The Department of Defence Support was an

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

that existed between May 1982 and December 1984.

History

The department was established by the Fraser Government after a recommendation from the Defence Review Committee, which concluded that there were disadvantages in the previous large structure of the Defence Department.

Charles Halton Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...

became Secretary of the new department. In July 1984 a 27-person senior executive team was appointed to assist the departmental Secretary, of which only one was a woman. The department was abolished in December 1984, after

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

was elected Prime Minister in the

1983 Australian federal election The 1983 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, following a double dissolution. The incumbent Coalition government whi ...

. Hawke reasoned that the needs of defence policy making in Australia would be better served if all responsibilities were bought together within the one portfolio.

Scope

Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the Department's annual reports. Functions of the Department at its creation were: *Within defence policies approved by the Minister for Defence the following support for defence purposes - **Purchase of goods and services **Manufacture of goods and provision of services **Research and development **Development of Australian industry **Dockyard support.

Structure

The Department was an

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Defence Support.

References

Defence Support Ministries established in 1982 1982 establishments in Australia {{Australia-gov-stub