The Department of External Territories was an

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

department that existed between February 1968 and November 1973. It was the second Australian Government department to be given the name.

History and scope

The Department of External Territories was established by the Gorton government in 1968, formed from the portions of the old Department of Territories (I) that dealt with Papua New Guinea and Australia's smaller external territories and hiving off the portions of the department that dealt with Northern Territory. According to the Administrative Arrangements Order made on 20 December 1972, the department dealt with matters related to the Territory of Papua, the Territory of New Guinea, the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Territory of Christmas Island.

Structure

The department was an

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for External Territories.

References

Ministries established in 1968 External Territories 1968 establishments in Australia 1973 disestablishments in Australia {{Australia-gov-stub