Section 2: Overview
Portfolio overview
The Department of Climate Change, created in December 2007, is the lead agency in the Australian Government’s response to climate change and Australia’s role as an active and constructive player in international climate change negotiations.
The Department of Climate Change is a department of state staffed under the Public Service Act 1999 and a prescribed agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. It is part of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The minister responsible for the department is Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change and Water. The Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change is the Hon Greg Combet, AM, MP.
The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER) is part of the Climate Change portfolio, and is responsible for implementing the government’s mandatory Renewable Energy Target over the period from 2001 to 2030. The portfolio structure is shown in Figure 1.
This annual report covers the performance, accountability and financial reporting of the Department of Climate Change. ORER is required to publish its own annual report as a prescribed agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act.
Figure 1: Portfolio structure, 2008-09
