The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s and their widows, widowers and dependants; and administers the portfolio through the

Department of Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. Since 2017 the office has been held in conjunction with the

Minister for Defence Personnel In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Defence Personnel is a position which is currently held by Matt Keogh, after the Albanese ministry was sworn in on 1 June 2022, following the 2022 Australian federal election. The ministerial po ...

Scope

The minister is also responsible for the following agencies: *

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

*Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission *

Office of Australian War Graves The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) is a branch within the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs. The branch was initially a stand-alone agency, formed 1 January 1975. In 1980, the ''War Graves Act 1980 (Cth)'' formalised t ...

*Repatriation Commission *Repatriation Medical Authority *Review of Service Delivery Arrangements *Specialist Medical Review Council *

Veterans' Review Board The Veterans' Review Board (VRB) is a statutory body within the Australian Government's Veterans' Affairs portfolio. The role of the VRB is to conduct merits review of certain decisions under the ''Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986 (Cth) ''(the VEA) ...

*Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service

List of ministers

Veterans' affairs

The portfolio was created by

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

. It was called Minister for Repatriation from the appointment of the first Minister,

Edward Millen Edward Davis Millen (7 November 1860 – 14 September 1923) was an Australian journalist and politician who served as the first Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia), Minister for Repatriation. Millen emigrated to Australia from England a ...

on 28 September 1917 to deal with ex-soldiers returning from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

chose not to include a Minister for Repatriation in his ministry (1923–29), but his successor

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the ninth prime minister of Australia from 1929 to 1932. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

restored it, and it has continued ever since, under different names.

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

changed the portfolio title to Minister for Repatriation and Compensation in 1974;

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

restored it to its original title in 1975, and then changed it to Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 5 October 1976,

Peter Durack Peter Drew Durack, QC (20 October 1926– 13 July 2008) was an Australian politician, representing the Liberal Party. He rose to become Attorney-General of Australia. He served in the Senate from 1 July 1971 to 30 June 1993. From 1987 to 19 ...

being the last minister under the old title and the first under the new. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, or any of its precedent titles: Notes : Barnard was part of a two-man ministry that comprised Barnard and

for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned. :

initially chose Senator

Glen Sheil Glenister Fermoy Sheil (21 October 192929 September 2008) was an Australian politician, representing the National Party in the Senate for the state of Queensland from 1974 to 1981, and again from 1984–90. He was an amateur tennis player who ...

for the portfolio, and he was sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council. But before he was sworn in as a minister, Sheil professed his support for the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n apartheid regime, which was very much at odds with the Fraser government's position. Fraser decided not to proceed with Sheil’s appointment to the Ministry, and his appointment as an Executive Councillor was terminated. Garland was appointed in his place.

Assisting the prime minister for the centenary of ANZAC

War service homes

Between 1932 and 1938 there was also a Minister in charge of War Service Homes, responsible for the

War Service Homes Scheme Defence Housing Australia (DHA) is an Australian government business enterprise established by the ''Defence Housing Australia Act 1987''. DHA supplies housing and related services to Australian Defence Force members and their families in line ...

. This position was revived with

Herbert Collett Herbert Brayley Collett (12 November 1877 – 15 August 1947) was an Australian politician, librarian and soldier. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 1933 to 1947, representing the United Australia Party (UAP) until 1945 and then the ...

's appointment as

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

administering War Service Homes in 1939, but was subsumed by

Bert Lazzarini Hubert Peter Lazzarini (; 8 September 1884 – 1 October 1952) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represented the Division of Werriwa in the House of Representatives for over 30 years (1919–19 ...

's appointment as Minister for Works and Housing in 1945. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister in charge of War Service Homes, or any of its precedent titles:

List of assistant ministers

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

Veterans' affairs in Australia