The Minister for Government Services is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for Services Australia. The current minister is Senator Katy Gallagher, who has held the position since 20 January 2025 following a cabinet reshuffle prompted by the retirement of the previous minister, Bill Shorten.
The portfolio was given its current title in machinery of government changes ordered by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison following the 2019 federal election.
Scope In the Government of Australia, the Minister is responsible for a number of welfare agencies and administers their portfolio through Services Australia and its component bodies: Child Support Agency Centrelink Australian Hearing Medicare Australia
The Department of Human Services was created on 26 October 2004, as part of the Finance Portfolio, to improve the development and delivery of Government social and health related services to the Australian people.
As a result of the Administrative Arrangements Orders (AAOs) issued on 30 January 2007, the Department of Human Services and its agencies were transferred to a newly created Human Services Portfolio.
The Minister for Government Services provides a central policy and coordination role for the delivery of services across the Portfolio as well as being the delivery agency for child support and vocational rehabilitation services. The AAOs of 25 January 2008 clarified the Department’s responsibility for the development of policy or service delivery, directed at ensuring the effective, innovative, and efficient delivery of Government services. The Department works with other departments and agencies to ensure early consideration of service delivery issues in the policy development process to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of service delivery by agencies in the Human Services Portfolio.
List of ministers for government services There was a Minister for Social Services or Social Security continuously from 1939 to 1998, when service delivery was partially privatised and residual functions were transferred to the Minister for Finance and Administration. In 2004, the position of Minister for Human Services was recreated to handle the residual functions; Scott Morrison renamed the portfolio to Government Services in 2019.
The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Government Services, or any precedent titles:
Order Minister Party affiliation Prime Minister Ministerial title Term start Term end Term in office 1 Frederick Stewart United Australia Menzies Minister for Social Services 26 April 1939 29 August 1941 Fadden 29 August 1941 7 October 1941 2 Jack Holloway Labor Curtin 7 October 1941 21 September 1943 3 James Fraser 21 September 1943 6 July 1945 Forde 6 July 1945 13 July 1945 Chifley 13 July 1945 18 June 1946 4 Nick McKenna 18 June 1946 19 December 1949 5 Bill Spooner Liberal Menzies 19 December 1949 11 May 1951 6 Athol Townley 11 May 1951 9 July 1954 7 William McMahon 9 July 1954 28 February 1956 8 Hugh Roberton Country 28 February 1956 21 January 1965 9 Reginald Swartz Liberal 21 January 1965 22 February 1965 days 10 Ian Sinclair Country 22 February 1965 26 January 1966 Holt 26 January 1966 19 December 1967 McEwen 19 December 1967 10 January 1968 Gorton 10 January 1968 28 February 1968 11 Bill Wentworth Liberal 28 February 1968 10 March 1971 McMahon 10 March 1971 5 December 1972 12 Lance Barnard Labor Whitlam 5 December 1972 19 December 1972 days 13 Bill Hayden Minister for Social Security 19 December 1972 6 June 1975 14 John Wheeldon 6 June 1975 11 November 1975 days 15 Don Chipp Liberal Fraser 12 November 1975 22 December 1975 days 16 Margaret Guilfoyle 22 December 1975 3 November 1980 17 Fred Chaney 3 November 1980 11 March 1983 18 Don Grimes Labor Hawke 11 March 1983 13 December 1984 19 Brian Howe 13 December 1984 4 April 1990 20 Graham Richardson 4 April 1990 20 December 1991 Keating 20 December 1991 27 December 1991 21 Neal Blewett 27 December 1991 24 March 1993 22 Peter Baldwin 24 March 1993 11 March 1996 23 Jocelyn Newman Liberal Howard 11 March 1996 21 October 1998 24 Joe Hockey Liberal Howard Minister for Human Services 26 October 2004 30 January 2007 25 Ian Campbell 30 January 2007 9 March 2007 days 26 Chris Ellison 9 March 2007 3 December 2007 days 27 Joe Ludwig Labor Rudd 3 December 2007 9 June 2009 28 Chris Bowen 9 June 2009 24 June 2010 Gillard 24 June 2010 14 September 2010 29 Tanya Plibersek 14 September 2010 14 December 2011 30 Brendan O'Connor 14 December 2011 5 March 2012 days 31 Kim Carr 5 March 2012 23 March 2013 32 Jan McLucas 23 March 2013 27 June 2013 days Rudd 27 June 2013 18 September 2013 33 Marise Payne Liberal Abbott 18 September 2013 15 September 2015 Turnbull 15 September 2015 21 September 2015 34 Stuart Robert 35 Alan Tudge 36Michael Keenan Morrison (34) Stuart Robert Minister for Government Services 37 Linda Reynolds 38 Bill Shorten LaborAlbanese 39 Katy Gallagher Incumbent
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