The Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs 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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

that existed between December 1975 and July 1987.

History

The Department was announced in December 1975, resulting from the abolition of the previous

Department of Labor and Immigration The Department of Labor and Immigration was an Australian government department that existed between June 1974 and December 1975. History When the Department of Labor and Immigration was formed by the Whitlam Government in June 1974, ...

. The creation of the Department was an election commitment which

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

said indicated the importance placed by the Fraser government on Australia's immigration program and the Coalition's concern that issues affecting migrants and their families should receive close and sympathetic attention.

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 (AAO) made on 22 December 1975 (reproduced by the National Archives), the Department dealt with: *Migration *Naturalization and aliens

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 Immigration and Ethnic Affairs.

References

Ministries established in 1975 Immigration and Ethnic Affairs 1975 establishments in Australia 1987 disestablishments in Australia {{Australia-gov-stub