Style The Honourable | ||
 | ||
Nominator Premier of New South Wales Appointer Governor of New South Wales Inaugural holder Fred Flowers (as the Minister for Public Health)
Charles Cutler (as the Minister for Science) Formation 22 April 1914 (Public Health)
13 May 1965 (Science) | ||
The New South Wales Minister for Health is a minister in the New South Wales Government and has responsibilities which includes all hospitals and health services in New South Wales, Australia.
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The current Minister for Health and the Minister for Medical Research, since 30 January 2017 is Brad Hazzard. He is assisted in his portfolio by the Minister for Mental Health, currently Tanya Davies since 30 January 2017. Davies is also the Minister for Women and the Minister for Ageing. Together, they administer the portfolio through the Ministry of Health, the Office of Medical Research, and a range of other government agencies.
Office history
The role of a government advisor and administrator on medical policy in New South Wales began in 1914, with the appointment of Fred Flowers as the Minister for Public Health. However the medical porfolio had been administered in the government since 1848 when the first "Medical Adviser to the Government" was appointed, with his office reporting to the Colonial Secretary. Following the amalgamation of the Board of Health and the Medical Advisor to the Government a "Department of Public Health" was established in April 1904, headed by the President of the Board of Health. This department was abolished in 1913 and was replaced by the "Office of the Director-General of Public Health" which, like its predecessor, operated under the supervision of the Colonial Secretary. Upon Flowers' appointment as Minister for Public Health, a dedicated government minister supervised the portfolio while remaining the junior minister to the Colonial Secretary. The office was reconstituted as a fully independent "Department of Public Health" headed by the Minister (titled Minister for Health since 1930) in 1938.
The department existed until its abolition in 1972 with the passing of the Health Commission Act 1972 which created the "Health Commission of New South Wales" headed by the minister. In December 1982 the Health Commission was abolished by the Health Administration Act 1982 and replaced by the Department of Health. On 5 October 2011 the Department was renamed the "Ministry of Health".
Women ministry
On 1 July 1993, Premier John Fahey established the Ministry for the Status and Advancement of Women which was the first independent ministry on women's affairs in the state. The inaugural Minister for the Status of Women was Kerry Chikarovski who took over the responsibilities of the Women’s Coordination Unit of the Chief Secretary and the administration of the Women’s Legal Status Act 1918 from the Attorney General. The Ministry was replaced by the Department for Women on 5 April 1995 by the Carr government with a Minister for Women. On 1 July 2004 the Department for Women was abolished and its responsibilities were transferred to the "Office for Women" within the Premier’s Department, with the Minister acting in an advisory role to the Premier on women's affairs. The name of office was changed to the "Office for Women's Policy" by June 2009 and from 4 April 2011 it was transferred from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to the Department of Family and Community Services. In 2015 the office was transferred to within the Ministry of Health.