Department of Supply and Development (1939–42)

The Department of Supply and Development was an Australian government department that existed between April 1939 and October 1942.

Scope

Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the Department's annual reports.

The functions of the Department at first included:^[1]

• provision or supply of munitions;
• the manufacture or assembly of aircraft, or parts by the Commonwealth or by authority of the Commonwealth;
• arrangements for the establishment or extension of industries for purposes of defence;
• the acquisition, maintenance and disposal of stocks of goods in connection with defence;
• the arrangement or coordination of surveys of Australian industrial capacity, planning to

ensure effective operation in time of war and decentralise secondary industries, particularly those relating to defence investigation and development of Australian sources of supply of goods in time of war, particularly additional oil resources, production of power, alcohol from sugar or other crops and the production of oil from coal or shale

Structure

The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Supply and Development.^[1]

References