Department of Defence Department of Transport (III) Arthur Corbett , Director–General (1939–1944) Daniel McVey , Director–General (1944–1946) Richard Williams , Director–General (1946–1955) Don Anderson , Director–General (1956–1973) Charles Halton , Director–General (1973) The Department of Civil Aviation (also called the DCA ) was an Australian government department that existed between November 1938 and November 1973. The Department of Civil Aviation had its origins as the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Defence , which was established on 28 March 1921, after Parliament passed the Air Navigation Act 1920 in December 1920. [ 2 ] The organisation was reformed as a separate government department after the enquiry into the 1938 Kyeema Crash . [ 3 ] When created in 1938, the department was organised into seven branches: Administration, Transport Services and Legislation, GroundOrganisation, Electrical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Flying Operations and Accounts and Stores. [ 1 ] Arthur Brownlow Corbett was appointed Director-General of Civil Aviation in April 1939, serving until his retirement in August 1944. [ 3 ] From June 1946 to December 1955 the Director-General was Richard Williams , a former Royal Australian Air Force Chief of the Air Staff . [ 4 ] Donald George Anderson held the position of Director-General from January 1956 until September 1973. [ 5 ] On 30 November 1973 the DCA merged with the Department of Shipping and Transport and became the Department of Transport , Air Transport Group. The amalgamation was after the Second Whitlam Ministry agreed that this could achieve closer coordination of policies in the transport field and facilitate a more effective determination of the expenditure priorities and resources allocation. [ 6 ] Structure and scope The department was an Australian Public Service department responsible to the minister for civil aviation. The department was headed by the director-general. Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders , the annual portfolio budget statements and in the department's annual reports. The department dealt with matters relating to civil aviation and administered related legislation. [ 7 ] List of ministers Airservices Australia § History Civil Aviation Safety Authority 1 2 3 CA 29: Department of Civil Aviation, Central Office , National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 15 March 2020 , retrieved 27 November 2013 ↑ Organisational Timeline of the Department , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 22 October 2012 1 2 Arthur Brownlow Corbett MBE (1877 - 1970) , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 22 October 2012 ↑ Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO (1890–1980) , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 19 April 2012

↑ Sir Donald George Anderson (1917–1975) , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 22 October 2012 ↑ CA 1492: Department of Transport [ III ] , Head Office/ (from 1975) Central Office, Canberra and Melbourne , National Archives of Australia , retrieved 18 June 2013 ↑ Administrative Arrangements Order made on 30 November 1939 (PDF) , National Archives of Australia, 30 November 1939, p. 15, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2013 References and further reading DCA Annual Report 1961-62 Introduction , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 8 August 2011 DCA Annual Report 1962-63 Introduction , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 8 August 2011 DCA Annual Report 1950-52 , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 8 August 2011 DCA Annual Report 1948-49 Foreword , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 8 August 2011 DCA Annual Report 1947-48 Introduction , The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society, archived from the original on 8 August 2011 Civil aviation in Australia Defunct Commonwealth government departments of Australia 1938 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 1938 1973 disestablishments in Australia Government agencies disestablished in 1973 Aviation organisations based in Australia Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use Australian English from November 2013 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English Use dmy dates from December 2023 Pages using infobox mapframe with missing coordinates