Department of Family and Community Services
FaCS
21 October 1998 – 27 January 2006
Renamed Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in 2006.
Department of State responsible for social security and family assistance policy, child care, disability services, housing assistance and community services, purchasing the delivery of payments from Centrelink.
Names over time
- Department of Family and Community Services1998–2006
- Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs2006–2007
- Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs2007–2013
- Department of Social Services2013–present
How it came into existence
Created by the Administrative Arrangements Order of 21 October 1998, replacing the Department of Social Security and taking the family services, child care, disability and housing functions of the Department of Health and Family Services. Later reshuffles added youth affairs from the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (November 2001), Indigenous housing and infrastructure programs from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (July 2004) and women's policy from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (October 2004).
- Social security income support policy
- Portfolio oversight of Centrelink
- Family services
- Child care
- Disability services
- Housing assistance
- Community services
Changes during its life
- 26 October 2004Under the Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 October 2004 the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia moved to the new Department of Human Services, and disability open employment services and working-age income support policy were allocated to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (the open employment transfer took effect on 1 December 2004).
- Youth affairs
- Indigenous housing and infrastructure programs
- Women's policy (Office of the Status of Women, renamed Office for Women)
- Child Support Agency
- CRS Australia
- Portfolio oversight of Centrelink
- Disability open employment services
- Policy for working-age income support payments such as Newstart Allowance
Allocated by the Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 October 2004; the transfer of open employment services took effect on 1 December 2004. The scope and date of the income support transfer are not confirmed.
How it ended
Became the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on 27 January 2006, when Indigenous affairs moved in from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.
- Family and community services
- Income support policy
- Child care
- Housing
- Women's policy
Main functions
- Income support and family assistance policy
- Purchasing payment delivery from Centrelink
- Child care
- Disability services
- Housing assistance and the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement
- Community services
- Child support (Child Support Agency, until 2004)
- Youth affairs (from 2001) and women's policy (from 2004)
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 November 2001 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 December 2004 (sets it out)
2 more Administrative Arrangements Orders set it out
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 December 2003 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 October 2004 (sets it out)
Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.