Services Australia, formerly the Department of Human Services and before that the Department of Social Security, is an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...

of the

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 ...

, responsible for delivering a range of

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, health, child support payments and other services to eligible Australian citizens and permanent residents. Services Australia delivers social services through the government programs

Centrelink The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carer ...

, Medicare, the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

and the

Child Support Agency The Child Support Agency (CSA) was a delivery arm of the Department for Work and Pensions (Child Maintenance Group) in Great Britain and the former Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland. Launched on 5 April 1993, the CSA was to ...

. Eligible Australian citizens and permanent residents can access many of these services through a

myGov MyGov may refer to: * myGov, an Australian government portal * MyGov.in MyGov (Hindi ''Merī Sarkār'') is a citizen engagement platform launched by the Government of India on 26 July 2014 to promote the active participation of Indian citize ...

account. The head of the agency is the Chief Executive Officer, currently Rebecca Skinner, who is responsible to the

Minister for Government Services The Minister for Government Services is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for Services Australia. The current minister since 1 June 2022 is the Hon Bill Shorten MP, who also serves as Minister for the National Disability I ...

, currently

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...

History

The Department of Human Services was created on 26 October 2004 as part of the Australian Government's Finance and Administration portfolio. At the time of its creation, it incorporated the

and CRS Australia, with the ''Human Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011'' integrating Centrelink and Medicare. The Secretary at the Department's establishment in 2004 was Patricia Scott. Helen Williams was appointed Secretary of the Department in 2007.

Finn Pratt Finn Axel Pratt (born 1960) is a retired senior Australian public servant. He was most recently Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Energy. Life and career Pratt has a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. H ...

succeeded Williams in September 2009 after her retirement from the public service. The department was renamed "Services Australia" and made an Executive Agency in

machinery of government The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and processes of government, such as the functions and accountability of ministry (government department), departments in the executive (government), exe ...

changes made by Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

on 29 May 2019 following the 2019 federal election. The agency was formed by way of an administrative order announced on 26 May 2019, with the order coming into effect from 1 February 2020. As a result of this change, the previous secretary, Renée Leon was removed from her role. From 1 February 2020, the Department of Human Services began operating under the Services Australia branding with Amanda Cattermole beginning as the agency's acting

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 ...

until her role was discontinued. In 2020, Services Australia signed a $460,000 contract with controversial Israeli digital intelligence company

Cellebrite Cellebrite is an Israeli digital intelligence company that provides tools for federal, state, and local law enforcement as well as enterprise companies and service providers to collect, review, analyze and manage digital data. On April 8, 2021, C ...

, to use its spyware in fraud investigations. The contract was extended in August 2021, bringing the total value to $1.2 million. Services Australia has refused to state which programs it used the technology on to investigate suspected fraud.

Responsibilities

Entrance to Tuggeranong Services Australia service centre August 2022

According to the Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019, Services Australia is responsible for administering the following services as dictated by their legislation: * Centrelink – ''Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997'' * Medicare – ''Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973'' *Child Support Agency Services Australia also shares responsibility for the myGov platform with the

Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

and

Digital Transformation Agency The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) – an executive agency within the Australia’s Government’s Finance portfolio – supports the digital transformation of government services. Since 1 July 2022 it has done this by: * providing strate ...

. As part of the administration of these services, Services Australia operates a number of face-to-face service centres across Australia, as well as myGov centres in major cities. In 13 locations across Tasmania, both state and federal services can be accessed through Service Tasmania centres.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Services Australia Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Public policy in Australia Ministries established in 2004

History

Responsibilities

See also

References

External links