The Department of Community Services and Health was an

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

department that existed between July 1987 and June 1991.

History

The Department of Community Services and Health was one of 16 "super-ministries" announced as part of a major restructuring of the administration and economy by Prime Minister

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

in July 1987. The department was an amalgamation of the Department of Community Services and the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

Scope

Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the department's annual reports. At its creation, the department was responsible for: *Services for the aged, people with disabilities and families with children *Community support services *Housing assistance *Public health, research and preventive medicine *Community health projects *Health promotion *Pharmaceutical benefits *Health benefits schemes *Human quarantine *National drug abuse strategy

Structure

The department was an

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Community Services and Health, first Neal Blewett (until April 1990) and then Brian Howe. The Secretary of the department was initially Tony Ayers (until July 1988) and then Stuart Hamilton.

References

1987 establishments in Australia 1991 disestablishments in Australia Community Services and Health Ministries established in 1987 {{Australia-gov-stub