Department of Industrial Relations (1987–1997)

The Department of Industrial Relations (also called DIR) was an Australian government department that existed between July 1987 and July 1997.

Department of Industrial Relations

Department overview
Formed	24 July 1987[1]
Preceding Department	Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (II)
Dissolved	18 July 1997[1]
Superseding Department	Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Canberra
Ministers responsible	Ralph Willis, Minister (1987–1988) Peter Morris, Minister (1988–1990) Peter Cook, Minister (1990–1993) Laurie Brereton, Minister (1993–1996) Peter Reith, Minister (1996–1997)
Department executives	Rae Taylor, Secretary (1987–1989) Graham Glenn, Secretary (1989–1992) Michael Costello, Secretary (1992–1993) Peter Core, Secretary (1993–1995) David Rosalky, Secretary (1995–1997)
Website	DIR Home Page

Scope

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 was responsible for the following:^[1][2]

• Industrial relations, including conciliation and arbitration in relation to industrial disputes
• Promotion of sound industrial relations policies, practices and machinery
• Public Service pay and conditions
• Remuneration tribunals

Structure

The Department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Industrial Relations.^[1] The department's central office was located in Canberra, with regional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin and Tasmania.^[3]