Special Minister of State

Special Minister of State
Incumbent
Don Farrell
since 1 June 2022
Department of Finance
Style The Honourable
Appointer Governor-General on the recommendation of the Federal Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Australia
Inaugural holder Don Willesee
Formation 19 December 1972
Website www.smos.gov.au

The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia is a position currently held by Don Farrell since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, electoral, financial, public service, and oversight affairs.

Scope

The Special Minister of State administers their portfolio through the Department of Finance and a range of other government agencies, including:

List of Special Ministers of State

The following individuals have been appointed as Special Ministers of State, or any of its precedent titles:

Order Minister Party Prime Minister Title Term start Term end Term in office
1 Don Willesee   Labor Whitlam Special Minister of State 19 December 1972 30 November 1973 346 days
2 Lionel Bowen   30 November 1973 6 June 1975 1 year, 188 days
3 Doug McClelland   6 June 1975 11 November 1975 158 days
4 Reg Withers   Liberal Fraser 11 November 1975 22 December 1975 41 days
5 Mick Young   Labor Hawke 11 March 1983 14 July 1983 125 days
6 Kim Beazley   14 July 1983 21 January 1984 191 days
n/a Mick Young   21 January 1984 16 February 1987 3 years, 26 days
7 Michael Tate   16 February 1987 24 July 1987 158 days
8 Susan Ryan   24 July 1987 19 January 1988 179 days
9 Frank Walker   Keating 24 March 1993 25 March 1994 1 year, 1 day
10 Gary Johns   25 March 1994 11 March 1996 1 year, 352 days
11 Nick Minchin   Liberal Howard 9 October 1997 21 October 1998 1 year, 12 days
12 Chris Ellison   21 October 1998 30 January 2001 2 years, 101 days
13 Eric Abetz   30 January 2001 27 January 2006 4 years, 362 days
14 Gary Nairn   27 January 2006 3 December 2007 1 year, 310 days
15 John Faulkner   Labor Rudd 3 December 2007 9 June 2009 1 year, 188 days
16 Joe Ludwig   9 June 2009 24 June 2010 1 year, 97 days
  Gillard 24 June 2010 14 September 2010
17 Gary Gray   14 September 2010 25 March 2013 2 years, 192 days
18 Mark Dreyfus   25 March 2013 27 June 2013 177 days
  Rudd 27 June 2013 18 September 2013
19 Michael Ronaldson   Liberal Abbott 18 September 2013 15 September 2015 2 years, 3 days
  Turnbull 15 September 2015 21 September 2015
20 Mal Brough   21 September 2015 29 December 2015 99 days
21 Mathias Cormann   29 December 2015 19 July 2016 203 days
22 Scott Ryan   19 July 2016 13 November 2017 1 year, 117 days
n/a Mathias Cormann   13 November 2017 23 August 2018 283 days
23 Alex Hawke   Morrison 28 August 2018 29 May 2019 274 days
n/a Mathias Cormann   29 May 2019 30 October 2020 1 year, 154 days
24 Simon Birmingham   30 October 2020 8 October 2021 343 days
25 Ben Morton   8 October 2021 23 May 2022 227 days
26 Don Farrell   Labor Albanese 1 June 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 222 days