The administrative head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Finance, presently Jenny Wilkinson,[3] who reports to the Federal Minister for Finance, presently Senator Katy Gallagher.

The Treasurer has a wider range of powers and responsibilities than the Minister for Finance, who has a comparatively narrower portfolio.

Formerly, it was located in the John Gorton Building, named after Australia's prime minister between 1968 and 1971.

The Department of Finance was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013[4] and replaced the functions previously performed by the former Department of Finance and Deregulation.

In the 18 September 2013 Administrative Arrangements Order, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters:[4]