Creation
The Department of Health and Ageing was established on 26 November 2001, pursuant to the Administrative Arrangements Order of that date (Commonwealth of Australia Special Gazette No. S 468, 26 November 2001).
Abolition
The Department of Health and Ageing was abolished on 18 September 2013 under the Administrative Arrangment Orders of that day. Most functions of the department were transferred to the new Department of Health, CA 9436, but aged care and ageing research functions moved to Social Services.
Functions and activitiesAt its inception the Department dealt with the following principal matters:
Services for the aged, including carers
Public health and medical research
Health promotion and disease prevention
Primary health care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Pharmaceutical benefits
Health benefits schemes
Specific health services, including human quarantine
National drug abuse strategy
Regulation of therapeutic goods
Notification and assessment of industrial chemicals
Gene technology regulation
The Department was also responsible for administering the following legislation:
Aged or Disabled Persons Care Act 1954
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Compensation Amendments) Act 1997
Aged Care (Consequential Provisions) Act 1997
Australian Hearing Services Act 1991
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987
Australia New Zealand National Food Authority Act 1991
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987, Part VIIA
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998
Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Act 1961
Delivered Meals Subsidy Act 1970
Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1981
Gene Technology Act 2000
Gene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000
Health and Other Services (Compensation) Act 1995
Health and Other Services (Compensation) Care Charges Act 1995
Health Care (Appropriation) Act 1998
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance Commission Act 1973
Health Insurance Commission (Reform and Separation of Functions) Act 1997
Health Insurance (Pathology) (Fees) Act 1991
Health Insurance (Pathology) (License Fee) Act 1991
Hearing Services Administration Act 1997
Hearing Services and AGHS Reform Act 1997
Home and Community Care Act 1985
Home Nursing Subsidy Act 1956
Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989
Industrial Chemicals (Registration Charge – Customs) Act 1997
Industrial Chemicals (Registration Charge – Excise) Act 1997
Industrial Chemicals (Registration Charge – General) Act 1997
Narcotic Drugs Act 1967, sections 9, 10, 11, 13, 19 and 23 and subsection 24(1), and so much of the remaining provisions of the Act (other than sections 12 and 22 and subsection 24(2) as relates to powers and functions under those sections
National Health Act 1953
National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992
Nursing Home Charge (Imposition) Act 1994
Nursing Homes Assistance Act 1974
Private Health Insurance Complaints Levy Act 1995
Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998
Quarantine Act 1908, in relation to human quarantine
Quarantine (Validation of Fees) Act 1985, in relation to human quarantine
States Grants (Home Care) Act 1969
States Grants (Nurse Education Transfer Assistance) Act 1985
States Grants (Paramedical Services) Act 1969
Therapeutic Goods Act 1989
Therapeutic Goods (Charges) Act 1989
Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992
World Health Organisation Act 1947
The Department has responsibility for dealing with all health matters of the general population and senior citizens, and has carriage of all relevant legislation. The Department inherits the majority of matters and legislation dealt with and administered by its predecessor. The new Department has, however, gained two additional matters namely, ‘Notification and assessment of industrial chemicals’ from the abolished Department Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (CA 8613) and ‘Gene technology regulation’ a new matter of concern for the Government.
In the Administrative Arrangement Order of 16 Dec 2004, the matter of ‘Medical indemnity insurance issues’ was added to those dealt with by the Department.
The following legislation was omitted from that administered by the Department:
Aged Care (Compensation Amendments) Act 1997
|AustraliaNew Zealand Food Authority Act 1991
Health Insurance Commission Act 1973
Health Insurance (Pathology) (Licence Fee) Act 1991
The following legislation was added to those administered by the Department:
Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Account Act 2001
Australian Hearing Services Act 1991, subsections 8(4) to 8(8) inclusive
Food Standards AustraliaNew Zealand Act 1991
Medical Indemnity Act 2002
Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Product Standards) Act 2003, Part 3, Division 2A
Medical Indemnity (Run-off Cover Support Payment) Act 2004
Medical Indemnity (UMP Support Payment) Act 2002
Medical Indemnity Agreement (Financial Assistance – BindingCommonwealth Obligations) Act 2002
National Blood Authority Act 2003
Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002
Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002
In the Administrative Arrangement Order of 14 September 2010 (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. S159, 15 September 2010), the Department became responsible for the following matters:
Hospitals funding, including relationship with primary health care
Implementation of the National Health and Hospitals Network
Health and ageing research
In the same Administrative Arrangements Order, the Department lost the matter of ‘Sport and recreation’ to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (CA 1401).
The following legislation was omitted from those administered by the Department and transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (CA 1401):
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2006
Australian Sports Commission Act 1989
In the subsequent Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 October 2010, the matter of ‘Services for Older Australians, including carers’ changed to ‘Services for older people, including their carers’. ‘Public health and medical research’ was renamed ‘Public health, including health protection, and medical research’ and the newly gained matter of ‘Hospitals funding, including relationship with primary health care’ was changed to ‘Hospitals funding and policy, including relationships and linkages within the continuum of health care’.
Legislation gained from the 14 October 2010 Administrative Arrangement Order included:
Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010
Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Act 2010
Midwife Professional Indemnity (Run-off Cover Support Payment ) Act 2010
Administrative structure
Ministers to the Department of Health and Ageing have been:
Minister for Health
26 Nov 2001 – 7 Oct 2003 : Senator the Hon Kay Patterson
7 Oct 2003 - 3 Dec 2007 : Hon Tony Abbott
3 Dec 2007 - 14 Dec 2011 : Hon Nicola Roxon
14 Dec 2011 - 1 Jul 2013 : Hon Tanya Plibersek
Minister for Health and Medical Research
1 Jul 2013 - 18 Sep 2013 : Hon Tanya Plibersek
Minister for Aging
7 Oct 2003 – 27 Jan 2006 : Hon Julie Bishop
27 Jan 2006 – 21 Mar 2007 : Hon Santo Santoro
21 March 2007 – 3 Dec 2007 : Hon Christopher Pyne
3 Dec 2007 – 14 Sept 2010 : Hon Justine Elliot
14 Sept 2010 - 01 Jul 2013 : Hon Mark Butler
1 Jul 2013 - 18 Sep 2013 : Hon Jacinta Collins
Minister for Indigenous Health
14 Sept 2010 - 18 Sep 2013 : Hon Warren Snowdon
Parliamentary Secretary for Health & Ageing
14 Sept 2010 - 25 Mar 2013 : Hon Catherine King
25 Mar 2013 - 18 Sep 2013 : Hon Shayne Neumann
Secretaries to the Department of Health and Ageing have been:
26 Nov 2001 - 18 Sep 2013 : Ms S J Halton
Historical agency address
Alexander and Albemarle Buildings and Fishburn, Juliana and Penrhyn House, Phillip ACT
Sources
Commonwealth of Australia Special Gazette No. S 468, 26 November 2001
Canberra Times, 8 Oct 2003, p4