List of Australian Government entities

Principal entities

Principal entities are Australian Government entities that are defined in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2011 as either a:

• Principal non-corporate Commonwealth entity - such as a cabinet department
• Principal corporate Commonwealth entity - such as the CSIRO or Reserve Bank of Australia
• Commonwealth company - such as NBN Co or Aboriginal Hostels Limited

Departments of State

, the Australian Government comprises 16 Departments of State, each led by a Minister in the federal cabinet and leading its respective portfolio area:

• Attorney-General's Department
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
• Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
• Department of Defence
• Department of Education
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
• Department of Finance
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Department of Home Affairs
• Department of Industry, Science and Resources
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
• Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Department of Social Services
• Department of the Treasury
• Department of Veterans' Affairs

Separate to the 16 cabinet departments, there are also four parliamentary departments which are not cabinet portfolios:

• Department of the House of Representatives
• Department of Parliamentary Services
• Department of the Senate
• Parliamentary Budget Office

Other principal entities

There are 171 principal entities other than the cabinet departments. These government agencies are classified by the Australian Government Organisations Register as either a non-corporate Commonwealth entity, a corporate Commonwealth entity, or a Commonwealth company.

Secondary entities

Other entities

• Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

History of government departments

September 2013

On 18 September 2013 an Administrative Arrangements Order was issued by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister Tony Abbott which replaced the previous Order of 14 September 2010 issued by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Gillard government. The Order formed or re-confirmed government departments, as follows:

• The Department of Agriculture replacing the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
• The Attorney-General's Department, assuming the arts functions previously managed by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport
• The Department of Communications replacing the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
• The Department of Defence
• The Department of Education replacing some of the functions of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
• The Department of Employment replacing some of the function of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
• The Department of the Environment replacing the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
• The Department of Finance replacing the Department of Finance and Deregulation
• The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, assuming the tourism functions previously managed by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
• The Department of Health replacing the Department of Health and Ageing and assuming the sport functions previously managed by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport
• The Department of Human Services
• The Department of Immigration and Border Protection replacing most of the functions of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• The Department of Industry replacing most of the functions of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
• The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development replacing the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and most of the functions of the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport
• The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, assuming the indigenous affairs functions previously managed by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
• The Department of Social Services replacing the majority of the functions of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
• The Department of the Treasury
• The Department of Veterans' Affairs

September 2015

Following the appointment of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister, three departments were renamed, with effect from 21 September 2015:

• The Department of Agriculture became the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
• The Department of Industry and Science became the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
• The Department of Communications became the Department of Communications and the Arts

July 2016

Following the election of the Turnbull government, the Department of the Environment was renamed, with effect from 19 July 2016:

• The Department of the Environment became the Department of the Environment and Energy

December 2017

Some departments were renamed, with effect from 20 December 2017:

• The Department of Employment became the Department of Jobs and Small Business
• The Department of Immigration and Border Protection became the Department of Home Affairs
• The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development became the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities

May 2019

Following the election of the Morrison government, five departments were renamed, with effect from 29 May 2019:

• The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources became the Department of Agriculture
• The Department of Education and Training became the Department of Education
• The Department of Human Services became Services Australia.
• The Department of Jobs and Small Business became the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business
• The Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities became the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development

February 2020

The number of departments were cut from 18 to 14, with effect from 1 February 2020:

• The Department of Education and Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business (except small business functions) merged to form the Department of Education, Skills and Employment
• The Department of Agriculture and environment functions of the Department of the Environment and Energy merged to form the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
• The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, energy functions from the Department of the Environment and Energy and small business functions from the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business merged to form the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
• The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and Department of Communications and the Arts merged to form the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
• Services Australia (the former Department of Human Services) was established as an executive agency within the Department of Social Services

July 2022

The new Albanese government made the following modifications and increased the number of departments to 16, with effect from 1 July 2022:

• The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment was split into the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, with latter taking over energy functions from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
• The Department of Education, Skills and Employment was split into the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
• The Department of Health was renamed the Department of Health and Aged Care
• The policing, criminal justice and protective services functions were transferred from the Department of Home Affairs to the Attorney-General's Department.
• The natural disaster management functions including the National Recovery and Resilience Agency were transferred from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the Department of Home Affairs
• The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources was renamed the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, with energy functions transferred to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
• The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications was renamed the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

May 2025

The Albanese government renamed two departments, and transferred responsibilities between departments, with effect from 13 May 2025:

• The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts was renamed the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, with sport and recreation policy and functions transferred from the Department of Health and Aged Care, while land and planning policy and cities and urban policy transferred to the Treasury
• The Department of Health and Aged Care was renamed the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, with the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Foundational Supports transferred from the Department of Social Services
• Transfer of policies and operations between existing departments:
  • responsibility for law enforcement policy and operations transferred from the Attorney-General's Department to Department of Home Affairs
  • responsibility for bankruptcy, personal property securities and consumer credit reporting transferred from the Attorney-General's Department to the Treasury
  • housing, rental and homelessness policy from the Department of Social Services to the Treasury
  • construction industry policy and regulation from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources to the Treasury
  • transfers the Net Zero Economy Authority from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources

References

References

1. "Infosheet 20 - The Australian system of government". [[Parliament of Australia]].
2. (21 February 2024). "Australian Government Organisations Registry Quarterly Report".
3. (20 December 2023). "Australian Government Organisations Register - Types of Bodies".
4. Mostyn, The Hon, AC, Sam. (13 May 2025). "Portfolios".
5. (18 September 2013). "Administrative Arrangements Order". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
6. (14 September 2010). "Administrative Arrangements Order". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
7. "Australian Government Directory". Australian Government.
8. (21 September 2015). "Minute Paper for the Executive Council, Executive Council Meeting No. 21". [[Federal Executive Council (Australia).
9. "Administrative Arrangements Order – amendment made 19 July 2016". Australian Government.
10. (19 July 2016). "Administrative Arrangements Order". Australian Government.
11. "Amendments to the Administrative Arrangements Order". Australian Government.
12. "Administrative Arrangements Order Summary of changes - 29 May 2019". Australian Government.
13. "Administrative Arrangements Order made on 5 December 2019 with effect from 1 February 2020". Australian Government.
14. (6 December 2019). "Scott Morrison to sack top bureaucrats and dismantle departments in wide-ranging public sector overhaul". ABC News.
15. (23 June 2022). "Administrative Arrangements Order made on 23 June 2022". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
16. (1 June 2022). "Administrative Arrangements Order made on 1 June 2022". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
17. (2 June 2022). "Albanese government restores abolished environment department but avoids major public service overhaul". ABC News.
18. "Administrative Arrangements Order - 13 May 2025".
19. (13 May 2025). "Administrative Arrangements Order". Commonwealth of Australia.