The Department of Finance is a department of the Government of Australia that is charged with the responsibility of assisting the government across a wide range of policy areas to ensure its outcomes are met, particularly with regard to expenditure, financial management, and the operations of government. The administrative head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Finance, presently Jenny Wilkinson, who reports to the Federal Minister for Finance, presently Senator Katy Gallagher. Unlike in many countries, Australia's Department of Finance does not deal with general economic policy, which is the responsibility of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer has a wider range of powers and responsibilities than the Minister for Finance, who has a comparatively narrower portfolio. The head office of the department is located at One Canberra Avenue, in the Canberra suburb of Forrest. Formerly, it was located in the John Gorton Building, named after Australia's prime minister between 1968 and 1971.

History

The Department of Finance was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013 and replaced the functions previously performed by the former Department of Finance and Deregulation. In an earlier reconstruction, the department was called the Department of Finance and Administration.

Preceding departments

Operational activities

In the 18 September 2013 Administrative Arrangements Order, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters: