Organisation

AGY-114 | State Children Relief Dept (1881-1923) Child Welfare Dept (1923-70) Dept of Child Welfare and Social Welfare (1970-73) Youth and Community Services (1973-75,76-88) Youth, Ethnic and Community Affairs (1975-76) Dept of Community Services (1992-2009)

NSW State Archives Collection
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Full description

The State Children's Relief Department was established following the passage of the State Children Relief Act of 1881 (44 Vic. Act No.24, 1881) which provided for the appointment of one or more Boarding-out Officers. The duties of these officers were

* when directed by The State Children's Relief Board, "to remove any State child from an Asylum and cause him to be boarded-out " until the child reached the age of twelve and (1)
* when directed by the Colonial Secretary "to remove any child from any Reformatory School and cause him to be boarded-out". (2)

Sydney Maxted, formerly Master of the Protestant Orphan School, was appointed as the first Boarding-out Officer and Chief Inspector on 26 May 1881. (3)

Administrative arrangements for the Department changed on 1 August 1888 when the Department of Charitable Institutions was formed bringing together the services of government to the ill and neglected. This new Department had two branches - the State Children's Relief Branch and the Government Asylums which had previously been known as the Government Asylums for the Infirm and Destitute. (4)

On 28 April 1892 the Children's Protection Branch of the Department of Charitable Institutions was established. The Director and his assistant were its Chief Officers. Four personnel from the State Children's Relief Branch (now known as the State Children's Relief Board) and two new officers were to form the establishment of the Children's Protection Branch. The Department of Charitable Institutions controlled five separate asylums - one at Liverpool, one at Newington and three at Parramatta. (5)

An Act to Amend an Act to Establish a System of Boarding-out Children, 1896 ( 60 Vic. Act No.9) authorised the State Children's Relief Board, in the name of its boarding-out officer to prosecute parents who had defaulted in payments for the maintenance of their children who had been found neglected. (6)

By 1897 the Charitable Institutions Department consisted of State Children's Relief personnel as well as the superintendents of government asylums. The two separate branches appear to have dissolved. A total of ten government charitable institutions for neglected children, the elderly and the infirm were also under the direction of The Chief Secretary's Department. (7)

The State Children Relief Act of 1901 (Act No. 61, 1901), which repealed the 1881 Act, gave the Boarding-out officer additional authority to remove any child from a reformatory school and cause him/her to be boarded-out when directed by the Minister. (8) In 1901, the Department of Charitable Institutions ceased and the State Children's Relief Branch was responsible for the care of State children. The Branch conducted the institutions - Ormond House and the Shaftesbury Reformatory and two cottage homes at Mittagong and Parramatta. (9)

The Children's Protection Act of 1902 (Act No. 47, 1902) directed that the boarding-out officer was now to be known as the "Chief Officer - the head of the Department to administer the Act ". (10) The chief officer's duties included
* the collection of moneys from parents wishing to place their children with carers (11)
* transfer such moneys to the carers (12)
* to be informed of any child placed in care by written order of a justice, any changes in abode or relinquishment of custody, or of the death of any child in care. (13)
* to cause an inquest to be held if a child died in care (14)
* to keep a register of people and homes wishing to care for children and to renew registrations annually. Registration could be cancelled at any time by the officer if the arrangements were found to be unsuitable. (15)
* to remove a child to the care of the State Children Relief Department if he or she was mistreated by parent/s or substitute carer (16)
* to inspect premises where children are in substitute care at any time, and to remove any child to a place of safety if he or she was considered to be in unsatisfactory circumstances. A court would subsequently determine appropriate care for the child (17)
* to search for any neglected boy under fourteen years of age or a girl under sixteen, and to enter buildings to remove children. (18)

Under the Infant Protection Act of 1904 (Act No.27, 1904) the Chief Officer was authorised to pursue the father of a child conceived by a single woman, and to initiate court proceedings which could result in the man being ordered to pay his child's expenses. (19) The Act provided for the inspection and reporting upon places applying for the care of two or more children under the age of seven. (20) The chief officer was given authority to appear in a court which dealt with matters to do with infant protection or deserted children. (21)

The Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act of 1905 (Act No.16, 1905) repealed the Reformatory and Industrial
Schools Act of 1901 ( Act No.38, 1901) and established shelters, industrial schools and reformatory schools to be under the control and administration of the Minister and maintained by financial allocation of the parliament (22) and initiated children's courts for hearing cases of child neglect as well as child criminal proceedings. (23)

From 23 October 1905 the State Children's Relief Branch was transferred administratively to the Department of Public Instruction. (24) The Child Welfare Act, 1923 (Act No.21, 1923) dissolved the "powers and authorities" of the State Children's Relief Board and transferred them to the Minister. (25) The name of the Department was altered to the Child Welfare Department on 15 December 1923. (26)

The Child Welfare Act of 1939 (Act No.17, 1939) made provision for the appointment of a Director of the Department. (27) Under subsequent legislation, the department experienced several changes of name. Under the Youth and Community Services Act (Act No. 90, 1973) the Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare was renamed the Department of Youth and Community Services, effective from 1 February 1974. (28)

In January 1975, the name of the Department was changed to the Department of Youth, Ethnic and Community Affairs. At this time the Department assumed responsibility for all activities (except expenditure) of the New South Wales Immigration Division. (29) Following the election of the 71st Ministry on 14 May 1976 and re-allocation of portfolios, the Department was known again as the Department of Youth and Community Services. (30)

From 25 March 1988 until 6 June 1991 the Department was known as Family and Community Services. It subsequently became the Department of Health and Community Services between 6 June 1991 and 3 July 1992 and from 3 July 1992 had the title of the Department of Community Services. (31)

On 7 April 2003 the Businesslink branch was transferred to the Department of Housing. (32)

From 1 July 2009 the Department of Community Services was abolished and its functions were transferred to the new Principal Department, the Department of Human Services. (33)


FOOTNOTES
(1) State Children Relief Act of 1881 (44 Vic, Act No.24), s.2.
(2) Ibid., s.3.
(3) NSW Public Service List, 1881, p.38 and p.58.
(4) NSW Public Service List, 1888, pp.35-36.
(5) NSW Public Service List, 1892, p.42-43.
(6) State Children Relief Act, 1896, s.12.
(7) NSW Public Service List, 1897, p.9.
(8) State Children Relief Act of 1901, s.9.
(9) Public Service List, 1901, pp.8-9.
(10) Children's Protection Act of 1902 (Act No. 47, 1902), s.3.
(11) Ibid., s.5(3).
(12) Ibid.
(13) Ibid., s.5(4).
(14) Ibid., s.10.
(15) Ibid., s.11-13.
(16) Ibid., s.13.
(17) Ibid., s.8.
(18) Ibid., s.33.
(19) Ibid., s.4-5.
(20) Ibid., s.27.
(21) Infant Protection Act, 1904, s.32(a).
(22) Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act, 1905, s.6-7.
(23) Ibid., s.9ff.
(24) New South Wales Government Gazette, 24 October 1905, p.7126.
(25) Child Welfare Act, 1923, s.4.
(26) New South Wales Government Gazette, 7 December 1923, p.5696.
(27) Child Welfare Act, 1939 s.5.
(28) Youth and Community Services Act, 1973, s.4, NSW Government Gazette, 18 January 1974 p. 130.
(29) New South Wales Government Gazette, 10 January 1975, pp.158-159.
(30 Department of Youth and Community Services Annual Report, 1976, p.13 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1976-77-78, vol. 12, p.1267.
(31) The New South Wales Parliamentary Record, Sydney, Government Printer, 1996, pp.297-303.
(32) Public Sector Employment and Management (NSW businesslink) Order 2003 in NSW Government Gazette, 4 April 2003, p.4422.
(33) Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009 (2009 No 352) cls.13; notified on NSW Legislation website, 27 July 2009.

Expanded title:
State Children Relief Dept (1881-1923) Child Welfare Department (1923-1970) Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare (1970-1973) Department of Youth and Community Services (1973-1975) Department of Youth, Ethnic and Community Affairs (1975-1976) Department of Youth and Community Services (1976-1988) Department of Family and Community Services (1988-1991) Department of Health and Community Services (1991-1992) Department of Community Services (1992-2009)

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