The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 department. Its main office is located in Southern Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 in the suburb of Greenway

Greenway, Australian Capital Territory

Greenway is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong. The postcode is 2900. The suburb is named after the architect, Francis Greenway . It was gazetted on 17 October 1986. The streets are named after architects...

. Its role is to develop social policies and support affected Australian society and the living standards of Australian families. The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination

The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination has been a division within the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs from 24 January 2006...

 is part of FaHCSIA. The Department offers benefits and/or programs for the following:

• families
  Family
  In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
  
   and children
  Child
  Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
  
  
• young people and students
  Student
  A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
  
  
• people with disabilities
  Disability
  A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
  
  
• carers
• the aged
  Old age
  Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
  
  
• people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
  Homelessness
  Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
  
  
• Aboriginal
  Indigenous Australians
  Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
  
  /Torres Strait Islander people
  Torres Strait Islanders
  Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, part of Queensland, Australia. They are culturally and genetically linked to Melanesian peoples and those of Papua New Guinea....
  
  

Parliamentary officeholders

• The current Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is Jenny Macklin
  Jenny Macklin
  Jennifer Louise Macklin , is an Australian politician. She is Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in the Gillard Ministry...
  
  
• The current Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness
  Minister for Housing (Australia)
  The Australian Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness is Mark Arbib, who was appointed on 14 September 2010, following the Labor Party's win at the 2010 election...
  
   is Mark Arbib
  Mark Arbib
  Mark Victor Arbib is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of New South Wales. He was the Australian Labor Party State Secretary of the New South Wales branch from 2004 to 2007...
  
  
• The current Minister for the Status of Women
  Minister for the Status of Women (Australia)
  The Australian Minister for Status of Women is Kate Ellis, who was appointed on 14 September 2010. The ministry is administered through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs....
  
   is Kate Ellis
  Kate Ellis
  Katherine Margaret "Kate" Ellis, MP is an Australian politician, representing the federal division of Adelaide since 2004 and is currently the Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare and the Minister for the Status of Women in the Gillard Government.-Early life and career:Ellis was...
  
  
• The current Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers is Senator Jan McLucas
• The current Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services is Julie Collins
  Julie Collins
  Julie Maree Collins is an Australian politician. She was elected in the 2007 Federal Election as an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives in the Division of Franklin in Tasmania....
  
  

External links

• Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Website