Minister for Communications (Australia)

The Minister for Communications is a member of the Cabinet of Australia with overall responsibility for broadcasting, the information and communications technology industry, the information economy, and national telecommunications. The portfolio has been held by Michelle Rowland under the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022.^[1]

Minister for Communications
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Flag of Australia
Incumbent Michelle Rowland since 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder	John Forrest (as Postmaster-General)
Formation	1 January 1901 (1901-01-01)
Website	minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland

In the Government of Australia, the minister administers the communications portfolio through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

Scope

Portfolio agencies and bodies include:

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Australian Communications and Media Authority
• Australia Post
• Australian Classification Board
• National Library of Australia
• NBN Co
• Special Broadcasting Service

List of ministers

The minister responsible for telecommunications policy has had various titles. From 1901 until December 1975 it was the Postmaster-General, who administered the portfolio through the Postmaster-General's Department.

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Communications, or any of its precedent titles:^[2][3]

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	John Forrest		Protectionist	Barton	Postmaster-General	1 January 1901 (1901-01-01)	17 January 1901 (1901-01-17)	16 days
2	James Drake					5 February 1901 (1901-02-05)	10 August 1903 (1903-08-10)	2 years, 186 days
3	Philip Fysh					10 August 1903 (1903-08-10)	24 September 1903 (1903-09-24)	261 days
				Deakin		24 September 1903 (1903-09-24)	27 April 1904 (1904-04-27)
4	Hugh Mahon		Labor	Watson		27 April 1904 (1904-04-27)	17 August 1904 (1904-08-17)	112 days
5	Sydney Smith		Free Trade	George Reid		17 August 1904 (1904-08-17)	5 July 1905 (1905-07-05)	322 days
6	Austin Chapman		Protectionist	Deakin		5 July 1905 (1905-07-05)	30 July 1907 (1907-07-30)	2 years, 25 days
7	Samuel Mauger					30 July 1907 (1907-07-30)	13 November 1908 (1908-11-13)	1 year, 106 days
8	Josiah Thomas		Labor	Fisher		13 November 1908 (1908-11-13)	2 June 1909 (1909-06-02)	201 days
9	John Quick		Protectionist	Deakin		2 June 1909 (1909-06-02)	29 April 1910 (1910-04-29)	331 days
10	Josiah Thomas		Labor	Fisher		29 April 1910 (1910-04-29)	14 October 1911 (1911-10-14)	1 year, 168 days
11	Charlie Frazer					14 October 1911 (1911-10-14)	24 June 1913 (1913-06-24)	1 year, 253 days
12	Agar Wynne		Liberal	Cook		24 June 1913 (1913-06-24)	17 September 1914 (1914-09-17)	1 year, 85 days
13	William Spence		Labor	Fisher		17 September 1914 (1914-09-17)	27 October 1915 (1915-10-27)	1 year, 40 days
14	William Webster			Hughes		27 October 1915 (1915-10-27)	14 November 1916 (1916-11-14)	4 years, 99 days
			National Labor			14 November 1916 (1916-11-14)	17 February 1917 (1917-02-17)
			Nationalist			17 February 1917 (1917-02-17)	3 February 1920 (1920-02-03)
15	George Wise					3 February 1920 (1920-02-03)	21 December 1921 (1921-12-21)	1 year, 321 days
16	Alexander Poynton					21 December 1921 (1921-12-21)	5 February 1923 (1923-02-05)	1 year, 46 days
17	William Gibson		Country	Bruce		5 February 1923 (1923-02-05)	22 October 1929 (1929-10-22)	6 years, 259 days
18	Joseph Lyons		Labor	Scullin		22 October 1929 (1929-10-22)	4 February 1931 (1931-02-04)	1 year, 105 days
19	Albert Green					4 February 1931 (1931-02-04)	6 January 1932 (1932-01-06)	336 days
20	James Fenton		United Australia	Lyons		6 January 1932 (1932-01-06)	13 October 1932 (1932-10-13)	281 days
21	Archdale Parkhill					13 October 1932 (1932-10-13)	12 October 1934 (1934-10-12)	1 year, 364 days
22	Alexander McLachlan					12 October 1934 (1934-10-12)	7 November 1938 (1938-11-07)	6 years, 25 days
23	Archie Cameron		Country			7 November 1938 (1938-11-07)	7 April 1939 (1939-04-07)	170 days
				Page		7 April 1939 (1939-04-07)	26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)
24	Eric Harrison		United Australia	Menzies		26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)	14 March 1940 (1940-03-14)	323 days
25	Harold Thorby		Country			14 March 1940 (1940-03-14)	28 October 1940 (1940-10-28)	228 days
26	George McLeay		United Australia			28 October 1940 (1940-10-28)	26 June 1941 (1941-06-26)	241 days
27	Thomas Collins		Country			26 June 1941 (1941-06-26)	29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)	103 days
				Fadden		29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)	7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)
28	Bill Ashley		Labor	Curtin		7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)	2 February 1945 (1945-02-02)	3 years, 118 days
29	Don Cameron					2 February 1945 (1945-02-02)	6 July 1945 (1945-07-06)	4 years, 320 days
				Forde		6 July 1945 (1945-07-06)	13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)
				Chifley		13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)	19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)
30	Larry Anthony		Country	Menzies		19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)	11 January 1956 (1956-01-11)	6 years, 23 days
31	Charles Davidson					11 January 1956 (1956-01-11)	18 December 1963 (1963-12-18)	7 years, 341 days
32	Alan Hulme		Liberal			18 December 1963 (1963-12-18)	26 January 1966 (1966-01-26)	8 years, 353 days
				Holt		26 January 1966 (1966-01-26)	19 December 1967 (1967-12-19)
				McEwen		19 December 1967 (1967-12-19)	10 January 1968 (1968-01-10)
				Gorton		10 January 1968 (1968-01-10)	10 March 1971 (1971-03-10)
				McMahon		10 March 1971 (1971-03-10)	5 December 1972 (1972-12-05)
33	Lance Barnard1		Labor	Whitlam		5 December 1972 (1972-12-05)	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	14 days
34	Lionel Bowen					19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	12 June 1974 (1974-06-12)	1 year, 175 days
35	Reg Bishop					12 June 1974 (1974-06-12)	11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	1 year, 152 days
36	Peter Nixon		National Country	Fraser		11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	41 days
37	Victor Garland		Liberal		Minister for Post and Telecommunications	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	6 December 1976 (1976-12-06)	350 days
38	Eric Robinson					6 December 1976 (1976-12-06)	20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	1 year, 14 days
39	Tony Staley					20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	3 November 1980 (1980-11-03)	2 years, 319 days
40	Ian Sinclair		National Country		Minister for Communications	3 November 1980 (1980-11-03)	7 May 1982 (1982-05-07)	1 year, 185 days
41	Neil Brown		Liberal			7 May 1982 (1982-05-07)	11 March 1983 (1983-03-11)	308 days
42	Michael Duffy		Labor	Hawke		11 March 1983 (1983-03-11)	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	4 years, 135 days
43	Gareth Evans				Minister for Transport and Communications2	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	2 September 1988 (1988-09-02)	1 year, 40 days
44	Ralph Willis					2 September 1988 (1988-09-02)	4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	1 year, 214 days
45	Kim Beazley					4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	9 December 1991 (1991-12-09)	1 year, 249 days
46	John Kerin					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)
47	Graham Richardson					27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)	18 May 1992 (1992-05-18)	143 days
48	Bob Collins					18 May 1992 (1992-05-18)	23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)	1 year, 219 days
49	Michael Lee				Minister for Communications	23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)	30 January 1994 (1994-01-30)	2 years, 79 days
					Minister for Communications and the Arts	30 January 1994 (1994-01-30)	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)
50	Richard Alston		Liberal	Howard		11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)	7 years, 210 days
					Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)
					Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	7 October 2003 (2003-10-07)
51	Daryl Williams					7 October 2003 (2003-10-07)	18 July 2004 (2004-07-18)	285 days
52	Helen Coonan					18 July 2004 (2004-07-18)	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	3 years, 138 days
53	Stephen Conroy		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	5 years, 210 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)
54	Anthony Albanese			Rudd		1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	79 days
55	Malcolm Turnbull		Liberal	Abbott	Minister for Communications	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	14 September 2015 (2015-09-14)	2 years, 3 days
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)
56	Mitch Fifield					21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	23 August 2018 (2018-08-23)	3 years, 250 days
				Morrison	Minister for Communications and the Arts	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
57	Paul Fletcher				Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)	2 years, 359 days
					Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)	23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)
58	Michelle Rowland		Labor	Albanese	Minister for Communications	1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)	Incumbent	2 years, 341 days

Notes

¹ Barnard served as part of a two-man ministry together with Gough Whitlam for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned.

² On 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24), the third Hawke ministry implemented a two-level ministerial structure, with distinctions drawn between senior and junior ministers. This arrangement has been continued by subsequent ministries.^[2] Junior ministers are shown in the table below.

Former ministerial portfolios

List of ministers for regional communications

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Regional Communications, or any of its precedent titles:^[4]

Order	Minister	Party affiliation		Prime Minister	Ministerial title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Sharon Bird		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Regional Communications	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	79 days
2	Fiona Nash		National	Turnbull	Minister for Regional Communications	18 February 2016 (2016-02-18)	26 October 2017	1 year, 250 days
3	Bridget McKenzie		National	Turnbull	Minister for Regional Communications	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	251 days
4	Mark Coulton		National	Morrison	Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)	6 February 2020 (2020-02-06)	2 years, 34 days
					Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government	6 February 2020 (2020-02-06)	2 July 2021 (2021-07-02)
(3)	Bridget McKenzie				Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education	2 July 2021 (2021-07-02)	23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)	325 days

List of ministers for digital transformation

On 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24), the third Hawke Ministry implemented a two-level ministerial structure, with distinctions drawn between senior and junior ministers. This arrangement has been continued by subsequent ministries; however, junior ministers have been appointed in the telecommunications portfolio on only five occasions. Senior ministers are shown in the table above.

The following individuals have been appointed as the Minister for Digital Transformation, or any of its precedent titles:^[2][3]

Order	Minister	Party affiliation		Prime Minister	Ministerial title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Gary Punch		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Telecommunications and Aviation Support	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	28 March 1989 (1989-03-28)	1 year, 247 days
2	Ros Kelly					6 April 1989 (1989-04-06)	4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	363 days
3	David Beddall		Labor	Keating	Minister for Communications	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)	23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)	274 days
4	Michael Keenan		Liberal	Turnbull	Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	1 year, 160 days
				Morrison	Minister for Digital Transformation	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)

Parliamentary Secretaries

The following individuals have been appointed as the Assistant Minister or Parliamentary Secretary for Communications, or any of its precedent titles:

Order	Secretary	Party affiliation		Prime Minister	Ministerial title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Ed Husic		Labor	Rudd	Parliamentary Secretary for Broadband	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	79 days
2	Paul Fletcher		Liberal	Abbott	Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	2 years, 3 days
3	Angus Taylor		Liberal	Turnbull	Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation	18 February 2016 (2016-02-18)	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	1 year, 305 days