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Minister for Defence (Australia)

Australian cabinet position

Field	Value
post	Minister for Defence
insignia	Coat_of_Arms_of_Australia.svg
insigniacaption	Commonwealth Coat of Arms
image	Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2024 - 5 (3x4 cropped).jpg
incumbent	Richard Marles
incumbentsince	1 June 2022
department	Department of Defence
style	The Honourable (formal)
member_of	Parliament
Cabinet
Federal Executive Council
National Security Committee
seat	Canberra
appointer	Governor-General
appointer_qualified	on the advice the prime minister
termlength	At the Governor-General's pleasure
formation	1 January 1901
first	James Dickson
salary	$364,406
website

Cabinet Federal Executive Council National Security Committee The minister for defence is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing the organisation, implementation, and formulation of strategic policy in defence and military matters as the head of the Department of Defence. The minister for defence is responsible for the Australian Defence Organisation, including the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The current defence minister is Richard Marles, who is also concurrently serving as deputy prime minister of Australia, having been selected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election.

As the minister for defence is responsible for the management of Australia's defence and military forces and the portfolio's accountability to the Parliament, the secretary of defence is required under section 63(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 and the Requirements for Annual Reports from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit to submit a report to the responsible ministers on the activities of the Department of Defence after the end of each financial year for presentation to the Parliament.

It is one of only four ministerial positions (along with the prime minister, attorney-general and treasurer) that have existed since Federation.

Defence policy

The defence minister is primarily responsible for implementing government defence policy. The three main entities responsible for formulating defence policy within Defence are the Air Power Development Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and Sea Power Centre. Additionally, the minister releases white papers, that assess Australia's current defence capabilities and set out areas of reform.

The most recent white paper publication is the 2016 Defence White Paper that includes three elements: the 2016 Defence White Paper itself, 2016 Integrated Investment Program, and 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement. It is the eighth defence white paper since 1976.

Composition of the defence portfolio

Over the years there have been a number of ministers with a variety of functions involved in the defence portfolio; in the period November 1939 to April 1942, there was no position named minister of defence. Instead, several ministers were responsible for the various tasks and duties that are presently under the purview of the minister for Defence.

Previous governments have included ministers with titles using one or more of the following terms:

Air
Aircraft production
Army
Defence
Defence Coordination
Defence Industry
Defence Materiel
Defence Personnel
Defence Production
Defence Science
Defence Support
Development
Munitions
Navy
Repatriation
Shipping
Supply
Veterans' Affairs

List of ministers for defence

There was a Minister for Defence from 1 January 1901 until 13 November 1939, with the exception of two small breaks. Robert Menzies, the Prime Minister, abolished the position on the outbreak of World War II and created separate Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air, with himself as Minister for Defence Coordination in his first ministry. He retained this position until the fall of his government, and then held the post in the brief government of Arthur Fadden. John Curtin initially followed the same arrangement as Menzies in his ministry until 14 April 1942, when he took the title of Minister for Defence. The separate titles of Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air were abolished in the second Whitlam Ministry on 30 November 1973, when the separate departments of Navy, Army and Air were also abolished. There had also been a separate Navy portfolio between 1915 and 1921.

The following have served as Minister for Defence:

Order	Minister	Party	Prime Minister	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Sir James Dickson			Protectionist	Barton	1 January 1901	10 January 1901
2	John Forrest	Protectionist}}		Protectionist	Barton	17 January 1901	10 August 1903
3	Senator James Drake	10 August 1903	24 September 1903	days
4	Austin Chapman	Deakin	24 September 1903	27 April 1904	days
5	Senator Anderson Dawson			Labor	Watson	27 April 1904	18 August 1904
6	James McCay	Protectionist}}		Protectionist	Reid	18 August 1904	5 July 1905
7	Senator Thomas Playford	Deakin	5 July 1905	24 January 1907
8	Sir Thomas Ewing	24 January 1907	13 November 1908
9	Senator George PearceAlthough McBride served the longest continuously, Pearce had the longest combined service at more than 13 years, and as a member of four parties (Labor, National Labor, Nationalist, and UAP).			Labor	Fisher	13 November 1908	2 June 1909
10	Joseph Cook			Liberal	Deakin	2 June 1909	29 April 1910
(9)	Senator George Pearce			Labor	Fisher	29 April 1910	24 June 1913
11	Senator Edward Millen			Liberal	Cook	24 June 1913	17 September 1914
(9)	Senator George Pearce	Labor}}		Labor	Fisher	17 September 1914	27 October 1915
Hughes	27 October 1915	14 November 1916
		National Labor	14 November 1916	13 June 1917
Nationalist}}		Nationalist	13 June 1917	21 December 1921
12	Walter Massy-Greene	21 December 1921	9 February 1923
13	Eric Bowden	Bruce	9 February 1923	16 January 1925
14	Sir Neville Howse	16 January 1925	2 April 1927
15	Senator Sir William Glasgow	2 April 1927	22 October 1929
16	Albert Green	Labor}}		Labor	Scullin	22 October 1929	4 February 1931
17	Senator John Daly	4 February 1931	3 March 1931	days
18	Ben Chifley	3 March 1931	6 January 1932	days
(9)	Senator Sir George Pearce	UAP}}		United
Australia	Lyons	6 January 1932	12 October 1934
19	Sir Archdale Parkhill	12 October 1934	20 November 1937
20	Joseph Lyons	20 November 1937	29 November 1937	days
21	Harold Thorby			Country	29 November 1937	7 November 1938	days
22	Geoffrey Street	UAP}}		United
Australia	7 November 1938	7 April 1939
Page	7 April 1939	26 April 1939
Menzies	26 April 1939	13 November 1939
23	Robert Menzies	13 November 1939	29 August 1941
Fadden	29 August 1941	7 October 1941
24	John Curtin	Labor}}		Labor	Curtin	7 October 1941	6 July 1945
25	Jack Beasley	Forde	6 July 1945	13 July 1945
Chifley	13 July 1945	14 August 1946
26	Frank Forde	15 August 1946	1 November 1946	days
27	John Dedman	1 November 1946	19 December 1949
28	Eric Harrison	Liberal}}		Liberal	Menzies	19 December 1949	24 October 1950
29	Sir Philip McBride	24 October 1950	10 December 1958	****
30	Athol Townley	10 December 1958	18 December 1963
31	Paul Hasluck	18 December 1963	24 April 1964	days
32	Senator Sir Shane Paltridge	24 April 1964	19 January 1966
33	Allen Fairhall	Holt	26 January 1966	12 December 1967
McEwen	12 December 1967	10 January 1968
Gorton	10 January 1968	12 November 1969
34	Malcolm Fraser	12 November 1969	8 March 1971
35	John Gorton	McMahon	19 March 1971	13 August 1971	days
36	David Fairbairn	13 August 1971	5 December 1972
37	Lance Barnard	Labor}}		Labor	Whitlam	5 December 1972	6 June 1975
38	Bill Morrison	6 June 1975	11 November 1975	days
39	Sir James Killen			Liberal	Fraser	12 November 1975	7 May 1982
40	Ian Sinclair			National Country	7 May 1982	16 October 1982	days
		National	16 October 1982	11 March 1983
41	Gordon Scholes	Labor}}		Labor	Hawke	11 March 1983	13 December 1984
42	Kim Beazley	13 December 1984	4 April 1990
43	Senator Robert Ray	4 April 1990	20 December 1991
Keating	20 December 1991	11 March 1996
44	Ian McLachlan	Liberal}}		Liberal	Howard	11 March 1996	21 October 1998
45	John Moore	21 October 1998	30 January 2001
46	Peter Reith	30 January 2001	26 November 2001	days
47	Senator Robert Hill	26 November 2001	20 January 2006
48	Brendan Nelson	20 January 2006	3 December 2007
49	Joel Fitzgibbon	Labor}}		Labor	Rudd	3 December 2007	9 June 2009
50	Senator John Faulkner	9 June 2009	24 June 2010
Gillard	24 June 2010	14 September 2010
51	Stephen Smith	14 September 2010	27 June 2013
Rudd	27 June 2013	18 September 2013
52	Senator David Johnston	Liberal}}		Liberal	Abbott	18 September 2013	23 December 2014
53	Kevin Andrews	23 December 2014	15 September 2015
Turnbull	15 September 2015	21 September 2015
54	Senator Marise Payne	21 September 2015	24 August 2018
Morrison	24 August 2018	28 August 2018
55	Christopher Pyne	28 August 2018	26 May 2019
56	Senator Linda Reynolds	29 May 2019	30 March 2021
57	Peter Dutton	30 March 2021	23 May 2022
58	Richard Marles			Labor	Albanese	1 June 2022	Incumbent

List of assistant ministers for defence

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Defence, or any of its precedent titles:

Order	Minister	Party	Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Granville Ryrie			Nationalist	Hughes	Assistant Minister for Defence
2	Josiah Francis			United Australia	Lyons	Assistant Minister for Defence
3	Reg Bishop			Labor	Whitlam	Minister assisting the Minister for Defence	19 December 1972	12 June 1974
4	John McLeay	Liberal}}		Liberal	Fraser	Minister assisting the Minister for Defence	22 December 1975	3 November 1980
5	Kevin Newman	3 November 1980	7 May 1982
6	Bruce Scott			National	Howard	Minister assisting the Minister for Defence	21 October 1998	26 November 2001
7	Danna Vale	Liberal}}		Liberal	26 November 2001	7 October 2003
8	Mal Brough	7 October 2003	18 July 2004	days
9	Fran Bailey	18 July 2004	22 October 2004	days
10	De-Anne Kelly			National	22 October 2004	27 January 2006
11	Bruce Billson			Liberal	27 January 2006	3 December 2007
12	Stuart Robert	Liberal}}		Liberal	Abbott	Assistant Minister for Defence
Turnbull
13	Darren Chester	National}}		National
14	Michael McCormack
15	David Fawcett	Liberal}}		Liberal	Morrison	Assistant Minister for Defence
16	Alex Hawke
17	Andrew Hastie
18	Matt Thistlethwaite	Labor}}		Labor	Albanese
19	Peter Khalil		Incumbent

Individual service branch ministers

Ministers for the Navy

The following served as Minister for the Navy:

Order	Minister	Party	Prime Minister	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Jens Jensen	Labor}}		Labor	Fisher	12 July 1915	27 October 1915
Hughes	27 October 1915	14 November 1916
		National Labor	14 November 1916	17 February 1917
2	Joseph Cook			Commonwealth
Liberal	17 February 1917	13 June 1917
Nationalist}}		Nationalist	13 June 1917	28 July 1920
3	William Laird Smith	28 July 1920	21 December 1921
4	Frederick Stewart	UAP}}		United
Australia	Menzies	13 November 1939	14 March 1940
5	Archie Cameron	National}}		Country	14 March 1940	28 October 1940	days
6	Billy Hughes	UAP}}		United
Australia	28 October 1940	29 August 1941	days
Fadden	29 August 1941	7 October 1941
7	Norman Makin	Labor}}		Labor	Curtin	7 October 1941	6 July 1945
Forde	6 July 1945	13 July 1945
Chifley	13 July 1945	15 August 1946
8	Arthur Drakeford	15 August 1946	1 November 1946	days
9	Bill Riordan	1 November 1946	19 December 1949
10	Josiah Francis	Liberal}}		Liberal	Menzies	19 December 1949	11 May 1951
11	Philip McBride	11 May 1951	17 July 1951	days
12	William McMahon	17 July 1951	9 July 1954
(10)	Josiah Francis	9 July 1954	11 July 1955
13	Eric Harrison	11 July 1955	11 January 1956	days
14	Senator Neil O'Sullivan	11 January 1956	24 October 1956	days
15	Charles Davidson			Country	24 October 1956	10 December 1958
16	Senator John Gorton	Liberal}}		Liberal	10 December 1958	18 December 1963	****
17	Jim Forbes	18 December 1963	4 March 1964	days
18	Fred Chaney, Sr.	4 March 1964	26 January 1966
Holt	26 January 1966	14 December 1966
19	Don Chipp	14 December 1966	19 December 1967
McEwen	19 December 1967	10 January 1968
Gorton	10 January 1968	28 February 1968
20	Bert Kelly	28 February 1968	12 November 1969
21	James Killen	12 November 1969	10 March 1971
McMahon	10 March 1971	22 March 1971
22	Malcolm Mackay	22 March 1971	5 December 1972
23	Lance Barnard			Labor	Whitlam	5 December 1972	30 November 1973

Ministers for the Army

The following served as Minister for the Army:

Order	Minister	Party	Prime Minister	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Geoffrey Street	UAP}}		United
Australia	Menzies	13 November 1939	28 October 1940
2	Senator Percy Spender	28 October 1940	29 August 1941	days
Fadden	29 August 1941	7 October 1941
3	Frank Forde	Labor}}		Labor	Curtin	7 October 1941	6 July 1945
Forde	6 July 1945	13 July 1945
Chifley	13 July 1945	1 November 1946
4	Cyril Chambers	1 November 1946	19 December 1949
5	Josiah Francis	Liberal}}		Liberal	Menzies	19 December 1949	7 November 1955
6	Eric Harrison	7 November 1955	28 February 1956	days
7	John Cramer	28 February 1956	18 December 1963	****
8	Jim Forbes	18 December 1963	26 January 1966
9	Malcolm Fraser	Holt	26 January 1966	19 December 1967
McEwen	19 December 1967	10 January 1968
Gorton	10 January 1968	28 February 1968
10	Phillip Lynch	28 February 1968	12 November 1969
11	Andrew Peacock	12 November 1969	10 March 1971
McMahon	10 March 1971	2 February 1972
12	Bob Katter, Sr.			Country	2 February 1972	5 December 1972	days
13	Lance Barnard			Labor	Whitlam	5 December 1972	30 November 1973

Ministers for Air

The following served as Minister for Air:

Order	Minister	Party	Prime Minister	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	James Fairbairn			United
Australia	Menzies	13 November 1939	13 August 1940
2	Arthur Fadden	National}}		Country	14 August 1940	28 October 1940	days
3	John McEwen	28 October 1940	29 August 1941	days
Fadden	29 August 1941	7 October 1941
4	Arthur Drakeford	Labor}}		Labor	Curtin	7 October 1941	6 July 1945
Forde	6 July 1945	13 July 1945
Chifley	13 July 1945	19 December 1949
5	Thomas White	Liberal}}		Liberal	Menzies	19 December 1949	11 May 1951
6	Philip McBride	11 May 1951	17 July 1951	days
7	William McMahon	17 July 1951	9 July 1954
8	Athol Townley	9 July 1954	24 October 1956
9	Frederick Osborne	24 October 1956	29 December 1960
10	Senator Harrie Wade	29 December 1960	22 December 1961	days
11	Les Bury	22 December 1961	27 July 1962	days
12	David Fairbairn	27 July 1962	10 June 1964
13	Peter Howson	10 June 1964	26 January 1966
Holt	26 January 1966	19 December 1967
McEwen	19 December 1967	10 January 1968
Gorton	10 January 1968	28 February 1968
14	Gordon Freeth	28 February 1968	13 February 1969	days
15	Dudley Erwin	13 February 1969	12 November 1969	days
16	Senator Tom Drake-Brockman	National}}		Country	12 November 1969	10 March 1971
McMahon	10 March 1971	5 December 1972
17	Lance Barnard			Labor	Whitlam	5 December 1972	30 November 1973

Notes

References

(6 September 2018). "2018 Parliamentary remuneration and business resources: a quick guide".
PMC, AG. "Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act".
(25 June 2015). "Requirements for Annual Reports".
"Federal Register of Legislation - Australian Government".
(June 2018). "House of Representatives Practice". Commonwealth of Australia.
"Defence policy".
(2016). "2016 Defence White Paper".
The [[Department of Munitions]] was created during World War II, and existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948.
Australian Parliamentary Library. "Parliamentary Handbook".
(14 February 1917). "The National Government: Agreement Reached". The Advertiser.
(7 April 1917). "'Win the War' Party". Morning Bulletin.
(4 April 1917). "'Fusion' Campaign: Joint Committee to Fight Labor". Daily Herald.
(13 June 1917). "Fawkner's New Member, Mr. Maxwell's Resolution". The Argus.
(14 June 1917). "'Straight Ahead' for Nationalists". The Daily News.
(22 December 1921). "The Federal Cabinet". Geraldton Guardian.
(26 December 1921). "Reconstructed Cabinet: Mr Massy Greene's Responsibilities". Daily Herald.
(28 June 1922). "Parliamentary Debate".
(23 December 1921). "Federal Reshuffle". The Brisbane Courier.

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