When the Australian Government became a contributor to the Colombo Plan it was considered necessary to modify the existing
administrative machinery to cope with specific Colombo Plan projects and the supply of non-food items.
 
The Colombo Plan Supplies Directorate was set up in 1952 on a temporary basis to investigate feasibility, procurement, shipment and end use activity.
 
Following a review by the Public Service Board in 1959/60, the Directorate was placed on a permanent basis. By the early 1960's two other major schemes apart from the Colombo Plan were being
administered by the Directorate - the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Scheme (S.C.A.A.P.) and programs under the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (S.E.A.T.O)  Consequently it was decided to change the name of the Directorate to the External Aid Procurement
Directorate to reflect its wider activity.
 
The staff of the Directorate originally consisted of J.B. Todd, Director of Colombo Plan Supplies, J. Goodwin, a permanent officer of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture temporarily seconded to External Affairs and a stenographer. A.B. Millard later became the Director and by 1964 the Directorate's staff had increased to include six clerks.
 
In December 1974, the Australian Development Assistant Agency (A.D.A.A) was formally established under the Australian Development Assistance Agency Act 1974, to integrate under the one authority all aspects of, Australia's aid programme previously administered by the Departments of Foreign Affairs, External Affairs, Labor, the Treasury and Education, Consequently, the Directorate was absorbed into the new agency structure and became the Procurement and Emergency Aid Section of A.D.A.A. Central Office.
 

Historical agency address
1952-1957: Reliance House, 301 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
1957-1958: Queen's Gate, 83A Queens Road, Melbourne
1958-1963: 358 Lonsdalde Street, Melbourne
1963-1967: 568 St Kilda Road, Melbourne