| Agency Name: | Department of Employment and Industrial Relations |
| Formed: | 7 May 1982 |
| Preceding1: | Department of Industrial Relations (I) Department of Employment and Youth Affairs |
| Dissolved: | 24 July 1987 |
| Superseding: | Department of Industrial Relations (II) Department of Employment, Education and Training |
| Type: | Department |
| Jurisdiction: | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Minister1 Name: | Ian Macphee |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Minister (1982–1983) |
| Minister2 Name: | Ralph Willis |
| Minister2 Pfo: | Minister (1983–1987) |
| Chief1 Name: | Mike Codd |
| Chief1 Position: | Secretary (1982–1983) |
| Chief2 Name: | Michael Keating |
| Chief2 Position: | Secretary (1983–1986) |
| Chief3 Name: | Ed Visbord |
| Chief3 Position: | Secretary (1986–1987) |
| Headquarters: | Canberra |
The Department of Employment and Industrial Relations was an Australian government department that existed between May 1982 and July 1987. It was the second Australian Government Department to be given the name.
When announcing the new department in 1982, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser issued a press release stating that "the Government's policies in relation to maintaining high levels of employment and effective industrial relations, and the close links between these two areas require the Departments of Industrial Relations and Employment and Youth Affairs to be brought together again. The Department's were split during the formative stages of the employment and training programs."[1]
Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the department's annual reports.
At its creation, the department was responsible for the following:
The department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations.