Minister for Industry and Innovation

The Minister for Industry and Innovation is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Tim Ayres following his swearing-in on 13 May 2025 as a result of Anthony Albanese's Labor government being re-elected at the 2025 Australian federal election.

Minister for Industry and Innovation
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Flag of Australia
Incumbent Tim Ayres since 13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the advice of the prime minister
Inaugural holder	John Latham (as Minister for Industry)
Formation	10 December 1928 (1928-12-10)
Website	www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/timayres

In the Government of Australia, the minister administers this portfolio through the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Scope

As of 2013^[update] other bodies in the portfolio included:^[1]

• Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
• Australian Skills Quality Authority
• Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency
• CSIRO
• Geoscience Australia
• IP Australia
• National Advisory for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
• Office of the Chief Scientist
• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency

The Australian Space Agency opened in Adelaide in February 2020.^[2]

List of industry ministers

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Industry or any precursor title.^[3][4][5]

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	John Latham		Nationalist	Bruce	Minister for Industry	10 December 1928	22 October 1929	316 days
2	James Scullin		Labor	Scullin		22 October 1929	6 January 1932	2 years, 76 days
(1)	John Latham		United Australia	Lyons		6 January 1932	12 October 1934	2 years, 279 days
3	Robert Menzies					12 October 1934	20 March 1939	4 years, 159 days
4	Billy Hughes					20 March 1939	7 April 1939	1 year, 222 days
				Page		20 March 1939	26 April 1939
				Menzies		26 April 1939	28 October 1940
5	Eric Spooner				Minister for War Organisation of Industry	28 October 1940	28 August 1941	344 days
				Fadden		28 August 1941	7 October 1941
6	John Dedman		Labor	Curtin		7 October 1941	19 February 1945	3 years, 135 days
7	John McEwen		Country	Menzies	Minister for Trade and Industry	18 December 1963	21 January 1966	7 years, 49 days
				Holt		26 January 1966	19 December 1967
				McEwen		19 December 1967	10 January 1968
				Gorton		10 January 1968	5 February 1971
8	Doug Anthony					5 February 1971	10 March 1971	1 year, 304 days
				McMahon		5 February 1971	5 December 1972
9	Gough Whitlam		Labor	Whitlam		5 December 1972	19 December 1972	14 days
10	Jim Cairns				Minister for Secondary Industry	19 December 1972	9 October 1973	294 days
11	Kep Enderby					9 October 1973	12 June 1974	1 year, 124 days
					Minister for Manufacturing Industry	12 June 1974	10 February 1975
12	Jim McClelland					10 February 1975	6 June 1975	116 days
13	Lionel Bowen					6 June 1975	11 November 1975	158 days
14	Bob Cotton		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975	22 December 1975	2 years, 39 days
					Minister for Industry and Commerce	22 December 1975	20 December 1977
15	Phillip Lynch					20 December 1977	11 October 1982	4 years, 295 days
16	Andrew Peacock					11 October 1982	11 March 1983	151 days
17	John Button		Labor	Hawke		11 March 1983	13 December 1984	10 years, 13 days
					Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce	13 December 1984	20 December 1991
				Keating		20 December 1991	24 March 1993
18	Alan Griffiths				Minister for Industry, Technology and Regional Development	24 March 1993	22 January 1994	304 days
19	Peter Cook					30 January 1994	25 March 1994	2 years, 41 days
					Minister for Industry, Science and Technology	25 March 1994	11 March 1996
20	John Moore		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism	11 March 1996	21 October 1998	2 years, 224 days
21	Nick Minchin				Minister for Industry, Science and Resources	21 October 1998	26 November 2001	3 years, 36 days
22	Ian Macfarlane				Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources	26 November 2001	3 December 2007	6 years, 7 days
23	Kim Carr		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research	3 December 2007	24 June 2010	4 years, 11 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010	14 December 2011
24	Greg Combet				Minister for Industry and Innovation	14 December 2011	26 June 2013	1 year, 194 days
(23)	Kim Carr			Rudd	Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research	26 June 2013	18 September 2013	145 days
(22)	Ian Macfarlane		Liberal	Abbott	Minister for Industry	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	23 December 2014	2 years, 3 days
					Minister for Industry and Science	23 December 2014 (2014-12-23)	15 September 2015
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	21 September 2015
25	Christopher Pyne				Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)	302 days
26	Greg Hunt					19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)	24 January 2017 (2017-01-24)	189 days
27	Arthur Sinodinos					24 January 2017 (2017-01-24)	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	330 days
28	Michaelia Cash				Minister for Jobs and Innovation	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	251 days
29	Karen Andrews			Morrison	Minister for Industry, Science and Technology	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	29 March 2021 (2021-03-29)	2 years, 213 days
30	Christian Porter1					29 March 2021 (2021-03-29)	19 September 2021 (2021-09-19)	174 days
	Scott Morrison1 [6]				Minister for Industry, Science, Energy and Resources	15 April 2021 (2021-04-15)	23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)	1 year, 38 days
31	Angus Taylor1				Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction	8 October 2021 (2021-10-08)		227 days
32	Ed Husic		Labor	Albanese	Minister for Industry and Science	1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)	13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)	2 years, 346 days
33	Tim Ayres				Minister for Industry and Innovation	13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)	Incumbent	6 days

¹ Morrison was appointed as Minister for Industry, Science, Energy and Resources by the Governor-General on Morrison's advice in April 2021, with both Morrison and Porter holding the position of Minister for Industry until September 2021, and then Morrison and Taylor until May 2022. However, the appointment of Morrison was not made public until August 2022.

Former ministerial titles

List of ministers for commerce

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Charles Hawker		United Australia	Lyons	Minister for Commerce	13 April 1932 (1932-04-13)	23 September 1932 (1932-09-23)	163 days
2	Joseph Lyons					3 October 1932 (1932-10-03)	13 October 1932 (1932-10-13)	10 days
3	Frederick Stewart					13 October 1932 (1932-10-13)	9 November 1934 (1934-11-09)	757 days
4	Earle Page		Country			9 November 1934 (1934-11-09)	7 April 1939 (1939-04-07)	4 years, 149 days
				Page		7 April 1939 (1939-04-07)	26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)
5	George McLeay		United Australia	Menzies		26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)	14 March 1940 (1940-03-14)	323 days
6	Archie Cameron		Country			14 March 1940 (1940-03-14)	28 October 1940 (1940-10-28)	228 days
(4)	Earle Page					28 October 1940 (1940-10-28)	29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)	344 days
				Fadden		29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)	7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)
7	William Scully		Labor	Curtin		7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)	22 December 1942 (1942-12-22)	5 years, 25 days
					Minister for Commerce and Agriculture	22 December 1942 (1942-12-22)	6 July 1945 (1945-07-06)
				Forde		6 July 1945 (1945-07-06)	13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)
				Chifley		13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)	1 November 1946 (1946-11-01)
8	Reg Pollard					1 November 1946 (1946-11-01)	19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)	3 years, 48 days
9	John McEwen		Country	Menzies		19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)	11 January 1956 (1956-01-11)	6 years, 23 days
10	Bob Cotton		Liberal	Fraser	Minister for Industry and Commerce	22 December 1975	20 December 1977	1 year, 363 days
11	Phillip Lynch					20 December 1977	11 October 1982	4 years, 295 days
12	Andrew Peacock		11 October 1982	11 March 1983		151 days
13	John Button		Labor	Hawke	11 March 1983	13 December 1984	10 years, 13 days
					Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce	13 December 1984		20 December 1991
				Keating		20 December 1991		24 March 1993

List of ministers for technology

Order	Minister	Party		Ministry	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	David Thomson		National Country	Fraser	Minister for Science and Technology	3 November 1980	16 October 1982	2 years, 128 days
			National			16 October 1982	11 March 1983
2	Barry Jones		Labor	Hawke		11 March 1983	13 December 1984	1 year, 277 days
3	John Button				Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce	13 December 1984	20 December 1991	8 years, 101 days
				Keating		20 December 1991	24 March 1993
4	Alan Griffiths				Minister for Industry, Technology and Regional Development	24 March 1993	22 January 1994	304 days
5	Peter Cook					30 January 1994	25 March 1994	2 years, 41 days
					Minister for Industry, Science and Technology	25 March 1994	11 March 1996
6	Peter McGauran		National	Howard	Minister for Science and Technology	11 March 1996	26 September 1997	1 year, 199 days
7	Karen Andrews		Liberal	Morrison	Minister for Industry, Science and Technology	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	30 March 2021 (2021-03-30)	2 years, 214 days
8	Christian Porter					30 March 2021 (2021-03-30)	19 September 2021 (2021-09-19)	173 days
9	Melissa Price				Minister for Science and Technology	8 October 2021	23 May 2022	227 days

List of ministers for manufacturing

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Manufacturing, or any of its precedent titles:^[7]

Order	Minister	Party		Ministry	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Kim Carr		Labor	2nd Gillard	Minister for Manufacturing	14 December 2011 (2011-12-14)	5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)	82 days
2	Kate Lundy				Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation	5 March 2012	27 June 2013	1 year, 197 days
				Rudd		27 June 2013	18 September 2013

Assistant ministers

List of industry parliamentary secretaries

The following individual has been appointed as parliamentary secretaries for industry, or any of its precedent titles:

Order	Assistant Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Warren Entsch		Liberal	Howard	Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Science and Resources	21 October 1998	26 November 2001	7 years, 98 days
					Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Tourism and Resources	26 November 2001	27 January 2006
2	Bob Baldwin				Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Tourism and Resources	27 January 2006	3 December 2007	310 days
3	Richard Marles		Labor	Rudd	Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry	9 June 2009	24 June 2010	1 year, 97 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010	14 September 2010
4	Mark Dreyfus QC		Labor	Gillard	Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation	14 December 2011	4 February 2013	1 year, 52 days
5	Yvette D'Ath		Labor	Gillard	Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation	25 March 2013	27 June 2013	177 days
				Rudd		27 June 2013	18 September 2013
(2)	Bob Baldwin		Liberal	Abbott	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry	18 September 2013	23 December 2014	310 days
6	Karen Andrews				Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Science	23 December 2014	21 September 2015	1 year, 209 days
				Turnbull	Assistant Minister for Science	21 September 2015	19 July 2016
7	Craig Laundy				Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science	19 July 2016	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	1 year, 154 days
8	Zed Seselja				Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	23 August 2018 (2018-08-23)	246 days

List of assistant ministers for innovation

The following individuals have been appointed as assistant minister for innovation, or any of its precedent titles:

Order	Assistant Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Richard Marles		Labor	Rudd	Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry	9 June 2009	24 June 2010	1 year, 97 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010	14 September 2010
2	Mark Dreyfus QC		Labor	Gillard	Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation	14 December 2011	4 February 2013	1 year, 52 days
3	Yvette D'Ath		Labor	Gillard	Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation	25 March 2013	27 June 2013	177 days
				Rudd		27 June 2013	18 September 2013
4	Wyatt Roy		Liberal	Turnbull	Assistant Minister for Innovation	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)	302 days
5	Craig Laundy				Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science	19 July 2016	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	1 year, 154 days
6	Zed Seselja				Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	23 August 2018 (2018-08-23)	246 days

List of assistant ministers for manufacturing

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, or any of its precedent titles:^[7]

Order	Minister	Party		Ministry	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Tim Ayres		Labor	Albanese	Assistant Minister for Manufacturing	1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)	Incumbent	2 years, 352 days