Department of Social Security (Australia)

Department of the Social Security

Department overview
Formed	19 December 1972
Preceding Department	Department of Health (I) - for health and hospital benefits schemes Department of Social Services (I) - for all other functions
Dissolved	21 October 1998
Superseding agency	Department of Family and Community Services
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Canberra
Employees	11,494 (in 1981)
Annual budget	$7.7 billion per year (estimate in 1981)
Department executives	Bruce Hamilton, Secretary (1972‑73) Louis Wienholt, Secretary (1973) Laurie Daniels, Secretary (1973‑77) Pat Lanigan, Secretary (1977‑81) Tony Ayers, Secretary (1981‑86) Derek Volker, Secretary (1986‑93) Tony Blunn, Secretary (1993‑98) David Rosalky, Secretary (1998)
Website	dss.gov.au

The Department of Social Security (also called the DSS) was the government department in Australia, which administered the Social Security system. The Department existed between 1972 and 1998.

History

The Department was one of several new departments established by the Whitlam Government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program.

The Department's delivery of payments and services functions was taken over by Centrelink in 1997. The creation of Centrelink meant significant changes to DSS, with the Department shrinking in size to approximately 700 staff who were tasked with policy formulation and advisory functions. The Department was dissolved completely in October 1998 with the creation of the new Department of Family and Community Services, that took on all remaining DSS functions.