Four of the Australian Border Force's eight Cape Class patrol boats are believed to be docked for maintenance at present.

Four of the Australian Border Force's eight Cape Class patrol boats are believed to be docked for maintenance at present.

"[The] problem has emerged due to ABF deficiencies in the management and sustainment of surface fleet and aerial surveillance capabilities."

It is understood half the Border Force's fleet of eight Cape Class patrol boats are currently docked for maintenance. Two are at shipbuilder Austal's Henderson facility,one is tied up at Darwin and another at Cairns. It is not clear however whether the maintenance is holding them up or they simply cannot be crewed.

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The Border Force has four other ocean-going vessels aside from the Cape Class.

The documents state the Border Force has 480 to 490 personnel filling a required 580 positions.

"ABF are 20 per cent below their required manning for sea-going operations,"the notes state.

It is understood the briefing was given in the past month to Defence’s Strategic Command Group,which is chaired by the Chief of the Defence Force,General Angus Campbell.

The notes state that the Border Force has the goal of filling all the vacant jobs within two years.

"There are many points of failure;however,with specialist positions often only one and two deep."

It is recruiting internally and has 100 candidates apply for the 110 positions.

The notes state that the recent arrival of"suspected illegal entry vessel"or SIEV number 910 - an apparent reference to an asylum-seeker boat that reached Queensland last August - had"triggered a surge in posture".

The Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald reported late last year that the Border Force had curtailed ocean patrols to save money on fuel. This was initially denied by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram but Mr Outram later acknowledged this was the case for eight days last December until the reports appeared,when Mr Dutton apparently intervened.

In a Senate estimates hearing last month,Mr Outram said that the Border Force had"enough capability to support Operation Sovereign Borders".

He said the Border Force had been"under some pressure in the maritime space"but had"reached out to the department and to government".

"We've received an estimates variation that will allow us to increase the number of officers we're able to push on to those vessels to get more out,"he said.

The Border Force were contacted regarding the Defence documents on Tuesday afternoon but had not responded at the time of deadline.

The issues with the Border Force's maritime and air patrols have been a concern that is widely discussed in defence circles.

James Goldrick,a retired navy rear admiral who is now a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute,wrote on the institute’s blog site last year that the Border Force and its parent Department of Home Affairs had underplayed the importance of"managing ships and aircraft".

"This lack of focus is a serious problem for an organisation that operates a fleet second only to the navy and a fixed-wing air arm second only to the air force,"he wrote.

"An essentially'generalist'approach to the recruitment of senior executive service staff within Home Affairs and its predecessor means essential specialist knowledge is lacking. There is little or no maritime,air-operational,or technical expertise,and limited maritime policy experience,in the higher levels of the department."

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