The Minister for Justice was a portfolio 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 ...

between 18 September 1987, when the post was held by

Michael Tate Michael Carter Tate AO (born 6 July 1945) is a legal academic and former Australian Labor Party politician who later became an ambassador and then a Catholic priest. Early life and education Tate was born in Sydney in 1945. He was educated a ...

, and 20 December 2017, when the last incumbent of the office was Michael Keenan. Keenan was appointed to the post on 18 September 2013. Following a rearrangement of the Second Turnbull Ministry in December 2017, the post was subsumed into the newly-established portfolio of the Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity, part of the

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

portfolio.

Former scope

The former minister was responsible for certain matters relating to

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

and

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

including the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

and the

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a law enforcement agency established by the Australian federal government on 1 July 2016, following the merger of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and CrimTrac. It has specialist i ...

. The Minister for Justice was a junior minister who supported the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and previously administered the portfolio through the Attorney-General's Department. From October 1998 to December 2007, the Minister for Justice was responsible for border control and the

Australian Customs Service The Australian Customs Service was an Government of Australia, Australian Government agency responsible for Australian border protection, duties and taxes between 1985 and 2009. The Service was first under the portfolio of the Department of Indus ...

. From September 2010 to September 2013 the Minister for Justice also held the position of

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

with broad responsibilities within the Attorney-General's Department.

List of former ministers for justice

The following individuals were appointed as Minister for Justice, or any of its precedent titles:

References

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Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...