The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the

Government of Australia 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 Governmen ...

, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s and their widows, widowers and dependants; and administers the portfolio through the

Department of Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

Scope

The minister is also responsible for the following agencies: *

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

*Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission *

Office of Australian War Graves The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) is a branch within the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs. The branch was initially a stand-alone agency, formed 1 January 1975. In 1980, the ''War Graves Act 1980 (Cth)'' formalised t ...

*Repatriation Commission *Repatriation Medical Authority *Review of Service Delivery Arrangements *Specialist Medical Review Council *

Veterans' Review Board The Veterans' Review Board (VRB) is a statutory body within the Australian Government's Veterans' Affairs portfolio. The role of the VRB is to conduct merits review of certain decisions under the ''Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986 (Cth) ''(the VEA) ...

*Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service

List of veterans' affairs ministers

The portfolio was created by

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

. It was called Minister for Repatriation from the appointment of the first Minister,

Edward Millen Edward Davis Millen (7 November 1860 – 14 September 1923) was an Australian journalist and politician who served as the first Minister for Repatriation. Millen emigrated to Australia from England around 1880 and established himself as a jou ...

on 28 September 1917 to deal with ex-soldiers returning from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Stanley Bruce chose not to include a Minister for Repatriation in his ministry (1923–29), but his successor James Scullin restored it, and it has continued ever since, under different names.

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the h ...

changed the portfolio title to Minister for Repatriation and Compensation in 1974;

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

restored it to its original title in 1975, and then changed it to Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 5 October 1976,

Peter Durack Peter Drew Durack, QC (20 October 1926– 13 July 2008) was an Australian politician, representing the Liberal Party. He rose to become Attorney-General of Australia. He served in the Senate from 1 July 1971 to 30 June 1993. From 1987 to 19 ...

being the last minister under the old title and the first under the new. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, or any of its precedent titles: Notes : Barnard was part of a two-man ministry that comprised Barnard and

for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned. :

initially chose Senator Glen Sheil for the portfolio, and he was sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council. But before he was sworn in as a minister, Sheil professed his support for the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n apartheid regime, which was very much at odds with the Fraser government's position. Fraser decided not to proceed with Sheil’s appointment to the Ministry, and his appointment as an Executive Councillor was terminated. Garland was appointed in his place.

List of assistant ministers

List of Ministers Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC

Ministers in charge of War Service Homes

Between 1932 and 1938 there was also a Minister in charge of War Service Homes. This position was revived with

Herbert Collett Herbert Brayley Collett (12 November 1877 – 15 August 1947) was an Australian politician, librarian and soldier. Collett was born in St. Peter Port, Guernsey and arrived with his family in Western Australia in October 1884. He was educated ...

's appointment as

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

administering War Service Homes in 1939, but was subsumed by

Bert Lazzarini Hubert Peter Lazzarini (8 September 1884 – 1 October 1952) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represented the Division of Werriwa in the House of Representatives for over 30 years (1919–193 ...

's appointment as Minister for Works and Housing in 1945. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister in charge of War Service Homes, or any of its precedent titles:

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios Veterans' Affairs

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 ...

Veterans' affairs in Australia