The department was established while the Whitlam government was in power.
Shortly after the Fraser government took office in November 1975 as a result of the Australian constitutional crisis, the department was abolished.
[2] 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.
The functions of the Department at its creation were:[1] Among other activities, the Department prepared a feasibility study for the construction of Black Mountain Tower, a telecommunications tower in Canberra.
[3] The Department also undertook planning for the tower's construction.