12. Law

The Attorney-General's Department was one of the original Commonwealth departments created in 1901. The early duties of the department included drafting bills, litigation work and providing constitutional opinions.

Following the commencement of the Commonwealth, the High Court was established in Melbourne and its Registrar was placed under the Attorney-General's jurisdiction. In 1903, the Crown Solicitor's Office was established in Melbourne to undertake the Commonwealth's litigation work. Another branch of the Attorney-General's Department came into being in 1928 with the commencement of federal jurisdiction of Bankruptcy.

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