Department of Administrative Services (III) - for honours and symbols policy, parliamentary facilities, support for Royal Commissions, the Electoral Act and the Grants Commission Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce - for elements of the Customs Act 1901 The Department of the Special Minister of State was an Australian government department that existed between March 1983 and July 1987.
It was the second so-named Australian government department.
The Department was one of three new Departments established by the Hawke government in March 1983,[4] to ensure the priorities of the Labor government could be given effect to readily following the federal election of that month.
[5] The Department was dissolved in July 1987 as part of a large overhaul of the Public Service that reduced the number of departments from 28 to 17.
[7] 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.