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Better health and ageing for all Australians

History

History of the Department

The Department of Health was established in 1921 and has since undergone a number of changes in its name function and structure. The changes are briefly outlined below, including name changes, Health Ministers and Heads of Department.

Background

The Department of Health was established in 1921 and has since undergone a number of changes in its name, function and structure.

The first change was in 1987 when the Department of Health was merged with the Department of Community Services to form the Department of Community Services and Health.

The Department of Health, Housing and Community Services was then formed in June 1991, reflecting the transfer of housing industry programs from the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce to the Department of Community Services and Health.

In March 1993 the Department of Local Government joined with the Department of Health, Housing and Community Services to form the Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services. Subsequently, in 1994, the Department's name was changed to the Department of Human Services and Health.

When a new government was elected in March 1996, the department's name changed to the Department of Health and Family Services. At this time, it gained responsibility for the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program from the former Department of Housing and Regional Development.

The department later assumed responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health matters from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

After the October 1998 election, the department's name changed to the Department of Health and Aged Care to reflect its new responsibilities and functions. Responsibility for Family and Children's Services, Disability Programs and the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service were transferred to the Department of Family and Community Services on 22 October 1998.

Following the November 2001 election, Department of Health and Aged Care became the Department of Health and Ageing. The portfolio also gained the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service from the Department of Family and Community Services.
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Summary of name changes

March 1921 - July 1987
Department of Health

July 1987 - June 1991
Department of Community Services and Health

June 1991 - March 1993
Department of Health, Housing and Community Services

March 1993 - March 1994
Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services

March 1994 - March 1996
Department of Human Services and Health

March 1996 - October 1998
Department of Health and Family Services

October 1998 - November 2001
Department of Health and Aged Care

November 2001 -
Department of Health and Ageing
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Health Ministers

10/03/1921 - 05/02/1923
Sir Walter Massey-Green

09/02/1923 - 26/05/1924
Sir Austin Chapman

29/05/1924 - 13/06/1924
Sir Littleton Ernest Groom

13/06/1924 - 16/01/1925
Herbert Edward Pratten

16/01/1925 - 02/04/1927
Sir Neville Reginald Howse, VC

02/04/1927 - 24/02/1928
Stanley Melbourne Bruce

24/02/1928 - 22/10/1929
Sir Neville Reginald Howse, VC

22/10/1929 - 03/03/1931
Frank Anstey

03/03/1931 - 06/01/1932
John McNeill

06/01/1932 - 12/10/1934
Sir Charles Williams Clanan Marr

12/10/1934 - 06/11/1935
William Morris Hughes

08/11/1935 - 26/02/1936
Joseph Aloysius Lyons

26/02/1936 - 29/11/1937
William Morris Hughes
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29/11/1937 - 07/11/1938
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page

07/11/1938 - 26/04/1939
Hattil Spencer Foll

26/04/1939 - 14/03/1940
Sir Frederick Harold Stewart

14/03/1940 - 28/10/1940
Harold Victor Campbell Thorby

28/10/1940 - 07/10/1941
Sir Frederick Harold Stewart

07/10/1941 - 21/09/1943
Edward James Holloway

21/09/1943 - 18/06/1946
James Mackintosh Fraser

18/06/1946 - 19/12/1949
Nicholas Edward McKenna

19/12/1949 - 11/01/1956
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page

11/01/1956 - 22/12/1961
Donald Alastair Cameron

22/12/1961 - 18/11/1964
Harrie Walter Wade

21/11/1964 - 26/01/1966
Sir Reginald William Colin Swartz

26/01/1966 - 22/03/1971
Alexander James Forbes

22/03/1971 - 02/08/1971
Ivor John Greenwood
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02/08/1971 - 05/12/1972
Sir Kenneth McColl Anderson

05/12/1972 - 19/12/1972
Lance Herbert Barnard, AO

19/12/1972 - 11/11/1975
Douglas Nixon Everingham

11/11/1975 - 12/12/1975
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO

12/12/1975 - 08/12/1979
Ralph James Dunnet Hunt, AO

08/12/1979 - 20/04/1982
Michael John Randal MacKellar

20/04/1982 - 07/05/1982
Peter Erne Baume, AO

07/05/1982 - 11/03/1983
James Joseph Carlton, AO

11/03/1983 - 04/04/1990
Neal Blewett, AC

04/04/1990 - 24/03/1993
Brian Leslie Howe, AM

24/03/1993 - 25/03/1994
Graham Frederick Richardson

25/03/1994 - 11/03/1996
Carmen Mary Lawrence

11/03/1996 - 11/11/2001
Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge

27/11/2001 - 6/10/2003
Kay Christine Lesley Patterson

07/10/2003 - 03/12/2007
Tony Abbott

03/12/2007 - 14/12/2011
Nicola Roxon

14/12/2011 -
Tanya Plibersek

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Other Ministries (relating to the Department's responsibilities at the time)

Source of information: Parliament of Australia. Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia: Handbook of the 41^st Parliament. Department of the Parliamentary Library, updated 31 October 2005. <http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/>

14/09/1971 - 05/12/1972
Assistant Minister Assisting the Minister for Health - John Edward Marriott

24/07/1987 - 24/03/1993
Minister for Veterans' Affairs - Benjamin Charles Humphreys, AM

24/07/1987 - 04/04/1990
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs - Gerard Leslie Hand

19/01/1988 - 15/02/1988
Minister for Housing and Aged Care - Peter Frederick Morris

15/02/1988 - 07/05/1990
Minister for Housing and Aged Care - Peter Richard Staples

07/05/1990 - 24/03/1993
Minister for Aged, Family and Health Services - Peter Richard Staples

24/03/1993 - 11/03/1996
Minister for Family Services - Rosemary Anne Crowley

24/03/1993 - 25/03/1994
Minister for Veterans' Affairs - John Philip Faulkner

25/03/1994 - 11/03/1996
Minister for Veterans' Affairs - Concetto Antonio Sciacca

11/03/1996 - 09/1 0/1997
Minister for Family Services - Judith Eleanor Moylan

09/10/1997 - 21/10/1998
Minister for Family Services - Warwick Leslie Smith

21/10/1998 - 26/11/2001
Minister for Aged Care - Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop

26/11/2001 - 07/10/2003
Minister for Ageing - Kevin James Andrews

7/10/2003 - 27/01/2006
Minister for Ageing - Julie Isabel Bishop

27/01/2006 - 21/03/2007
Minister for Ageing - Santo Santoro

21/03/2007 - 03/12/2007
Minister for Ageing - Christopher Pyne

03/12/2007 - 11/09/2010
Minister for Ageing - Justine Elliot

03/12/2007 - 06/06/2009
Minister for Sport - Kate Ellis

09/06/2009 -
Minister for Indigenous Health - Warren Snowdon

14/09/2010 -
Minister for Mental Health and Ageing - Mark Butler

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Parliamentary Secretaries (relating to the Department's responsibilities at the time)

27/12/1991 - 24/03/93
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services - Gary Thomas Johns

24/03/1993 - 23/12/1993
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services - Andrew Charles Theophanous

23/12/1993 - 25/03/1994
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Human Services - Andrew Charles Theophanous

24/03/1993 - 25/03/1994
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health - Andrew Charles Theophanous

25/03/1994 - 11/03/1996
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Human Services and Health - Andrew Charles Theophanous

11/03/1996 - 03/02/1997
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Family Services - Robert Leslie Woods

13/02/1997 - 18/07/1997
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Family Services - Christopher Martin Ellison

18/07/1997 - 21/10/1998
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Family Services - Patricia (Trish) Mary Worth

21/10/1998 - 26/11/2001
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Aged Care - Grant Ernest John Tambling

26/11/2001 - 26/10/2004
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing - Patricia (Trish) Mary Worth

26/10/2004 - 21/03/2007
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing - Christopher Pyne

21/03/2007 - 03/12/2007
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing - Brett Mason

03/12/2007 - 06/06/2009
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing - Jan McLucas

09/06/2009 - 14/09/2010
Parliamentary Secretary for Health - Mark Butler

14/09/2010 -
Parliamentary Secretary for Health - Catherine King

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Heads of the Department from 1921 to the present

Director-General

1921 - 1945
Dr John Howard Lidgett Cumpston

1945 - 1946
Dr Frank McCallum

1947 - 1960
Dr Arthur John Metcalfe

1960 - 1973
Sir William Refshauge

1973 - 1982
Dr Gwyn Howells

1983 - 1984
LJ (Lawrie) Willett

Secretary

1984 - 1987
Vernard V McKay

1987 - 1988
Anthony J (Tony) Ayers

1988 - 1993
Stuart Hamilton

1993 - 1994
Anthony Stuart (Tony) Cole

1994 - 1996
Stephen John Duckett

1996 - 2002
Andrew Stuart Podger

2002 -
Jane Halton
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Deputy Heads of the Department from 1956 to the present

Deputy Director General

1956 - 1963
Dr H.E. Downes
Dr G.M. Redshaw
R.H.D. White

1963 - 1969
Dr H.E. Downes
Dr G.M. Redshaw

1969 - 1972
Dr L.J. Wienholt
Dr H.M. Franklands

1972 - 1973
Dr Gwyn Howells
Dr H.M. Franklands

1973 - 1974
A.D. Spears
C.P. Evans (Acting)
C.A. Nettle

1974 - 1981
C.P. Evans
C.A. Nettle

1981 - 1982
C.P. Evans
M. Carroll

1982 - 1983
P.T. Pflaum (Acting)

1983 - 1987
Mrs A. Kern
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Deputy Secretary

1987 - 1992
Mr Alan Bansemer
Mr Glenn Rees
Mr Mick Roche

1992 - 1993
Mr Alan Bansemer
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr Mick Roche

1993 - 1994
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr Alan Bansemer

1994 - 1997
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr Ian Lindenmayer

1997 - 2001
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr David Borthwick

2001 - 2002
Ms Mary Murnane
Dr Louise Moruata (Acting)

2002 - 2006
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr Philip Davies

2006 - 2009
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr Philip Davies
Mr David Kalisch
Mr David Learmonth

2010 - 2011
Ms Mary Murnane
Mr David Learmonth
Ms Rosemary Huxtable
Mr Graeme Head
Mr Richard Eccles

2011 -
Mr David Learmonth
Ms Kerry Flanagan
Mr Andrew Stuart
Mr Paul Madden
Mr David Butt
Ms Rosemary Huxtable
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Chief Medical Officers

1985 - 1988
Dr. David de Souza

1988 - 1997
Dr. Tony Adams

7 April 1997 - 1999
Prof. Judith Whitworth

Nov 1999 - 2003
Prof. Richard Smallwood

Sep 2003 - Apr 2009
Prof. John Horvath

Apr 2009 - May 2011
Prof. Jim Bishop

Aug 2011 -
Prof. Chris Baggoley
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'Putting Life into Years' - The Commonwealth's role in Australia's health since 1901

Putting Life into Years tells the story of the Commonwealth's involvement in the health of the nation, from modest beginning in 1901 to today. It moves through each decade of the 20th century, highlighting major events in health and placing them in the broader context of Australia's first century as a nation.

The book is aimed at the general reader. It draws on departmental material, archival as well as current, secondary sources and interviews. For those who wish to delve further into the subject there is an annotated bibliography written by leading public health academics, Dr Neville Hicks, Dr Judith Raftery and Jane Harford, of the University of Adelaide.

The department commissioned Francesca Beddie to write the book. Ms Beddie is a generalist historian, who also has fifteen years experience as a Commonwealth public servant. The project was overseen by an editorial board chaired by Departmental Secretary, Mr Andrew Podger. Dr Hicks and Dr Raftery from the University of Adelaide acted as academic advisers.

Chapters one to nine trace the decades of the twentieth century and a closing chapter takes a look into the future. The reader will also find boxes throughout the text. These can be read in the context of the narrative or on their own. Some deal with specific diseases, others give biographical information or chart the development or certain institutions. There is a timeline at the bottom of the text that marks other significant events in Australia's political and social history.

This is not an institutional history, although the Department of Health is a central character. The book sets out and analyses the development of what is today a national health system delivering high quality health care to most of the population. It also gives the reader some insight into the policy-making process and the mindsets of those within the bureaucracy and political life, as well as in the health profession, who were involved in the establishment of the system.

The reader will encounter a number of recurring themes in the book: Australia's federal structure; the mixture of public and private in the delivery of health services; the manner of financing the system; the state's role in public or population health; the influence of technology; and the rise of the informed consumer.

The story of health in twentieth-century Australia is a positive one. Advances in science and in the health-care system have substantially increased the chances that Australians will live out the natural span of human being's life. In 1900, life expectancy for men was 52; 55 for women. By 1996, the figures were 74 for men and 81 for women.

However, there are also unresolved health problems. Life expectancy for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population remains at the 1900 level for other Australians. Putting Life into Years examines some of the reasons for the long neglect of Indigenous health, in particular the racist views which prevailed at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the lack of a national approach to Indigenous Health matters until the seventies.

The final chapter raises some issues for the new century. It cautions against complacency in the face of the remarkable technological achievements of the past fifty years or so. For while the threat of bubonic plague, which opened the twentieth century, may be gone, there are new epidemics to contend with. And while science is making extraordinary discoveries that may prolong life and even create it, it is still up to human beings to ensure that such discoveries are handled in a humane and ethical way.

The layout of the book is designed to illustrate the dynamism of the story and to put a face to some of the public servants and other characters who have been integral to the development of our national health administration. A splash of colour amidst faded black and white photographs reminds the reader that not all that is modern is new. To read history is a means of preparing for the future, to learn from past efforts and bring perspective to current endeavours.

The book was launched in August 2001 by Dr Michael Wooldridge.

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General information on the history of health, medical discoveries and illness

For information about the history of health, medical discoveries and illness, consult the following Duke University site: Medicine and Madison Avenue, The National Humanities Center and the John W Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History.