The Prime Minister's Department 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 Governmen ...

department that existed between July 1911 and March 1971.

History

The Prime Minister's Department was created in July 1911, initiated on a small scale compared to other government departments of the day. The department at its formation was placed under the charge of Malcolm Shepherd, who had been secretary to the Prime Minister for some years already. It had been speculated that the government would create such a department in media before its creation, including in May 1910. In 1968, Prime Minister

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

split a section of the Prime Minister's Department off, to form the

Department of the Cabinet Office The Department of the Cabinet Office was an Australian government department that existed between March 1968 and March 1971. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the ...

with the responsibility to service the Cabinet and the committees of Cabinet. By 1970, it had become apparent there was considerable unhappiness about the way the Prime Minister's Department was run. The following year, in March 1971, the department was abolished and its functions moved to the newly formed Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The new department combined the functions of the Prime Minister's Department and the Department of the Cabinet Office. The Prime Minister of the day,

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

, told media that the former system with separate departments for Cabinet and for the Prime Minister, that had been operating since 1968, was inefficient.

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. In 1912, the department's functions were outlined in an Administrative Arrangements Order as: *Auditor-General and Staff *Communication with the Governor-General *Communication with the States *Officers of the Parliament *Public Service Commissioner and Staff (as from 1 July 1912) *Royal Commissions *The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette *The Federal Executive Council

Structure

The department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...

References

{{reflist Ministries established in 1911

Prime Minister's Department A cabinet department or prime minister's department is a department or other government agency that directly supports the work of the government's central executive office, usually the cabinet and/or prime minister, rather than specific minister ...

1911 establishments in Australia 1971 disestablishments in Australia