Department of Labour (Australia)

Department of Labour

Department overview
Formed	19 December 1972[1]
Preceding Department	Department of the Interior (II) - for industrial relations Department of Labour and National Service - for industrial relations, Commonwealth Employment Service
Dissolved	12 June 1974[1]
Superseding agency	Department of Labor and Immigration
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Minister responsible	Clyde Cameron, Minister
Department executive	Ian Sharp, Secretary

The Department of Labour was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and June 1974.

History

The Department was one of several new Departments established by the Whitlam Government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program.^[2]

Scope

Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the Department's annual reports.

According to the Administrative Arrangements Order issued 19 December 1972, at its creation, the Department was responsible for:^[3]

• Industrial relations, including conciliation and arbitration in relation to industrial disputes
• Commonwealth Employment Service
• Re-instatement in civil employment of national servicemen, members of the Reserve Forces and members of the Citizen Forces.

Structure

The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Labour, Clyde Cameron.^[1]

References

1. CA 1480: Department of Labour, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 28 December 2013
2. National Archives of Australia, Gough Whitlam: In Office, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 19 April 2013
3. Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 December 1972 (PDF), National Archives of Australia, 19 December 1972, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2013