Minister for Social Services (Australia)

Minister for Social Services
Incumbent Christian Porter since 21 September 2015
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder	Frederick Stewart
Formation	1939

The Australian Minister for Social Services oversees Australian government social services, including Mental health, families and children's policy, and support for carers and people with disabilities, and seniors.

The current Minister for Social Services is the Hon. Christian Porter MP, since 21 September 2015.

The Minister for Major Projects, Territories, and Local Government is the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, since 21 September 2015.

In the Government of Australia, the Ministers administer the portfolio through the Department of Social Services. Other portfolio bodies for which the Ministers are responsible include:

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Social Services, or any of its precedent titles:

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Disability Services, or any of its precedent titles:

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs, or any precedent titles:

The first Minister for Housing was Les Bury, appointed in 1963, although there were Ministers in charge of War Service Homes from 1932 to 1938 and 1941 to 1945. In 1945 Bert Lazzarini was appointed Minister for Works and Housing and this title continued until 1952, when Wilfrid Kent Hughes became Minister for Works. No minister included "works" or "construction" in his portfolio after Stewart West lost this title in 1987, partly reflecting the progressive outsourcing of the Commonwealth's construction activities and even ownership of assets. The John Howard government had no Minister of Housing, partly reflecting the decline of the significance of the commonwealth-state housing agreements as a means of providing new housing since the post-war years.