A brawl is building inside the Turnbull government over the creation of a British-style Home Office that would bring together major intelligence, police and security agencies.
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While the idea has gained traction, some within the government are pushing back and arguing that Australia's current arrangements are working well while Britain has experienced several serious terrorist attacks in recent months.
"Why would anyone think their arrangements are better than ours?" one influential insider said.
A super-department in the style of the US Department of Homeland Security is understood to have been all but ruled out, but a British model is being more seriously considered.
That would bring together domestic security agencies ASIO and the Australian Federal Police with the Australian Border Force and end the arrangement whereby the Attorney-General, as the nation's first law officer, signs ASIO warrants.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is understood to be leaning towards the British-style approach with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to head the new portfolio.
Mr Turnbull is expected to receive former Department of Foreign Affairs head Michael L'Estrange's review of intelligence agencies within weeks, though the review is not tipped to make any concrete recommendation on whether to set up a Home Office.
The receipt of the report is unlikely to trigger an immediate reshaping of portfolios and a Cabinet reshuffle, with December firming as the more likely time for Mr Turnbull to shake up his frontbench.
If the major restructure were to go ahead, Attorney-General George Brandis would lose responsibility for ASIO, while Justice Minister Michael Keenan would lose the Australian Federal Police.
Senator Brandis and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop are understood to be among the ministers fighting a rearguard action and questioning the necessity of the change. There is also understood to be widespread scepticism among the agencies themselves about the move.
John Blaxland, a security and intelligence expert from the Australian National University who has co-written the official history of ASIO, said the present architecture had been refined by multiple reviews and it would be "foolhardy" to make dramatic changes.
"We have very highly developed procedures, sharing arrangements, liaison arrangements and protocols that are the envy of the world. So if you want to mess with that, you are messing with a system that is far from broken," he said.
Australia has suffered five recent "lone wolf" terror attacks including the Lindt Cafe siege and the Brighton shooting but has thwarted 12 others including potential mass casualty attacks.
Britain is generally regarded however as having a considerably larger Islamist extremist problem than Australia. Its security services have also prevented many attacks.
On Tuesday in a speech to Parliament, Mr Turnbull said the government would "not take an 'if it ain't broke, we won't fix it' mentality". He has said repeatedly in the past week that the government would not "simply set and forget" national security laws.
Mr Turnbull increasingly relies on Mr Dutton and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, for political advice and to protect his conservative flank.
The shake up of ministerial portfolios and reshuffle of jobs is now thought to be more likely to take place in December, rather than June. The government has significant policies from the federal budget such as the Gonski 2.0 school funding reforms to pass through the Parliament, a growing stoush over climate policy to deal with and a final barnacle for 2017 in sight - ending the impasse over same-sex marriage.
Senator Brandis is widely expected to quit politics at that time, possibly to take up a diplomatic posting in London, and there is a view in the party that before he goes the Attorney-General wishes to secure the legalisation of same-sex marriage as a "legacy" item.
