Cop it sweet: Albanese orders shake up of government departments
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ordered an overhaul of several government bodies, creating new departments and moving federal police out of Home Affairs.
The prime minister announced the reshuffle, which will take effect from July 1, after the swearing in of the full ministry on Wednesday.
The changes will establish a department for employment and workplace relations with climate change, energy, environment and water to come under one roof.
Albanese also announced the Australian Federal Police would be moved out of Home Affairs, and will be overseen by the Attorney-General’s department.
It comes after the previous coalition government created Home Affairs in 2017 to bring together law enforcement and security agencies into the one department.
Home Affairs will now also be responsible for overseeing natural disaster response and mitigation.
Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews said she did not want to see the changes to Home Affairs impact upon security.
“Ensuring the security of Australians is the number one priority of any government … that’s why we created the home affairs portfolio in the first place and placed the agencies in it that we did,” she said in a statement.
“I would hate to see Australia’s law enforcement capabilities negatively impacted by Labor’s changes, which look to have been made with ministerial egos in mind, not national security.”
The changes brought forward by the new government will also see the health department rebranded as the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Stay informed, daily
Finance will now gain responsibility for data policy and deregulation, along with the Digital Transformation Agency.
The reshuffle in departmental responsibilities follows the 30-member frontbench swearing in at a ceremony at Government House.
The cabinet then met for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
