Mark Alfred DreyfusKC (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has beenattorney-general of Australia andcabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. Dreyfus is a member of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP), and has been theMP forIsaacs since the2007 election.

The Honourable Mark Dreyfus KCMP
Dreyfus in 2025
Attorney-General of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2022
Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Katy Gallagher
In office 4 February 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Nicola Roxon
Succeeded by	George Brandis
Cabinet Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2022
Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Position re-established
In office 14 September 2010 – 4 February 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Joe Ludwig
Succeeded by	Jason Clare
Special Minister of State
In office 1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Gary Gray
Succeeded by	Michael Ronaldson
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
In office 1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Gary Gray
Succeeded by	Eric Abetz
Member of theAustralian Parliament forIsaacs
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2007
Preceded by	Ann Corcoran
Personal details
Born	Mark Alfred Dreyfus (1956-10-03)3 October 1956 (age 68) Perth,Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Deborah Chemke ​ ​ (m. 1983; died 2023)​
Residence(s)	Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Profession	Lawyer
Website	www.markdreyfus.com

Before beginning his political career, Dreyfus worked as abarrister for two decades, specialising in constitutional, commercial andenvironmental law. After winning the seat of Isaacs in 2007, Dreyfus was appointed to theCabinet in September 2010 byJulia Gillard as Cabinet Secretary. In February 2013, following the resignation ofNicola Roxon, he was moved to become Attorney-General for the first time. AfterKevin Rudd replaced Gillard as Prime Minister in June 2013, Dreyfus was retained as Attorney-General and given the additional roles ofSpecial Minister of State andMinister for the Public Service and Integrity. He would hold these positions for less than three months, as Labor was defeated in the2013 election.

Throughout Labor's subsequent nine years in opposition, Dreyfus served asshadow attorney-general under bothBill Shorten andAnthony Albanese. Following Labor's victory in the2022 election, he was appointed to the positions of Attorney-General and Cabinet Secretary for the second time within theAlbanese Government. During his second tenure as attorney-general, he has led the Government's efforts to introduce anational anti-corruption commission, abolished theAdministrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), and initiated aroyal commission regarding the unlawfulRobodebt scheme. He ordered the discontinuation of the prosecution of whistleblowerBernard Collaery, and has pledged reform to thePrivacy Act in response to several high-profile data breaches that have taken place in Australia.

Dreyfus was born inPerth, Western Australia, the son ofGeorge Dreyfus, a noted composer who came to Australia fromNazi Germany. Three of Mark's great-grandparents perished duringThe Holocaust. Mark's father was moved to Australia when he was eleven years old. Many Jewish children in Australia were cared for throughout the war, including Mark's father, who had no idea if they would ever see their parents again.^[1][2][3]Dreyfus was educated atScotch College, Melbourne on a full scholarship and theUniversity of Melbourne, where he resided atOrmond College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and aBachelor of Laws.^[4]

Before entering parliament, Dreyfus worked as abarrister for twenty years, with an extensive practice in commercial, defamation, constitutional and environmental law. He appeared before theHigh Court in the leadingimplied freedom of political communication cases ofTheophanous v Herald & Weekly Times Ltd (1994) andLange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997). He also representedMichael Danby in a defamation suit against theLaRouche movement. In 1999 he was appointed Queen's Counsel.^[5]

Dreyfus also served as a director of theLaw Council of Australia and on theVictorian Bar Council and Victorian Bar Ethics Committee.

Since his first professional role as a Field Officer for theNorthern Land Council, Dreyfus has worked closely withAboriginal communities in theNorthern Territory, including representing a number of the claimants in the landmarkStolen Generations litigation.^[6]

In March 2006, Dreyfus successfully challenged the sitting Labor member for theDivision of Isaacs,Ann Corcoran, for the Labor candidacy in the 2007 election.^[7] At the 2007 election, he defeated the Liberal candidate, Ross Fox, gaining a 5.9-point swing to Labor.^[8]

Following Labor's victory at the2007 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was appointed the Chair of the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. At the2010 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was re-elected, gaining a further 3.33-point swing to Labor.

In September 2010, Dreyfus was appointed as Cabinet Secretary as well as Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency in theSecond Gillard Ministry.^[9] Dreyfus took on additional responsibilities in December 2011 when he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation.

At the2013 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was re-elected with a reduced margin of 3.9%, which was extended to 5.9% at the2016 Australian federal election.^[10]

Dreyfus had an easier run at the2019 Australian federal election after hisLiberal Party of Australia opponent was disendorsed for an earlier 'anti-Muslim rant',^[11] Dreyfus was re-elected with a 3.45 percent swing in his favour.^[12]

Dreyfus was again comfortably re-elected in the2022 Australian federal election,^[13] though his campaign was assisted when his Liberal Party opponent was referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation after admitting that, though he was enrolled to vote at a pub in the Isaacs electorate, he actually lived in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, some 20 km away.^[14][15]

Dreyfus is a member ofLabor's right faction.^[16][17] He is a strong advocate for action on climate change^[18] and for the establishment a federal anti-corruption agency.^[19] Dreyfus was a vocal supporter of the 'yes' campaign during theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey^[20] and a vocal opponent against Abbott government era funding reductions to climate science research at theCSIRO.^[21]

On 2 February 2013, Dreyfus was promoted to Attorney-General and as Minister for Emergency Management after the resignation ofNicola Roxon.^[22] Dreyfus was given additional responsibilities on 1 July 2013 as Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity following the decision byGary Gray to resign from the ministry following theJune 2013 Labor leadership spill.^[23]

As Attorney-General, Dreyfus appeared before theInternational Court of Justice inThe Hague as Counsel and Advocate for Australia in the case ofWhaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan; New Zealand intervening) in June and July 2013.^[24] On 1 April 2014, the ICJ handed down its decision in favour of Australia that Japan cease whaling in theSouthern Ocean.^[25]

Dreyfus served as Labor's Shadow Attorney-General from2013 to2022, where he championed the establishment of a Federal Integrity Commission^[19] and greater funding for community legal centres.^[26]

Dreyfus as shadow attorney general is the only person to hold the same portfolio in the entirety of Labor's nine years in opposition between 2013 and 2022 as well as being longest serving shadow attorney general.

Following Labor's victory in the2022 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was appointed as Attorney-General in the Albanese government on 31 May 2022.^[27] In his first interview as Attorney-General he said legislating Labor's promisednational anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 was his "paramount priority", calling it a "nation-building" reform.^[28] In September 2022, Dreyfus presented the legislation to create a national anti-corruption commission to Parliament,^[29] and the bill was passed on 30 November.^[30]

On 7 July 2022 Dreyfus used his powers as Attorney-General to discontinue the prosecution of lawyerBernard Collaery, which had been initiated by his predecessorChristian Porter.^[31] Collaery had been charged with disclosing confidential intelligence information about theAustralia–East Timor spying scandal, with many criticising his prosecution as unjust and unfair.^[32][33][34]

Dreyfus led the establishment of theRoyal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, announcing the Letters Patent on 25 August 2022 alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.^[35]

Dreyfus is a member of the Parliamentary Friends of theIHRA, which has been advocating for universities to adopt a controversialdefinition of antisemitism.^[36]

In 2024, the Albanese government banned the display of Nazi symbols, as well as the symbols of proscribed terrorist organisations.^[37]

Dreyfus married Chilean-born Deborah Chemke. The couple had three children, Joe, Tom and Laura.^{[38][39][40][41]} Deborah died on 1 November 2023.^[42]

Dreyfus is a keen swimmer, cyclist and runner and is a frequent participant in open water swims and fun runs within his electorate.^[43][44]

Dreyfus speaks fluent Spanish^[41] and has stated that, had he not become a lawyer, he would have liked to become a park ranger in theAlpine National Park.^[45]

He is a supporter of theSt Kilda Football Club.^[46]

• First Gillard Ministry
• Second Gillard Ministry
• Second Rudd Ministry
• Albanese Ministry
• List of Jewish members of the Australian parliament

• Search or browseHansard forMark Dreyfus at OpenAustralia.org
• Mark Dreyfus website
• The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC, MP at theParliament of Australia website