Department, Agency and Portfolio Listings

Each government department has its own departmental website with Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries often having their own websites as well. Within each portfolio there are also numerous agency and programme websites. A portfolio is a Minister's area of responsibility as a member of Cabinet.

The Governor-General appoints Ministers, establishes departments of state and formally allocates executive responsibility among Ministers through an Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO). The AAO sets out matters dealt with by each Department and then lists all of the legislation administered by the Minister responsible for that department and other agencies in the Minister’s portfolio.

Contact Directories

Government directories provide guides to the structure, organization and key people in government. They usually contain the address and phone numbers for departments and agencies as well as the contact details for key senior staff.

The Government Online Directory is a guide to the structure, organisations and key people in the Australian Government. Links to its main A-Z listings are found on the Government Contacts page. Links to state and territory contact directories are found on the States and Territories page.

Parliament of Australia Listings

The Parliament of Australia website contains information on the structure and functions of the two houses (House of Representatives and Senate) as well as information on Members and Senators. The Parliamentary Handbook provides information on the current Australian Commonwealth Parliament, together with historical information on the Parliament since Federation.