The Department of Secondary Industry was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and June 1974 under the Whitlam government.
The Department had previously been located inside the Department of Trade and Industry as the Office of Secondary Industry.
[2] In July 1972 the Australian Government approved the creation of 25 new positions in the Office of Secondary Industry, an opportunity to set up the nucleus for a full-scale Department of Secondary Industry, which was established in December 1972.
[4] 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.
At its creation the Department dealt with secondary industry, including:[1] The Department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Secondary Industry.