[2][3][4] The ABF was formed under the Australian Border Force Act 2015 with broadened legislative powers including the introduction of sworn officers.

[8] The 1950s saw large changes to Customs, primarily in the creation of preventative officers; uniformed personnel charged with examining the baggage of incoming passengers, searching vessels, and deterring the importation of contraband into Australia.

In 1969, Customs expanded its staffing to include detector dogs, to assist in sniffing out illicit substances following similar successes overseas.

In December 1969, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established within Customs, as part of responsibilities transferred by then Prime Minister John Gorton to the Department.

The introduction of this Bureau saw Customs acquire broad powers in relation to drug control in a law enforcement capacity, and marked a change from the previous operations of the service.

The government re-purposed Customs as the agency responsible for enforcing federal laws relating to importation of drugs at the border.

Royal assent was given to the changes on 22 May 2009 and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was established thereafter, remaining within the Attorney General's Department.

Each Regional Command became responsible for the deployment of Border Force Officers in specified geographic areas to achieve strategic outcomes.

[12][13] Commissioner of the Australian Border Force and Comptroller-General of Customs Customs Group (Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs) Industry and Border Systems Group South, East and Workforce (Deputy Commissioner) North, West and Detention (Deputy Commissioner) ABF maintains a fleet of ships and a number of coastal patrol vessels which act as a Coast Guard, the majority of ABF's vessels are assigned to Maritime Border Command and operate alongside the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)'s patrol boat group.

To better enhance the capabilities of the ABF to deal with national security threats, the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) was established.

CTU officers are based at eight major Australian international airports and proactively intercept inbound and outbound passengers of national security interest.

[16] Australian Border Force breeds, trains and utilises detector dogs for the purposes of detecting prohibited and restricted goods on people, in products and in large areas.

60 to 70 percent of dogs bred by Australian Border Force are put to work, with the remainder sold to the general public.

[17][18][19] The Australian Border Force uses a "big data" analysis ecosystem to monitor people and cargo entering and leaving Australia.

This includes the use of machine learning capabilities across a range of analytical platforms that draw together multiple data sources to provide insights.

The PAL database stores the biographical details of identities of concern and DAL is a list of lost, fraudulent or stolen travel documents.

Uniformed Australian Border Force officers have their rank displayed on their shoulder epaulettes, attached to shirts, jumpers or jacket.

The ABF rank insignia's have four components placed against an ink navy coloured field: (commonly seen at Airports, Seaports, Border Patrol, Enforcement & Maritime Ops, Air Cargo, Container Examination Facility, Postal Exams, Detector Dog Unit.)

Officers receive training in basic law enforcement duties and customs clearance and examination procedures and undergo physical assessments.

[27] In 2017, commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg was suspended and placed on paid leave, pending an investigation into his conduct by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

[28] He was later sacked over abuse of power, having helped his partner pursue a job at the Australian Border Force and failing to disclose his relationship with her.

[33] The drug ring was part of a conspiracy to import 200 kg of MDMA via sea cargo and were responsible for smuggling 50 million cigarettes into Australia.

[34] In 2021, an officer defrauded the Australian Border Force of $93,898.75 by using his work credit card for unauthorised cash withdrawals and other expenses.