Department of Social Services
DSS
18 September 2013 – present
Previously Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (2007–2013).
Department of State responsible for social security and income support policy, families and children, housing support, community services, and disability and carers policy, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme until May 2025.
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 18 September 2013 at the start of the Abbott government, in effect the renamed Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, whose Indigenous affairs went to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It also took ageing and aged care from the Department of Health and Ageing, settlement services and multicultural affairs from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and working-age income support policy and Disability Employment Services from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Kevin Andrews became Minister for Social Services.
- Renamed from Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs · 18 September 2013
- Families and children
- Social security policy
- Housing
- Community services
- Disability and carers
- Ageing and aged care policy and programs
- Settlement services for migrants and humanitarian entrants
- Multicultural affairs
- Working-age income support policy
- Disability Employment Services
Changes during its life
- Child care policy and programs
- Quality reviews of home care services
- Early childhood education and child care policy and programs
- Ageing and aged care policy and programs
- Multicultural affairs
- National child safety policy
- NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework implementation
- Child safety policy (National Office for Child Safety)
- Settlement services for refugees and humanitarian entrants
29 May 2019 is the date of the post-election Administrative Arrangements Order; the effective date of the move is not confirmed.
- National Disability Insurance Scheme policy
- Portfolio oversight of the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Foundational supports for people with disability
Main functions
- Social security and income support policy
- Families, children and child support policy
- Disability and carers policy, including the NDIS (NDIS and disability supports to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in May 2025)
- Housing support and homelessness programs
- Community grants and services
- Settlement services (until 2019) and multicultural affairs (until 2017)
- Ageing and aged care (2013–2015) and child care (2014–2015)
Where it sits
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Social Services
- Accountable authority
- Secretary of the Department – Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 section 12(2) item 1
- ABN
- 36 342 015 855
Bodies in this portfolio (6)
- Social Security Appeals Tribunal 1975–2015
- Australian Institute of Family Studies 1980–present
- Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency 1997–2014
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Launch Transition Agency 2013–2022
- Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission 2022–present
- National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People 2025–present
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 September 2013 (created it)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025, as amended to 1 July 2025 (sets it out)
24 more Administrative Arrangements Orders set it out
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 12 December 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 December 2014 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 9 July 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 18 February 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 19 July 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 27 October 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 13 April 2017 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018, as amended to 28 August 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 4 April 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019, as amended to 1 September 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019, as amended to 2 April 2020 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 March 2021 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 8 June 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 3 August 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 29 July 2024 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025 (sets it out)
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance)
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))
- Administrative Arrangements Order, 18 September 2013 (Federal Register of Legislation, C2013G01404)
Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.