering Regulation, Certification and Safety (HNE)
• Commander Australian Fleet (COMAUSFLT or Fleet Commander)
• Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N).

Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, AM, RAN assumed command of the Royal Australian Navy on 6 July 2022.

Public speeches given by the Chief Of Navy Australia are available in either HTML or PDF format.