Department of Communications and the Arts

This article is about the 2015–2020 Australian Department of Communications and the Arts. For the 1994–1998 Australian department of the same name, see Department of Communications and the Arts (1994–98). For other uses, see Ministry of Communications.

Department of Communications and the Arts
Department overview
Formed21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)
Preceding Department
Dissolved31 January 2020 (2020-01-31)
Superseding Department
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Australia
HeadquartersCanberra
Minister responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
Websitewww.communications.gov.au

The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts was a department of the Government of Australia charged with responsibility for communications policy and programs and cultural affairs.

In December 2019, prime minister Scott Morrison announced that the department would be merged into a new "mega department", the new Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. In response to criticism from the arts sector, Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications and the Arts said that the merger was merely administrative and would not result in budget cuts.[1]

  1. ^ Baker, Nick (11 December 2019). "Government defends axing arts department as a 'good opportunity' for artists". SBS News. Retrieved 9 February 2021.