The Mental Hospitals Department was a government department responsible for the administration of mental health hospitals in Western Australia for the period 1934 until 1 January 1954. It took over this role from the Lunacy Department. During this period it was common to place children with intellectual and other disabilities in mental health institutions.Through the office of the Inspector General of the Insane (from 1947 known as the Inspector General of Mental Hospitals), the Department ran several hospitals and institutions for those with mental disabilities. In 1954 this responsibility was transferred to the Mental Health Services.