The department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established by the Holt government in 1967 following a constitutional amendment that granted the federal government new powers.
[4] In 1980, the Fraser government established the Aboriginal Development Commission.
Media speculated at the time that the government was considering abolishing the department,[5] but it was not abolished until 1990, by the Hawke government, when it was amalgamated with the Aboriginal Development Commission to create the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
A "wake" was held on 2 March 1990 by staff, to mark the department's demise.
[6] 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.