Treasury (Australia)

History

The Australian Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901, after the federation of the six Australian colonies. In 1910, the federal government passed the Australian Notes Act 1910 which gave control over the issue of Australian bank notes to The Treasury and prohibited the circulation of state notes and withdrew their status as legal tender. The Treasury issued notes until 1924, when the responsibility was transferred to the Commonwealth Bank and later to Note Printing Australia, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The department is focused on developing Australian taxation system, land and income tax and economic policies.

Operational activities

In an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 13 May 2025, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters:

• Economic, fiscal and monetary policy
• Taxation
• Borrowing money on the public credit of the Commonwealth
• International finance
• Foreign exchange
• Financial sector policy
• Currency and legal tender
• Foreign investment in Australia
• Superannuation and retirement savings policy
• Business law and practice
• Corporate, financial services and securities law
• Corporate insolvency
• Competition and consumer policy
• Prices surveillance
• Excise
• Census and statistics
• Valuation services
• Commonwealth-State financial relations
• Consumer credit
• Housing, rental and homelessness policy
• Building and construction industry, excluding workplace relations
• Population policy
• Infrastructure and project financing
• Small business policy and programmes
• National policy on cities
• Land and planning policy
• Bankruptcy
• Personal property securities

Structure

The Treasury is divided into five groups: fiscal, macroeconomic, revenue, Corporate and Foreign investment and markets, with support coming from the Corporate Services Division. These groups were established to meet four policy outcomes.

1. Effective government spending and taxation arrangements. The Treasury provides advice on budget policy issues, trends in Commonwealth revenue and major fiscal and financial aggregates, major expenditure programmes, taxation policy, retirement income, Commonwealth-State financial policy and actuarial services.
2. Sound macroeconomic environment. The Treasury monitors and assesses economic conditions and prospects, both in Australia and overseas, and provides advice on the formulation and implementation of effective macroeconomic policy.
3. Well functioning markets. The Treasury provides advice on policy processes and reforms that promote a secure financial system and sound corporate practices, remove impediments to competition in product and services markets and safeguard the public interest in matters such as consumer protection and foreign investment.
4. Effective taxation and retirement income arrangements. The Treasury provides advice and assists in the formulation and implementation of government taxation and retirement income policies and legislation as well as providing information on material changes to taxation revenue forecasts and projections.

Agencies

As at October 2023, the Treasury oversaw 16 agencies.

• Auditing & Assurances Board
• Australian Accounting Standards Board
• Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Australian Office of Financial Management
• Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
• Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
• Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation
• Australian Securities & Investments Commission
• Australian Taxation Office
• Commonwealth Grants Commission
• Housing Australia
• Inspector General of Taxation
• National Competition Council
• Productivity Commission
• Reserve Bank of Australia
• Royal Australian Mint

Financial regulation

The department works with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia via the Council of Financial Regulators Working Group to ensure that market operators have appropriate oversight and to facilitate crisis management if required.

List of secretaries

The secretary to the Treasury is the public service head of the department. Below is the list of secretaries.

Treasury’s independence

In 2008, Treasurer Wayne Swan called Secretary to the Treasury Ken Henry an "independent economic regulator," similar to the Governor of the Reserve Bank. When asked after the 2009 Budget about Treasury’s independence, Henry replied:

But there's another sense in which it does have a degree of independence and that is that the Treasury conducts its analysis without government interference. It's up to the government of the day to decide whether to accept that analysis or whether to reject that analysis.|Radio National, Tuesday, 19 May 2009}}

Forecasts

The department is legally required to provide a Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook containing updated reports on the economic and fiscal outlook shortly after the issuing of a writ for a general federal election.

References

References

1. [https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/p2023-454036-tsy-ar-2022-23.pdf Treasury Annual Report 2022/23 page 87]
2. "Dr Steven Kennedy". Department of the Treasury.
3. "Ministers".
4. (13 May 2025). "Ministry list as of 13 May 2025".
5. [http://www.treasury.gov.au/About-Treasury/OurDepartment Our Department] {{Webarchive. link. (4 July 2012 . The Treasury. Retrieved on 24 June 2012.)
6. "THE AUSTRALIAN NOTE ISSUE". Commonwealth of Australia.
7. Reserve Bank of Australia, [https://banknotes.rba.gov.au/australias-banknotes/history/ History of Banknotes]
8. "Production".
9. (13 May 2025). "Administrative Arrangements Order - 13 May 2025".
10. [https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/p2023-454036-tsy-ar-2022-23.pdf Treasury Annual Report 2022/23 page 16]
11. "Finance and Markets". The Treasury.
12. Jennifer Hewett (21 October 2008). [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/rba-warns-on-bank-guarantee/story-e6frg90f-1111117807056 RBA warns on bank guarantee as Reserve and Treasury at loggerheads]. ''[[The Australian]]''. News Limited. Retrieved on 24 June 2012.
13. Stephen Long (19 May 2009). [http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2575258.htm Treasury boss says Budget was beyond the 'reading age' of its critics] ''[[PM (radio program). PM]]''
14. (30 January 2013). "Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook". Commonwealth of Australia.