Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities was an Australian government department that existed between September 2010 and September 2013.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

Department overview
Formed	14 September 2010[1]
Preceding Department	Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Dissolved	18 September 2013
Superseding Department	Department of the Environment (III)
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Canberra
Employees	2,871 (April 2013)[2]
Department executives	Robyn Kruk, Secretary (2010‑11) Paul Grimes, Secretary (2011‑13)
Website	environment.gov.au

Scope

Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements, in the department's annual reports and on the department's website.

At its creation, the department was responsible for:^[1]

• Environment protection and conservation of biodiversity
• Air quality
• National fuel quality standards
• Land contamination
• Meteorology
• Administration of the Australian Antarctic Territory, and the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
• Natural, built and cultural heritage
• Environmental research
• Water policy and resources
• Ionospheric prediction
• Co-ordination of sustainable communities policy
• Population policy
• Housing affordability
• Built environment innovation

Structure

The department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.^[1]