The Department of Civil Aviation (also called the DCA) 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 November 1938 and November 1973.

History

The Department of Civil Aviation had its origins as the Civil Aviation Branch of the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

, which was established on 28 March 1921, after Parliament passed the ''Air Navigation Act 1920'' in December 1920. The organisation was reformed as a separate Government Department after the enquiry into the 1938 Kyeema Crash. When created in 1938, the Department was organised into seven branches: Administration, Transport Services and Legislation, GroundOrganisation, Electrical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Flying Operations and Accounts and Stores. Arthur Brownlow Corbett was appointed Director-General of Civil Aviation in April 1939, serving until his retirement in August 1944. From June 1946 to December 1955 the Director-General was Richard Williams, a former

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Chief of the Air Staff. Donald George Anderson held the position of Director-General from January 1956 until September 1973. Fokker F

On 30 November 1973 the DCA merged with the

Department of Shipping and Transport The Department of Shipping and Transport was an Australian government department that existed between May 1951 and December 1972. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found ...

and became the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

, Air Transport Group. The amalgamation was after the Second Whitlam Ministry agreed that this could achieve closer coordination of policies in the transport field and facilitate a more effective determination of the expenditure priorities and resources allocation.

Structure and scope

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 responsible to the Minister for Civil Aviation. The Department was headed by the Director-General. 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. The Department dealt with matters relating to civil aviation and administered related legislation.

List of ministers

Notes

References and further reading

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History

Structure and scope

List of ministers

Notes

References and further reading

See also