Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1975–1987)

Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
Department overview
Formed22 December 1975[1]
Preceding Department
Dissolved24 July 1987[1]
Superseding Department
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Australia
HeadquartersCanberra
Department executives

The Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs was an Australian government 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.[3] The creation of the department was an election commitment that Malcolm Fraser 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.[3]

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:[1]

  • Migration
  • Naturalization and aliens

Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs

The department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs.[1]

During the department's existence, the following people were appointed as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs.[4]

Minister Party Prime Minister Term
Michael MacKellar Liberal Malcolm Fraser 20 December 1975
–
8 December 1979
Ian Macphee 08 Dec 1979
–
07 May 1982
Peter Durack 7 June 1981
–
7 July 1981
John Hodges 7 May 1982
–
11 March 1983
Stewart West Labor Bob Hawke 11 March 1983
–
13 December 1984
Chris Hurford 13 December 1984
–
16 February 1987
Mick Young 16 February 1987
–
24 July 1987


References

  1. ^ a b c d CA 1955: Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs [I], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 5 September 2008, retrieved 15 December 2013
  2. ^ Hawke, Robert (21 May 1987). "Untitled" (Press release). Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Mr Ron Brown has today been appointed Secretary, Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
  3. ^ a b Fraser, Malcolm (18 December 1975). "MAJOR CHANGES IN MINISTERIAL AND DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS" (Press release). Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Agency details for: CA 1955". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2024.


Stub icon

This Australian government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.