Department of Works and Housing
13 July 1945 – 4 June 1952
Previously Department of Works (1945). Renamed Department of Works in 1952.
Department of State responsible for Commonwealth works and for Commonwealth housing policy, including the first Commonwealth–State Housing Agreement, and from 1949 the Snowy Mountains scheme.
Names over time
- Department of Works1945
- Department of Works and Housing1945–1952
- Department of Works1952–1973
How it came into existence
Formed on 13 July 1945, when the first Chifley ministry took office, by renaming and expanding the Department of Works to include housing. Housing policy, developed from the Commonwealth Housing Commission's inquiry, came from the Department of Post-War Reconstruction.
- Commonwealth works
- Commonwealth housing policy
Housing is taken to have come from Post-War Reconstruction, which ran the Commonwealth Housing Commission; not confirmed from a source.
Changes during its life
- Commonwealth Salvage Commission
How it ended
Abolished on 4 June 1952 by order of the Governor-General, which established the Department of Works (1952) in its place; its housing functions passed to the Department of National Development.
- Commonwealth housing
- Commonwealth–State Housing Agreement
- Commonwealth works
- Building research
Main functions
- Planning, construction and maintenance of Commonwealth works
- Commonwealth–State Housing Agreement (1945)
- Building research (Commonwealth Experimental Building Station)
- Salvage (Commonwealth Salvage Commission, from 1946)
- Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme (from 1949)
Bodies in this portfolio (1)
- Commonwealth Salvage Commission 1943–1950
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 November 1950 (sets it out)
Other sources
Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.