The department was one of several new departments established by the Whitlam government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program.
[2] The department was dissolved shortly after the dismissal of the government in 1975.
[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.
[3] The department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Minerals and Energy.
[1] The department was headed by a Secretary, initially Lloyd Bott (acting until December 1972) and followed by Lenox Hewitt (December 1972 to August 1975) and Jim Scully (August 1975 until the department's abolition).