Department of Social Services (1939–1972) Tags: Government Agency.The Department of Social Services was an Australian government department that existed between April 1939 and December 1972.The Department was established by the Menzies Government in 1939 but did not become fully operative until 1941. extinction date 1972-12-19 extinction year 1972-01-01T00:00:00+02:00 formation date 1939-04-26 formation year 1939-01-01T00:00:00+02:00 headquarter Canberra jurisdiction Government of Australia location Canberra successor Department of Social Security (Australia) type Ministry (government department) Learn more... Loading...