The Department of Health Services replaced the Public Health Department in 1956. The Department was responsible for public health, including, at first, mental health. In 1989, the Department of Health Services became the Department of Health.
Initially the Department of Health Services ran mental services, including Lachlan Park and Millbrook Rise Psychopathic Hospitals. In 1968, the Mental Health Services Commission took over responsibility for mental health. The two hospitals combined to form the Royal Derwent Hospital, run by its own Board.