The Central Office of the Commonwealth Office of Education (CA 590) was created by Commonwealth Act No. 55 of 1945, Education Act, sections 5 and 6. The State Offices, with the exception of Tasmania were first mentioned in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No.121, 10 July 1947, p. 1927 when the positions were advertised. The gazettal of the creation of the positions of Officer-in-Charge appeared in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 136, 31 July 1947.
 
The functions of the Office of Education as set out in Section 5 of the Education Act 1945 were:
 
 "(a) to advise the Minister on matters relating to education;  
 (b) to establish and maintain liaison, on matters relating to education, with other countries and the States;
 
 (c) to arrange consultation between Commonwealth authorities concerned with matters relating to education;
 
 (d) to undertake research relating to education;
 
 (e) to provide statistics and information relating to education required by any Commonwealth authority; and
 
 (f) to advise the Minister concerning the grant of financial assistance to the States and to other authorities for educational purposes
 
and shall include such other functions in relation to education as are assigned to it by the Minister."
 
 The Office was responsible to the Minister for Post-War
Reconstruction from its inception until the Department was abolished in 1950. It was then transferred to the Prime Minister's Department (CA 12) (Gazette No. 3, 12 Jan. 1950). During the existence of the Education Division, between 1964-1966 the office was a branch of that Division.
 
 
On 13 December 1966 the Department of Education and Science (CA 1196) was created in an upgrading of the education function. The office of Education ceased to operate soon after.
 
The formal abolition of the office could only be effected by
legislation and the Scholarships Act of 1969 which repealed the Education Act 1945 passed through Parliament, and received assent but was never proclaimed. It was not until 15 October 1974, with the proclamation of the Student Assistance Act of 1973 which repealed the Education Act 1945 that the Office finally ceased to exist.
 

Historical agency address
by 1955-by 1967: University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA
by 1967-   1967: Commonwealth Bank Building, 55 William St, Perth
Legislation administered
Creation: Commonwealth of Australia Acts No. 55 of 1945, Education Act1945Abolition: Commonwealth of Australia Acts No. 155 of 1973, StudentAssistance Act 1973

Previous agency unregistered

Western Australian State Department of Education 
Universities Commission, State Office, Western Australia