In the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

, the Minister for Sport is currently

the Hon ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Anika Wells Anika Shay Wells (born 11 August 1985) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives since the 2019 Australian federal election, 2019 federal election. She is a member of t ...

, pending the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. In the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

, the minister administers the portfolio through the

Department of Health and Aged Care The Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC), formerly the Department of Health, is a department of the Australian Government responsible for health research, funding, promotion and regulation in Australia. Primary health care and aged care s ...

Scope

It was not until the Whitlam Government established the

Department of Tourism and Recreation The Department of Tourism and Recreation was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975. History The Department was one of several new Departments established by the Whitlam government, a ...

in 1972 that an

department had specific responsibility for sport. Previously the small amount of sport funding was distributed through ministries such as Health and Foreign Affairs.

Frank Stewart Francis Eugene "Frank" Stewart (20 February 192316 April 1979), Australian politician and rugby league footballer, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Lang between 1953 and 1977 and subsequently Grayndler betw ...

, who is regarded as the first minister for sport, commissioned two reports – ''The role and scope and development of recreation in Australia'' by John Bloomfield and ''Report of the Australian Sports Institute Study Group'', which highlighted the need for government involvement in sport. The Fraser Government through

Bob Ellicott Robert James Ellicott, (15 April 1927 – 31 October 2022) was an Australian barrister, politician and judge. He served as Solicitor-General of Australia (1969–1973) before entering the House of Representatives at the 1974 federal election ...

acted upon both reports and established the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in 1981. It was widely reported that this initiative was a direct result of the poor performance of the Australian team at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

in Montreal, however its genesis preceded that. The Hawke Government through

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

further extended Australian Government involvement in sport through the establishment of the

Australian Sports Commission The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government commission responsible for supporting and investing in sport in Australia. The Commission incorporates the Australian Institute of Sport. From 2018 to 2022, it was known as Sp ...

in 1985.

List of ministers for sport

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

List of ministers assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Games

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

Sport in Australia