The Department of Social Services (DSS) is a

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, ...

of the

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

charged with the responsibility for national policies and programs that help deliver a strong and fair society for all Australians. The department develops and implements

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

. The head of the department is the

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 w ...

of the Department of Social Services, currently

Ray Griggs Vice Admiral Raymond James Griggs, (born July 1961) is an Australian senior public servant and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Chief of Navy from June 2011 to June 2014, before being appointed Vice Chief of ...

,. who reports to the

Minister for Families and Social Services The Minister for Social Services is the Australian federal government minister who oversees Australian Government social services, including mental health, families and children's policy, and support for carers and people with disabilities, and ...

. Previously, the Minister for Social Services was Paul Fletcher from 2018 to 2019. In the Turnbull Government, the ministers were assisted by the Assistant Minister for Disability Services, the Hon

Jane Prentice Jane Prentice (''née'' Righetti; born 22 June 1953) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2019, representing the Division of Ryan in Queensland. She previously served on the Brisba ...

and the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon

Craig Laundy Craig Arthur Samuel Laundy (born 16 February 1971) is a former Australian Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party politician who served as Australian House of Representatives, Member of Parliament for Division of Reid, Reid from 2013 Australia ...

. The head office of the department is located in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

suburb of Greenway.

History

The department was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013 and replaced the majority of the functions previously performed by the former

Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs The former Australian Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) was a department of the Government of Australia located in Greenway in Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia ...

(FaHCSIA); with the exception of

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination __NOTOC__ The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC) was the Australian Government-led unit for the coordination of policy, programs and services for Indigenous Australians from July 2004 to August 2011. The OIPC was formally establish ...

, that was transferred to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Operational activities

In an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 18 September 2013, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters: *

Ageing Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

research *Income security and support policies and programs for

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

with children,

carers A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...

, the aged,

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

and people in hardship *Income support policies for students and apprentices *Services for families with children, people with disabilities and carers *Services for older people, including their carers *Policy for and promotion of active ageing, other than employment policy *Community mental health *Community support services *Family relationship, Family and Children’s Support Services *Social housing, rent assistance and

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

*Child support policy *Housing affordability *Services to help people with disabilities obtain employment *Arrangements for the settlement of migrants and humanitarian entrants, other than migrant child and migrant adult education *Non-profit sector and volunteering *Multicultural affairs

Secretary of the Department

The Secretary of the Department Social Services is the head of the department, also known as the

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 w ...

of the level of ''Senior Executive Service Band 4'' in the

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 ...

as per the ''Public Service Act 1999''.

References

External links

Department of Social Services website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department of Social Services (Australia)

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

Adoption in Australia

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

Housing in Australia Public policy in Australia Government agencies established in 2013 Social security in Australia

History

Operational activities

Secretary of the Department

See also

References

External links