The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (also called DEWR) is an Australian government department formed on 1 July 2022.^[1]

History

The department was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 1 June 2022. It split the preceding Department of Education, Skills and Employment into the newly formed Department of Education and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Preceding departments

• Department of Labor and Immigration (12 June 1974 – 22 December 1975)
• Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (22 December 1975 – 5 December 1978)
• Department of Employment and Youth Affairs (5 December 1978 – 7 May 1982)
• Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (7 May 1982 – 24 July 1987)
• Department of Employment, Education and Training (24 July 1987 – 11 March 1996)
• Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (11 March 1996 – 21 October 1998)
• Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (21 October 1998 – 26 November 2001)
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (26 November 2001 – 3 December 2007)
• Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (3 December 2007 – 18 September 2013)
• Department of Employment (18 September 2013 – 20 December 2017)
• Department of Jobs and Small Business (20 December 2017 – 29 May 2019)
• Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business (29 May 2019 – 1 February 2020)
• Department of Education, Skills and Employment (1 February 2020 – 1 July 2022)

Operational activities

The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters:^[1]

• Workforce Australia
• Employment policy, including employment services
• Labour market programmes for people of working age
• Co-ordination of labour market research
• Equal employment opportunity
• Work and family programmes
• Participation, activity test and compliance policy for participation payment recipients
• Work health and safety, rehabilitation and compensation
• Workplace relations policy development, advocacy and implementation
• Skills and vocational education policy regulation and programmes, including vocational education and training in schools
• Training, including apprenticeships and training and skills assessment services
• Training transitions policy and programmes
• Foundation skills for adults