The National Museum of Australia is a statutory authority. At the beginning of 2015–16 the Museum sat within the Attorney-General’s portfolio. The minister responsible for the Museum during this time was Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General and Minister for the Arts. In September 2015 Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield was appointed Minister for Communications and Minister for the Arts, and the portfolio responsibility for the Museum shifted from the Attorney-General’s Department to the Department of Communications and the Arts.
The Museum guides the delivery of its outputs through its corporate governance framework. This framework comprises the Museum’s enabling legislation and other legislative instruments, managerial and organisational structures, corporate policies and strategies, and resource management practices.