The Minister for Home Affairs in the Government of Australia is the minister responsible for the

Department of 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 ...

, the country's interior ministry. The current minister is

Clare O'Neil Clare Ellen O'Neil (born 12 September 1980) is an Australian politician who is the Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position tha ...

of the Labor Party, who has held the position since 1 June 2022 in the Albanese ministry. The current Department of Home Affairs was created in December 2017. The first department with that name was created in 1901, as one of the original six departments created at

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

, and was responsible for a wide range of areas not captured by the other departments. Similar departments have existed in almost all subsequent governments, under several different names. The specific title "Minister for Home Affairs" has been created six times – in 1901, 1929, 1977, 1987, 2007 and 2017.

History

The Minister for Home Affairs was a ministerial portfolio that existed continuously from 1901 to 12 April 1932, when

Archdale Parkhill Sir Robert Archdale "Archie" Parkhill Order of St Michael and St George, (27 August 1878 – 2 October 1947) was an Australian politician who served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1927 to 1937. He bega ...

became

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

in the first Lyons Ministry—subsuming his portfolios of Home Affairs and

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

. The Home Affairs or Interior portfolio was responsible for various internal matters not handled by other ministries. In due course, other portfolios were established that took over functions from it, including: *

from 1928 to 1932 and continuously since 1941 *

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

since 1945 *

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

since 1942 *

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

from 1928 to 1945 and since 1963 The

existed from 1932 to 1972. The

Territories of Australia The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...

portfolio has been the responsibility for the varying titles of the Minister for Territories. The Home Affairs Ministry was re-established in 2007, assuming the responsibilities of the

Minister for Justice and Customs The Minister for Justice was a portfolio in the Australian government between 18 September 1987, when the post was held by Michael Tate, and 20 December 2017, when the last incumbent of the office was Michael Keenan. Keenan was appointed to the p ...

within the Attorney-General's Department with policy responsibilities for criminal justice, law enforcement, border control and national security and with oversight responsibilities of the

Australian Customs Service The Australian Customs Service was an 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 Industry, Technology and Comme ...

and the

Border Protection Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...

, the Australian Federal Police, the

Australian Crime 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 ...

, and the

Office of Film and Literature Classification The Office of Film and Literature Classification ( mi, Te Mana Whakaatu), branded as the Classification Office, is an independent Crown entity established under Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 responsible for censorship ...

. From September 2010 to September 2013, the Minister for Home Affairs also held the position of

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. In September 2013 with the change of government, the position Minister for Home Affairs was disbanded and its responsibilities were assumed by the newly created

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs is a ministerial post of the Australian Government and is currently held by Andrew Giles, pending the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022, following the ...

for

border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

and by the

for

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 Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

. On 18 July 2017, Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

announced the creation of a new home affairs department to be headed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, with responsibility for immigration, border control, domestic security, and law enforcement. On 20 December 2017, Governor-General

Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal Military College, ...

swore Dutton into the position of Minister for Home Affairs. The Home Affairs portfolio was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 20 December 2017 with responsibilities for national security including cybersecurity and counterterrorism, law enforcement, emergency management, transport security, immigration, citizenship, border control, and multicultural affairs.

List of Ministers for Home Affairs

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Home Affairs, or any of its related titles:

List of Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, or any of its related titles:

Former ministerial titles

List of ministers for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, or any of its related titles:

List of ministers for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity, or any of its related titles:

List of Assistant Ministers for Home Affairs

The following individuals have been appointed as Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, or any of its related titles:

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

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" * Ministr ...