Minister for Government Services

The Minister for Government Services is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for Services Australia. The current minister since 1 June 2022 is the Hon Bill Shorten MP, who also serves as Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.[1]

Minister for Government Services
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Flag of Australia
Incumbent
Bill Shorten
since 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)
Department of Social Services
Services Australia
StyleThe Honourable
AppointerGovernor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holderFrederick Stewart (as Minister for Social Services)
Formation26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)
Websiteministers.dss.gov.au/bill-shorten

The portfolio was given its current title in machinery of government changes ordered by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison following the 2019 federal election.[2]

Scope

In the Government of Australia, the Minister is responsible for a number of welfare agencies and administers their portfolio through Services Australia and its component bodies:

The Department of Human Services was created on 26 October 2004, as part of the Finance Portfolio, to improve the development and delivery of Government social and health related services to the Australian people.

As a result of the Administrative Arrangements Orders (AAOs) issued on 30 January 2007, the Department of Human Services and its agencies were transferred to a newly created Human Services Portfolio.

The Minister for Government Services provides a central policy and coordination role for the delivery of services across the Portfolio as well as being the delivery agency for child support and vocational rehabilitation services. The AAOs of 25 January 2008 clarified the Department’s responsibility for the development of policy or service delivery, directed at ensuring the effective, innovative, and efficient delivery of Government services. The Department works with other departments and agencies to ensure early consideration of service delivery issues in the policy development process to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of service delivery by agencies in the Human Services Portfolio.

List of ministers for government services

There was a Minister for Social Services or Social Security continuously from 1939 to 1998, when service delivery was partially privatised and residual functions were transferred to the Minister for Finance and Administration. In 2004, the position of Minister for Human Services was recreated to handle the residual functions; Scott Morrison renamed the portfolio to Government Services in 2019.

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Government Services, or any precedent titles:[3][4]

Order Minister Party affiliation Prime Minister Ministerial title Term start Term end Term in office
1 Frederick Stewart   United Australia Menzies Minister for Social Services 26 April 1939 29 August 1941 2 years, 164 days
Fadden 29 August 1941 7 October 1941
2 Jack Holloway   Labor Curtin 7 October 1941 21 September 1943 1 year, 349 days
3 James Fraser 21 September 1943 6 July 1945 2 years, 270 days
Forde 6 July 1934 13 July 1945
Chifley 13 July 1945 18 June 1946
4 Nick McKenna 18 June 1946 19 December 1949 3 years, 184 days
5 Bill Spooner   Liberal Menzies 19 December 1949 11 May 1951 1 year, 143 days
6 Athol Townley 11 May 1951 9 July 1954 3 years, 59 days
7 William McMahon 9 July 1954 28 February 1956 1 year, 234 days
8 Hugh Roberton   Country 28 February 1956 21 January 1965 8 years, 328 days
9 Reginald Swartz   Liberal 21 January 1965 22 February 1965 32 days
10 Ian Sinclair   Country 22 February 1965 26 January 1966 3 years, 6 days
Holt 26 January 1966 19 December 1967
McEwen 19 December 1967 10 January 1968
Gorton 10 January 1968 28 February 1968
11 Bill Wentworth   Liberal 28 February 1968 10 March 1971 4 years, 281 days
McMahon 10 March 1971 5 December 1972
12 Lance Barnard   Labor Whitlam 5 December 1972 19 December 1972 14 days
13 Bill Hayden Minister for Social Security 19 December 1972 6 June 1975 2 years, 169 days
14 John Wheeldon 6 June 1975 11 November 1975 158 days
15 Don Chipp   Liberal Fraser 12 November 1975 22 December 1975 40 days
16 Margaret Guilfoyle 22 December 1975 3 November 1980 4 years, 317 days
17 Fred Chaney 3 November 1980 11 March 1983 2 years, 128 days
18 Don Grimes   Labor Hawke 11 March 1983 13 December 1984 1 year, 277 days
19 Brian Howe 13 December 1984 4 April 1990 5 years, 112 days
20 Graham Richardson 4 April 1990 20 December 1991 1 year, 267 days
Keating 20 December 1991 27 December 1991
21 Neal Blewett 27 December 1991 24 March 1993 1 year, 87 days
22 Peter Baldwin 24 March 1993 11 March 1996 2 years, 353 days
23 Jocelyn Newman   Liberal Howard 11 March 1996 21 October 1998 2 years, 224 days
24 Joe Hockey   Liberal Howard Minister for Human Services 26 October 2004 30 January 2007 2 years, 96 days
25 Ian Campbell 30 January 2007 9 March 2007 38 days
26 Chris Ellison 9 March 2007 3 December 2007 269 days
27 Joe Ludwig   Labor Rudd 3 December 2007 9 June 2009 1 year, 188 days
28 Chris Bowen 9 June 2009 24 June 2010 1 year, 97 days
Gillard 24 June 2010 14 September 2010
29 Tanya Plibersek 14 September 2010 14 December 2011 1 year, 91 days
30 Brendan O'Connor 14 December 2011 5 March 2012 82 days
31 Kim Carr 5 March 2012 23 March 2013 1 year, 18 days
32 Jan McLucas 23 March 2013 27 June 2013 179 days
Rudd 27 June 2013 18 September 2013
33 Marise Payne   Liberal Abbott 18 September 2013 15 September 2015 2 years, 3 days
Turnbull 15 September 2015 21 September 2015
34 Stuart Robert 21 September 2015 (2015-09-21) 12 February 2016 (2016-02-12) 144 days
35 Alan Tudge 18 February 2016 (2016-02-18) 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) 1 year, 305 days
36 Michael Keenan 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) 24 August 2018 (2018-08-24) 1 year, 160 days
Morrison 24 August 2018 (2018-08-24) 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
(34) Stuart Robert Minister for Government Services 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) 30 March 2021 (2021-03-30) 1 year, 305 days
37 Linda Reynolds 30 March 2021 (2021-03-30) 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) 1 year, 56 days
38 Bill Shorten   Labor Albanese 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) Incumbent 1 year, 146 days

References
  1. "Press Conference - Parliament House, Canberra | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. Donaldson, David (29 May 2019). "Administrative orders: Home Affairs to grow". The Mandarin. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. Turnbull, Malcolm (20 December 2017). "Ministerial Arrangements" (Press release). Government of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018. Michael Keenan will join Cabinet as Minister for Human Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation - a central role in ensuring all Australians get the services they expect when dealing with the Government, particularly as more and more services shift online.
  4. "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
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