| Minister for Finance | |
|---|---|
 | |
.svg) | |
| Department of Finance | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Appointer | Governor-General on theadvice of the prime minister |
| Inaugural holder | Phillip Lynch |
| Formation | 7 December 1976 (1976-12-07) |
| Website | www |
TheMinister for Finance is a member of theCabinet of Australia who is responsible for monitoring government expenditure and financial management. The current minister is SenatorKaty Gallagher who has held the position since May 2022.
In theGovernment of Australia, the minister supplements the role of theTreasurer, being responsible for areas such as government expenditure, financial management, and the operations of government. The minister administers the portfolio through theDepartment of Finance.
The Finance Minister is in effect the deputy Treasurer (not to be confused with theAssistant Treasurer), as the Finance Minister acts as the Treasurer in the Treasurer's absence. Unlike the Treasurer, who by convention has been a member of the House of Representatives, the Finance Minister may come from either House of Parliament.
The portfolio was first created in 1977 byMalcolm Fraser'sLiberal Party of Australia government as Minister for Finance. It was subsequently renamed Minister for Finance and Administration byJohn Howard's government in 1997, and as Minister for Finance and Deregulation byKevin Rudd's government in 2007, then returning to Minister for Finance underTony Abbott in 2013. It took on its current name underScott Morrison in 2018; theSecond Morrison Ministry removed Public Service from the portfolio in May 2019. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Finance or any precedent titles:[1]
| Order | Minister | Party affiliation | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillip Lynch | Liberal | Fraser | Minister for Finance | 7 December 1976 (1976-12-07) | 19 November 1977 (1977-11-19) | 347 days | |
| 2 | Eric Robinson | 20 November 1977 (1977-11-20) | 23 February 1979 (1979-02-23) | 1 year, 95 days | ||||
| 3 | John Howard | 23 February 1979 (1979-02-23) | 27 February 1979 (1979-02-27) | 4 days | ||||
| n/a | Eric Robinson | 27 February 1979 (1979-02-27) | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 1 year, 250 days | ||||
| 4 | Dame Margaret Guilfoyle | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 2 years, 128 days | ||||
| 5 | John Dawkins | Labor | Hawke | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) | 1 year, 277 days | ||
| 6 | Peter Walsh | 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 5 years, 112 days | ||||
| 7 | Ralph Willis | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 9 December 1991 (1991-12-09) | 1 year, 249 days | ||||
| 8 | Kim Beazley | 9 December 1991 (1991-12-09) | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 18 days | ||||
| Keating | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) | ||||||
| n/a | Ralph Willis | 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) | 23 December 1993 (1993-12-23) | 1 year, 361 days | ||||
| n/a | Kim Beazley | 23 December 1993 (1993-12-23) | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 2 years, 79 days | ||||
| 9 | John Fahey | Liberal | Howard | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 5 years, 260 days | ||
| Minister for Finance and Administration | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 26 November 2001 (2001-11-26) | ||||||
| 10 | Nick Minchin | 26 November 2001 (2001-11-26) | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 6 years, 7 days | ||||
| 11 | Lindsay Tanner | Labor | Rudd | Minister for Finance and Deregulation | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 2 years, 274 days | |
| Gillard | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 3 September 2010 (2010-09-03) | ||||||
| 12 | Wayne Swan | 3 September 2010 (2010-09-03) | 14 September 2010 (2010-09-14) | 11 days | ||||
| 13 | Penny Wong | 14 September 2010 (2010-09-14) | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | 3 years, 4 days | ||||
| Rudd | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | ||||||
| 14 | Mathias Cormann1 | Liberal | Abbott | Minister for Finance | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) | 7 years, 42 days | |
| Turnbull | 15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) | 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23) | ||||||
| Morrison | Minister for Finance and thePublic Service | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | |||||
| Minister for Finance | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 30 October 2020 (2020-10-30) | ||||||
| n/a | Scott Morrison1 | 30 March 2020 (2020-03-30) | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) | 2 years, 54 days | ||||
| 15 | Simon Birmingham1 | 30 October 2020 (2020-10-30) | 1 year, 205 days | |||||
| 16 | Katy Gallagher | Labor | Albanese | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) | Incumbent | 3 years, 269 days | ||
Notwithstanding Philip Lynch, John Howard and Wayne Swan who were Treasurers whilst serving as Finance Minister, two Finance Ministers who were from the House of Representatives, John Dawkins and Ralph Willis, then served as Treasurer. In addition John Fahey (served 1996-2001) had previously served as Treasurer of New South Wales when he was also Premier of that state and current minister Katy Gallagher had previously served as Treasurer of the Australian Capital Territory including when she was also the territory Chief Minister.
The first minister responsible for Administrative Services wasFred Daly, although the portfolio was titled Minister for Services and Property from December 1972 until October 1975. The portfolio was abolished with the resignation ofDavid Jull on 25 September 1997 and its responsibilities were absorbed into the portfolio of Finance and Administration on 6 October 1997. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Administrative Services, or any precedent titles:[1][2]
| Order | Minister | Party affiliation | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Daly | Labor | Whitlam | Minister for Services and Property | 19 December 1972 (1972-12-19) | 7 October 1975 (1975-10-07) | 2 years, 327 days | |
| Minister for Administrative Services | 7 October 1975 (1975-10-07) | 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) | ||||||
| 2 | Tom Drake-Brockman | National | Fraser | 12 November 1975 (1975-11-12) | 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) | 41 days | ||
| 3 | Reg Withers | Liberal | 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) | 7 August 1978 (1978-08-07) | 2 years, 228 days | |||
| 4 | Peter Durack | 7 August 1978 (1978-08-07) | 25 August 1978 (1978-08-25) | 18 days | ||||
| 5 | Fred Chaney | 25 August 1978 (1978-08-25) | 5 December 1978 (1978-12-05) | 102 days | ||||
| 6 | John McLeay | 5 December 1978 (1978-12-05) | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 1 year, 334 days | ||||
| 7 | Kevin Newman | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 2 years, 128 days | ||||
| 8 | John Brown | Labor | Hawke | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) | 1 year, 277 days | ||
| 9 | Tom Uren | Minister forLocal Government and Administrative Services | 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 2 years, 223 days | |||
| 10 | Stewart West | Minister for Administrative Services | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 2 years, 254 days | |||
| 11 | Nick Bolkus | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 2 years, 354 days | ||||
| Keating | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 24 March 1993 (1993-03-24) | ||||||
| 12 | Bob McMullan | Minister forthe Arts and Administrative Services | 24 March 1993 (1993-03-24) | 30 January 1994 (1994-01-30) | 1 year, 1 day | |||
| Minister for Administrative Services | 30 January 1994 (1994-01-30) | 25 March 1994 (1994-03-25) | ||||||
| 13 | Frank Walker | 25 March 1994 (1994-03-25) | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 1 year, 352 days | ||||
| 14 | David Jull | Liberal | Howard | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 25 September 1997 (1997-09-25) | 1 year, 198 days | ||
| 15 | John Fahey | Minister for Finance and Administration | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 26 November 2001 (2001-11-26) | 4 years, 48 days | |||
| 16 | Nick Minchin | 26 November 2001 (2001-11-26) | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 6 years, 7 days | ||||
The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for, or any precedent titles:[1][2]
| Order | Minister | Party affiliation | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Coleman | Liberal | Turnbull | Assistant Minister for Finance | 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 251 days | |
David Coleman, who came to Parliament after a long career in business, is also elevated to the ministry as Assistant Minister for Finance.
