The New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) is a former department of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party o ...

and was previously responsible for the delivery of services to some of the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communities in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

until July 2019. From its establishment in 2009 until the election of the O'Farrell Government in 2011, the department was known as the Department of Human Services. Until its 2019 abolition, the department provided services to

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, children and young people, families, people who are homeless, people with a disability, their families and carers, women, and older people. It was formed as a cluster agency from the former

Department of Housing The Department of Housing was an Australian government department with responsibility for housing, including the administration of housing schemes and grants that existed between December 1963 and November 1973. Structure The Departm ...

Department of Community Services The Department of Community Services was an Australian government department that existed between December 1984 and July 1987. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in ...

, and the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care. The functions of the department, along with broader responsibilities, were transferred to the newly formed

Department of Communities and Justice The New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice, a government department, department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery of services to some of the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communiti ...

with effect from 1 July 2019.

Structure

Until its abolition, the department was led by its

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Michael Coutts-Trotter Michael Coutts-Trotter is an Australian public servant who is the current Secretary of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet for Premier Dominic Perrottet. He was previously Secretary of the New South Wales Department of Communities and J ...

, who reported to the Minister for Family and Community Services, Minister for Social Housing, and Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault,

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Pru Goward Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn. She was the New South Wales Minis ...

; the Minister for Ageing, the Hon. Tanya Davies ; and the Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Multiculturalism, the Hon. Ray Williams . Ultimately the ministers were responsible to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

. Agencies within FACS included: * Ageing, Disability and Home Care including the Office for Ageing :*Disability Council of New South Wales :*Home and Community Care Program Advisory Committee :*

Home Care Service of New South Wales A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

:*NSW Businesslink Pty Ltd * Community Services NSW, previously known as the Department of Community Services (DoCS) *

Housing NSW Housing NSW, formerly the Housing Commission of New South Wales and before that the New South Wales Housing Board, was an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice that was responsible for the provision and management of public housing s ...

Aboriginal Housing Office The NSW Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) is a statutory authority within NSW Department of Family and Community Services in the Government of New South Wales that is responsible for the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of programs a ...

, a statutory body :*City West Housing Pty Ltd :*

Home Purchase Assistance Fund A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

Funding of homelessness services

During the mid-1970s in Australia, a number of youth refuges were established in New South Wales. These refuges were founded by local youth workers, providing crisis accommodation, soon began getting funding from the NSW Government. These early refuges include

Caretakers Cottage Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Sydney assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Servic ...

, Young People's Refuge, Taldemunde among others.Coffey, Michael
"What Ever Happened to the Revolution? Activism and the Early Days of Youth Refuges in NSW."
''Parity''. Volume 19, Issue 10. Another Country: Histories of Homelessness. Council to Homeless Persons. (2006): 23–25. In 2012, Minister

announced a comprehensive reforms affecting the funding of homelessness services. The reform, known a "Going Home Staying Home", sought to shift funding from historical agreements to census based allocations.

References

{{Reflist

External links

NSW Department of Family and Community Services archived webpage
Family and Community Services 2009 establishments in Australia Family and Community Services 2019 disestablishments in Australia Family and Community Services

Structure

Funding of homelessness services

See also

References

External links