The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was abolished in December 1975 and replaced by the Postal & Telecommunications Department. Two separate legal entities had been established in July 1975 to take over the department's operations: Telecom Australia (that later became Telstra) and Australia Post.
History
thumb|Manual telephone, c. 1950. The phone and lines remained the property of the PMG.
right|thumb|The "PMG" stamp can still be found on many [[manhole covers, such as this one in central Perth]]
The Postmaster-General's Department was established on 1 January 1901 to take over all postal and telegraphy services in Australia from the states and administer them on a national basis. The department was administered by the postmaster-general.
The first permanent secretary of the department was Sir Robert Townley Scott, who held office from 1 July 1901 until his retirement on 31 December 1910.
In its first 25 years, the department grew from 6,000 to 10,000 offices and from 18,000 to 47,000 staff. Earnings grew from £2.4 million to £10 million per annum. The change was intended to take account of the increase in the functions of the department to include all electronic media matters which had previously been the responsibility of the Department of the Media.