| Agency Name: | Department of Urban and Regional Development |
| Formed: | 19 December 1972 |
| Preceding1: | Department of the Interior (II) - for National Capital Development Commission Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet - for National Urban and Regional Development Authority Act 1972 |
| Dissolved: | 22 December 1975 |
| Superseding: | Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development - for urban and regional planning and development Department of Administrative Services (II) - for property and survey Department of the Capital Territory - for National Capital Development Commission |
| Type: | Department |
| Jurisdiction: | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Minister1 Name: | Tom Uren |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Minister (1972‑1975) |
| Minister2 Name: | John Carrick |
| Minister2 Pfo: | Minister (1975) |
| Chief1 Name: | Bob Lansdown |
| Chief1 Position: | Secretary |
The Department of Urban and Regional Development was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975.
The Department was one of several new departments established by the Whitlam government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program. When the Fraser government took office in November 1975 following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Department was abolished.[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's functions were described as "matters related to city and regional planning and development, including assistance to, and co-operation with, the States and local-governing bodies".
The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Urban and Regional Development. Hugh Stretton, urban planning and economic author and academic, was employed in the Department and had significant influence on its policies.[2]