The role of a government advisor and administrator on medical policy in New South Wales began in 1914, with the appointment of Fred Flowers as the Minister for Public Health. However the medical portfolio had been administered in the government since 1848 when the first "Medical Adviser to the Government" was appointed, with his office reporting to the Colonial Secretary. Following the amalgamation of the Board of Health and the Medical Advisor to the Government a "Department of Public Health" was established in April 1904, headed by the President of the Board of Health. This department was abolished in 1913 and was replaced by the "Office of the Director-General of Public Health" which, like its predecessor, operated under the supervision of the Colonial Secretary. Upon Flowers' appointment as Minister for Public Health, a dedicated government minister supervised the portfolio while remaining the junior minister to the Colonial Secretary. The office was reconstituted as a fully independent "Department of Public Health" headed by the Minister in 1938. The department existed until its abolition in 1972 with the passing of the Health Commission Act 1972 which created the "Health Commission of New South Wales" headed by the minister. In December 1982 the Health Commission was abolished by the Health Administration Act 1982 and replaced by the Department of Health. On 5 October 2011 the Department was renamed the "Ministry of Health".
Women ministry
On 1 July 1993, Premier John Fahey established the Ministry for the Status and Advancement of Women which was the first independent ministry on women's affairs in the state. The inaugural Minister for the Status of Women was Kerry Chikarovski who took over the responsibilities of the Women’s Coordination Unit of the Chief Secretary and the administration of the Women’s Legal Status Act 1918 from the Attorney General. The Ministry was replaced by the Department for Women on 5 April 1995 by the Carr government with a Minister for Women. On 1 July 2004 the Department for Women was abolished and its responsibilities were transferred to the "Office for Women" within the Premier’s Department, with the Minister acting in an advisory role to the Premier on women's affairs. The name of office was changed to the "Office for Women's Policy" by June 2009 and from 4 April 2011 it was transferred from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to the Department of Family and Community Services. In 2015 the office was transferred to within the Ministry of Health. Following the 2019 state election, the office was transferred to the newly-established Department of Family and Community Services and Justice.
