The Social Welfare Ordinance 1964 (Act No. 31/1964) repealed the Welfare Ordinance 1961. It was passed on 20 August 1964 and commenced on 15 September 1964. It was repealed by the Community Welfare Ordinance (Act) 1983, which commenced on 20 April 1984.
The Social Welfare Ordinance 1964 gave welfare officers the power to suspend the right of an Aboriginal person to enter or remain on a reserve. Under the Ordinance, the Department of Social Welfare restricted entry to reserves and provided assistance only to people the Director deemed ‘socially or economically in need of assistance.’