Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources


The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources is a former department of the Government of Victoria. It was created on 1 January 2015 by the government of Premier Daniel Andrews when the number of government departments was reduced from 9 to 7, and assumed responsibility for ministerial portfolios previously spread across 5 departments. It was abolished at the end of 2018 and divided into two new departments.

Governance and history

The department was established after the 2014 Victorian election by the new Labor government, using the powers of the Premier of Victoria and the Governor-in-council under the Public Administration Act 2004 and the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983. Its establishment was part of a reorganisation of the Victorian public sector which combined the functions of 9 departments into 7, following a similar process after the 2010 election which reduced the number of departments from 11 to 9. The new department absorbed all the functions of the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation; the agricultural, forestry and fisheries operations of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries; the transport responsibilities of the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure; and the Industrial Relations Victoria and Arts Victoria agencies from the Department of Treasury and Finance and the Department of Premier and Cabinet respectively.
An inquiry into the changes was launched by the Legal and Social Issues Committee of the Victorian Legislative Council in 2015. The inquiry was told that the new, larger department was better able to collaborate and promote "liveability" through its functions.
On 29 November 2018, following the re-election of the Labor Party in the 2018 Victorian election, it was announced that DEDJTR would be broken up into two new departments: a Department of Transport and a Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. The changes took effect on 1 January 2019.

Overview

The department supports the following 11 ministerial portfolios and their corresponding agencies:
The department secretary was Richard Bolt, brother of journalist Andrew Bolt, previously head of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.