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:
{| class="wikitable"
! width=5 | Order
! width=350 | Minister
! width=150 colspan=2 | Party
! width=75 | Prime Minister
! width=140 | Term start
! width= 140 | Term end
! width=130 | Term in office
|-
| align=center | 1
| Sir James Dickson
| |
| Protectionist
| Barton
| align=center | 1 January 1901
| align=center | 10 January 1901
| align=right | days
|-
!colspan=8 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center align=center | 2
| John Forrest
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Protectionist
| rowspan=2 | Barton
| align=center | 17 January 1901
| align=center | 10 August 1903
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 3
| Senator James Drake
| align=center | 10 August 1903
| align=center align=center | 24 September 1903
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 4
| Austin Chapman
| Deakin
| align=center align=center | 24 September 1903
| align=center align=center | 27 April 1904
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 5
| Senator Anderson Dawson
| |
| Labor
| Watson
| align=center align=center | 27 April 1904
| align=center | 18 August 1904
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 6
| James McCay
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Protectionist
| Reid
| align=center | 18 August 1904
| align=center | 5 July 1905
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 7
| Senator Thomas Playford
| rowspan=2 | Deakin
| align=center | 5 July 1905
| align=center align=center | 24 January 1907
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 8
| Sir Thomas Ewing
| align=center align=center | 24 January 1907
| align=center | 13 November 1908
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 9
| Senator George Pearce
| |
| Labor
| Fisher
| align=center | 13 November 1908
| align=center align=center | 2 June 1909
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 10
| Joseph Cook
| |
| Liberal
| Deakin
| align=center align=center | 2 June 1909
| align=center align=center | 29 April 1910
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | (9)
| Senator George Pearce and the new ministry was sworn on 17 February 1917. The parties co-ordinated their campaign against Labor at the 1917 election, and while there was some discussion of the two parties remaining separate, they formally merged on 13 June 1917.|group=n|name=Nationalists
|-
| rowspan=5 |
| rowspan=5 | Nationalist
| align=center | 13 June 1917
| align=center align=center | 21 December 1921
|-
| align=center | 12
| Walter Massy-Greene
| align=center align=center | 21 December 1921
| align=center | 9 February 1923
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 13
| Eric Bowden
| rowspan=3 | Bruce
| align=center | 9 February 1923
| align=center | 16 January 1925
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 14
| Sir Neville Howse
| align=center | 16 January 1925
| align=center align=center | 2 April 1927
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 15
| Senator Sir William Glasgow
| align=center align=center | 2 April 1927
| align=center align=center | 22 October 1929
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 16
| Albert Green
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Labor
| rowspan=3 | Scullin
| align=center align=center | 22 October 1929
| align=center | 4 February 1931
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 17
| Senator John Daly
| align=center | 4 February 1931
| align=center | 3 March 1931
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 18
| Ben Chifley
| align=center | 3 March 1931
| align=center | 6 January 1932
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | (9)
| Senator Sir George Pearce |group=n
| |
| Nationalist
| Hughes
| Assistant Minister for Defence
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
!colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center| 2
| Josiah Francis
| |
| United Australia
| Lyons
| Assistant Minister for Defence
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
! colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center | 3
| Reg Bishop
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Labor
| rowspan=3 | Whitlam
| rowspan=3 | Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence
| align=center | 19 December 1972
| align=center | 12 June 1974
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 4
| Bill Morrison
| align=center | 12 June 1974
| align=center | 6 June 1975
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 5
| Reg Bishop
| align=center | 6 June 1975
| align=center | 11 November 1975
| align=right |
|-
! colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center | 6
| John McLeay Jr.
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Liberal
| rowspan=3 | Fraser
| rowspan=6 | Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence
| align=center | 22 December 1975
| align=center | 3 November 1980
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 7
| Kevin Newman
| align=center | 3 November 1980
| align=center | 7 May 1982
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 8
| Ian Viner
| align=center | 7 May 1982
| align=center | 11 March 1983
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 9
| Kim Beazley
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Labor
| rowspan=3 | Hawke
| align=center | 11 March 1983
| align=center | 13 December 1984
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 10
| John Brown
| align=center rowspan=2 | 13 December 1984
| align=center rowspan=2 | 24 July 1987
| align=right rowspan=2 |
|-
| align=center | 11
| Michael Duffy
|-
! colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center | 12
| Roger Price
| rowspan=3 |
| rowspan=3 | Labor
| rowspan=3 | Keating
| rowspan=3 | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence
| align=center | 27 December 1991
| align=center | 24 March 1993
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 13
| Gary Punch
| align=center | 25 March 1993
| align=center | 25 March 1994
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 14
| Arch Bevis
| align=center | 25 March 1993
| align=center | 11 March 1996
| align=right |
|-
! colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center | 15
| Bruce Scott
| |
| National
| rowspan=6 |Howard
| rowspan=6 |Minister assisting the Minister for Defence
| align=center | 21 October 1998
| align=center | 26 November 2001
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 16
| Danna Vale
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan=3 | Liberal
| align=center | 26 November 2001
| align=center | 7 October 2003
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 17
| Mal Brough
| align=center | 7 October 2003
| align=center | 18 July 2004
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 18
| Fran Bailey
| align=center | 18 July 2004
| align=center | 22 October 2004
| align=right | days
|-
| align=center | 19
| De-Anne Kelly
| |
| National
| align=center | 22 October 2004
| align=center | 27 January 2006
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 20
| Bruce Billson
| |
| Liberal
| align=center | 27 January 2006
| align=center | 3 December 2007
| align=right |
|-
!colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| rowspan="2" align=center | 21
| rowspan="2" | Stuart Robert
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Liberal
| Abbott
| rowspan=4 | Assistant Minister for Defence
| align=center |
| align=center |
| rowspan="2" align=right |
|-
| rowspan=3 | Turnbull
| align=center |
| align=center |
|-
| align=center | 22
| Darren Chester
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan=2 | National
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
| align=center | 23
| Michael McCormack
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
!colspan=9 style="background: #cccccc;" |
|-
| align=center| 24
| David Fawcett
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan=3| Liberal
| rowspan=3| Morrison
| rowspan=5| Assistant Minister for Defence
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 25
| Alex Hawke
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 26
| Andrew Hastie
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
|align=center| 27
| Matt Thistlethwaite
| rowspan=2 |
| rowspan=2 | Labor
| rowspan=2 | Albanese
| align=center |
| align=center |
| align=right |
|-
| align=center| 28
| Peter Khalil
|align=center |
|align=center | Incumbent
|align=right |
|}
Individual service branch ministers
Ministers for the Navy
The following served as Minister for the Navy: