Gareth Ward | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ward in 2018 | |
| Born | 1980 or 1981 (age 43–44) Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia |
| Criminal status | Sentenced to prison |
| Conviction | Guilty on all counts |
| Criminal charge | Indecent assault (3 counts) Sexual intercourse without consent (1 count) |
| Trial | Downing Centre (27 May 2025 – 25 July 2025) |
| Penalty | 5.75 years (3.75 years before parole) |
| Details | |
| Victims | Political staffer and acquaintance |
Date apprehended | 27 March 2022 |
| Imprisoned at | Cessnock Correctional Centre |
| Member of theNew South Wales Parliament forKiama | |
| In office 26 March 2011 – 8 August 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Matt Brown |
| Succeeded by | Katelin McInerney |
| Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services | |
| In office 2 April 2019 – 14 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Pru Goward(asMinister for Family and Community Services) Ray Williams(asMinister for Disability Services) |
| Succeeded by | Alister Henskens |
| Personal details | |
| Political party |
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| Residence | Meroo Meadow[1] |
| Education | Bomaderry High School |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
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| Website | www |
Gareth James Ward is an Australian former politician and convicted criminal. Ward resigned from parliament in 2025 following a conviction for sexual assault. He was a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly and represented the seat ofKiama on theSouth Coast from2011 to 2025, serving asNew South WalesMinister for Families, Communities andDisability Services in thesecond Berejiklian ministry from 2019 to 2021.[2][3]
He was suspended from the New South Walesparliament in March 2022 until the end of his term in March 2023, after being charged with sexual intercourse without consent, and three counts of indecent assault.[4] He was convicted of all four counts in July 2025.[5] Ward resigned from parliament on 8 August 2025 shortly before a vote on his expulsion from parliament following the guilty verdict in his trial.[6] This triggered aby-election in Kiama.[7] He was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.
Ward was bornc. 1981[8] in theIllawarra region and completed his schooling atBomaderry High School. Ward was born withalbinism and is legally blind.[9][10]He holds degrees incommerce andarts from theUniversity of Wollongong andBachelor of Laws from theUniversity of New England, and aMaster of Laws from theUniversity of Sydney. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from theAustralian National University, and is an Admitted Solicitor in the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia.[11] From 2001 to 2006, Ward was on the Council of theWollongong Undergraduate Students' Association at the university, and was involved with theAustralian Liberal Students Federation.
On27 March 2004, Ward was elected to theShoalhaven City Council as anindependent councillor representing the northern parts of Shoalhaven. He was re-elected on 13 September 2008 and became deputy mayor in the same month.[12] Ward was a councillor onShoalhaven City Council from 2004 until 2012.[13]
On 12 April 2010, Ward was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Kiama. It was reported that he gained preselection in a 20–12 vote against the previous candidate,Ann Sudmalis.[14] At the 2011 state election, Ward was elected with a swing of 19.4 points and won the seat with 57.5 per cent of the vote on a two-party basis.[15] Ward's main opponent was the incumbent sitting Labor member and former Minister,Matt Brown.
In April 2015, Ward was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast after PremierMike Baird abolished the former position ofMinister for the Illawarra.[16] In March 2017, Ward was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Education.[17] Ward retained his existing responsibilities as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast. Ward served as Parliamentary Secretary for Education, in addition to his role as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast from 2017 until 2019.
In September 2017 Ward claimed to have been the target of an attempted mugging in New York City while staying at the Intercontinental Hotel.[18] Ward claimed to have booked a male masseur for a massage, which was reported as a "special massage". In conflicting reports, it was claimed he "called a phone number provided by an acquaintance",[19] but others maintained that he ordered "the massage online from an outside service".[20] When two men turned up and announced that both of them were minors, Ward told them to leave. He then claimed the duo became aggressive and demanded US$1000 before they would leave. While luring the men down to the lobby under the guise of retrieving money from an ATM, Ward alerted hotel staff and the men fled. CCTV images were circulated but no arrests have been made.[21]
In September 2018, Ward was described in federal parliament by his fellow Liberal colleague,Ann Sudmalis, as leading a campaign of "bullying, betrayal and backstabbing" against her while she was a representative. The allegations were expanded to include branch stacking of local Liberal branches, and installing people hostile to Sudmalis on her electoral committee. She described his determination as to "annihilate anyone who opposed him" with his motivation being "Gareth's narcissistic revenge". Sudmalis went on to accuse him of misogynistic behaviour and raised several examples of where he had actively opposed and campaigned against female Liberals on the South Coast.[22]
Following the2019 state election Ward was appointed asMinister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the Second Berejiklian ministry.[3][23][24]
In February 2023 he announced that he would be contesting his seat as an independent at the2023 state election, "to stand up for the principles and values that are worth fighting for".[25]
Ward was narrowly elected as an independent in the2023 New South Wales state election, suffering a 10.7% swing against him.[26] The NSW government decided to follow the advice of parliament's privileges and ethics committee not to extend Ward's suspension into his new term.[27]
In July 2024, Ward arrived at Parliament House at 4 am to retrieve his spare house keys after locking himself out of his apartment atPotts Point. He denied being drunk or wearing only underwear.[28] PremierChris Minns asked for a full explanation.[29]
On 5 August 2025, Ward was granted aninjunction that prevented theNew South Wales Parliament from trying to expel him from theLegislative Assembly.[30][31] The injunction order was revoked following an appeal by the state government.[32][33]
On 8 August 2025, shortly before an expulsion vote in the Legislative Assembly, Ward resigned from his position as member for Kiama, triggering aby-election for the seat.[6]
On 14 May 2021 Ward resigned from his portfolio and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP subject to an inquiry by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of theNew South Wales Police Force.[34] Ward has denied the allegations.[35][36]
On 22 March 2022 Ward was charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual intercourse without consent, and one alternate charge of common assault. He allegedly indecently assaulted an 18-year-old man atMeroo Meadow in February 2013 and sexually abused a 24-year-old man in Sydney in September 2015. Ward was granted conditional bail to appear at Port Kembla Local Court on 18 May. The then-NSW Premier,Dominic Perrottet, called for his resignation from Parliament and said that if Ward did not resign, the government would move a motion to remove him from parliament.[37] On 24 March 2022, Ward was suspended from parliament after a motion to do so was passed unanimously in the Legislative Assembly.[38] On 19 August 2022, Ward was committed to stand trial for sexual and indecent assault.[39][40]
Ward's trial commenced in the Downing Centre District Court on 27 May 2025 before Judge Kara Shead. Ward pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him.[41] On 25 July, Ward was found guilty of sexually abusing two men after a nine-week trial.[5]
On 31 July, Ward filed defamation proceedings in theNSW District Court against radio station2SM over comments made by broadcasterJohn Laws prior to his criminal trial.[42]
On 31 October 2025, Ward was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole sentence of three years and nine months.[43]
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forKiama 2011–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byasMinister for Family and Community Services | Minister for Families, Communities andDisability Services 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasMinister for Disability Services | ||
