The National Museum of Australia is a statutory authority. In 2018–19, the Museum sat within the Commonwealth Arts portfolio. The ministers responsible for the Museum during 2018–19 were Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, Minister for Communications and the Arts (to 29 May 2019), and the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts (29 May 2019 to 30 June 2019).
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.