Act. The first Director of the APS was Peter Dawson, previously an Assistant Secretary of the Purchasing Division within the Department of Administrative Services. The Australian Protective Service was the Commonwealth Government's specialist custodial, protective security and Counter Terrorist law enforcement agency. Plain clothed operations were normally restricted to members of the NSW Region Escort Response Group (ERG) and the more recently introduced Air Security Officers (Sky Marshals). However, Protective Service members in locations such as Darwin deployed regularly in the mid to late 90s to escort Immigration detainees, usually in civilian attire to blend in on domestic aircraft. The APS was responsible for the protection of property in which the Commonwealth, a foreign country or an international organisation had an interest, persons holding office under the Commonwealth, their families and internationally protected persons. The APS also operated some functions in the contestable private sector area. With the sale of Australian airport facilities the APS contracted for the provision of Counter Terrorism First Response (CTFR) role to the airport operators. Unlike other law enforcement agencies the APS had limited internal honours and awards, the most coveted being the Australian Protective Service Directors Award conferred by the APS Director as the head of the Agency. Following the September 11 attacks the Commonwealth Government conducted a review of counter terrorism arrangements. As a result it was decided to recombine the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the APS in order to ensure the closest possible co-ordination between two of Australia's key counter terrorist agencies. The Australian Protective Service Amendment Bill 2002 was introduced into Parliament with the intention of making the Australian Protective Service (APS) an operating division of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The merger occurred on 1 July 2004 when the Australian Protective Service (with 1327 employees) became an operating division of AFP, the Specialist Protective Command. Present Protective Service Officers (PSOs) are now employed within the AFP's Specialist Protective Command. Their primary function remains the protection of sites of significance across Australia including Parliament House in Canberra; the residences of the Prime Minister and Governors-General; Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth; the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Joint defence facilities such as the Australian Defence Force Headquarters in Canberra, Holsworthy Barracks, Garden Island Naval Base, Victoria Barracks, the Pine Gap US defence installation, plus a number of sensitive covert locations in Australia and internationally. Protective