The Department of Trade and Customs was an Australian government department that existed between 1901 and 1956. It was one of the inaugural government departments of Australia established at federation.
History
The department was one of the first seven Commonwealth Government departments to be established in the Federation year, 1901.[2] The first head of the department was Harry Wollaston, appointed in 1901.[3] In that first year, Wollaston and Charles Kingston worked closely together in drafting legislation and the first Commonwealth customs tariff.[3]
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.