State Government of Queensland
The Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement Department was created on 16 January 1975. Previously known as the Aboriginal and Island Affairs Department the main difference was that people now had to apply for a 'Certificate of Entitlement' in order to come under the Act. The Department ran the Kowanyama Mission from 1975 to 1984. In 1984, the Department was abolished when the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984 and the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 were passed.
On 16 Jan 1975 the name of the Aboriginal and Island Affairs Department was changed to the Aboriginal and Islander Advancement Department. From 1977 to 1980 the Department was established as a portfolio in its own right.
Previous administrations had emphasised protection and preservation of the Aborigines through assimilation into the broader white community; later a policy of equality with the white community was implemented whereby, instead of seeking 'exemption' from the provision of the Act, people had to apply for a 'Certificate of Entitlement' in order to come under the Act. The term 'assisted Aborigines' was abolished.
The overall policy of the Aboriginal and Islander Advancement Department remained the same as the previous one, with an emphasis on the "rapid development of Communities allied to a continuing expansion of the responsibility assumed by Community Advisory Councils". In 1978 the Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act 1978 provided some communities (Aurukun and Mornington Island) with limited local government status. In 1982 the Land Act (Aboriginal and Islander Land Grants) Amendment Act 1982 allowed for the granting of land in trust to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement Department was abolished when the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984 and the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 were passed.
1904 - 1939 Chief Protector of Aboriginals Office
1939 - 1966 Director Of Native Affairs Office
1966 - 1975 Aboriginal and Island Affairs Department
1975 - 1984 Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement Department
1984 - 1987 Community Services Department
1987 - 1989 Community Services and Ethnic Affairs Department
1989 - 1996 Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs Department
1996 - 1998 Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy
1996 Department of Family and Community Services
1996 - 2001 Department of Families, Youth and Community Care
1998 - 2001 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and Development Department
2001 - 2006 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy Department
2001 - 2004 Department of Families
2004 - 2009 Child Safety Department
2004 - 2012 Communities Department
2004 - 2012 Communities Department
2004 - 2012 Communities Department
2012 - 2015 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs Department
2012 - 2017 Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services Department
2015 - 2020 Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
2017 - 2020 Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
2020 - Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs, State Government of Queensland
2020 - Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement Department (Agency ID 143)', in Queensland State Archives website, Queensland Government, 2004 - 2013, http://www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/Search/AgencyDetails.aspx?AgencyId=143#bookmarkDescription.
Prepared by: Nicola Laurent and Cate O'Neill
Created: 15 September 2014, Last modified: 17 September 2014