The Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs was an

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

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

. The creation of the department was an election commitment that

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. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

said indicated the importance placed by the

Fraser government The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal–Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Init ...

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

Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs

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. During the department's existence, the following people were appointed as 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