Department of Transport (1972–1982)

The Department of Transport was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and May 1982. It was the third so-named Australian Government Department to be established.

Department of Transport

Department overview
Formed	19 December 1972[1]
Preceding Department	Department of Shipping and Transport Department of Civil Aviation
Dissolved	7 May 1982[1]
Superseding Department	Department of Transport and Construction Department of Aviation
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Ministers responsible	Charles Jones, Minister (1972–1975) Peter Nixon, Minister (1975–1979) Ralph Hunt, Minister (1979–1982)
Department executives	Malcolm Macgregor Summers, Secretary (Jan 1973 – Sep 1973) Charles Halton, Secretary (Nov 1973 – May 1982)

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.

According to the Administrative Arrangements Order made on 20 December 1972, the department dealt with:^[2]

• Navigation and shipping
• Lighthouses, lightships, beacons and buoys
• Land transport

Structure

The department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Transport.^[1]