Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia)

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The Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowers and dependants.

The current Minister is Alan Griffin, who was appointed on 3 December 2007, following the Labor Party's win at the 2007 election. He is responsible for the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio, including:^[1]

Department of Veterans' Affairs
Repatriation Commission
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
Office of Australian War Graves
Australian War Memorial
Veterans' Review Board
Repatriation Medical Authority
Specialist Medical Review Council

[edit] Australian Ministers for Veterans' Affairs

The portfolio was called Minister for Repatriation from the appointment of the first Minister, Edward Millen on 28 September 1917 to deal with ex-soldiers returning from World War I. Peter Durack's title was changed to Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 5 October 1976. Between 1932 and 1938 there were also a Minister in charge of War Service Homes. This position was revived with Herbert Collett's appointment as Minister without portfolio administering War Service Homes in 1939, but was subsumed by Hubert Lazzarini's appointment as Minister for Works and Housing in 1945.

Minister	Party affiliation	Period	Ministerial Title
Edward Millen	Nationalist Party	1917–1923	Minister for Repatriation
Frank Anstey	Australian Labor Party	1929–1931
John McNeill	Australian Labor Party	1931–1932
Charles Hawker	United Australia Party	1932
Charles Marr	United Australia Party	1932–1934
Billy Hughes	United Australia Party	1934–1935
Joseph Lyons	United Australia Party	1935–1936
Billy Hughes	United Australia Party	1936–1937
Harry Foll	United Australia Party	1937–1939
Eric Harrison	United Australia Party	1939–1940
Geoffrey Street	United Australia Party	1940
Philip McBride	United Australia Party	1940
George McLeay	United Australia Party	1940–1941
Herbert Collett	United Australia Party	1941
Charles Frost	Australian Labor Party	1941–1946
Claude Barnard	Australian Labor Party	1946–1949
Walter Cooper	Country Party	1949–1960
Frederick Osborne	Liberal Party	1960–1961
Reginald Swartz	Liberal Party	1961–1964
Gerald McKellar	Liberal Party	1964–1969
Mac Holten	Liberal Party	1969–1972
Reg Bishop	Australian Labor Party	1972–1974
John Wheeldon	Australian Labor Party	1974–1975	Minister for Repatriation and Compensation
Don Chipp	Liberal Party	1975
Kevin Newman	Liberal Party	1975–1976	Minister for Repatriation
Peter Durack	Liberal Party	1976
Peter Durack	Liberal Party	1976–1977	Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Victor Garland	Liberal Party	1977–1978
Evan Adermann	National Party	1978–1980
Tony Messner	Liberal Party	1980–1983
Arthur Gietzelt	Australian Labor Party	1983–1987
Ben Humphreys	Australian Labor Party	1987–1993
John Faulkner	Australian Labor Party	1993–1994
Con Sciacca	Australian Labor Party	1994–1996
Bruce Scott	Liberal Party	1996–2001
Danna Vale	Liberal Party	2001–2004
De-Anne Kelly	National Party	2004–2006
Bruce Billson	Liberal Party	2006–2007
Alan Griffin	Australian Labor Party	2007–

[edit] Ministers in charge of War Service Homes

Minister	Party affiliation	Period	Ministerial Title
Josiah Francis	United Australia Party	1932–1934	Minister in charge of War Service Homes
Harold Thorby	Country Party	1934–1936	Minister without portfolio in charge of War Service Homes
James Hunter	Country Party	1936–1937
Harry Foll	United Australia Party	1937–1938	Minister in charge of War Service Homes
Herbert Collett	United Australia Party	1939–1940	Minister without portfolio administering War Service Homes
Herbert Collett	United Australia Party	1940–1941	Minister in charge of War Service Homes
Charles Frost	Australian Labor Party	1941–1945