# Special Minister of State

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:
* Asset Management and Parliamentary Services (Government Business, Special Claims and Land Policy Division, Property and Construction Division & Ministerial and Parliamentary Services)
* Australian Electoral Commission
* Australian Government Information Management Office (Policy and Planning Divisions & the Agency Services Division)
* Australian National Audit Office
* Australian Public Service Commission
* Commonwealth Ombudsman
* Electoral Reform
* Government Advertising
* Parliamentary Integrity
* Public Interests Disclosure
* Register of Lobbyists
* Remuneration Tribunal

## 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 (1972-12-19) | 30 November 1973 (1973-11-30) | 346 days |
| 2 | Lionel Bowen | Labor | Whitlam | Special Minister of State | 30 November 1973 (1973-11-30) | 6 June 1975 (1975-06-06) | 1 year, 188 days |
| 3 | Doug McClelland | Labor | Whitlam | Special Minister of State | 6 June 1975 (1975-06-06) | 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) | 158 days |
| 4 | Reg Withers | Liberal | Fraser | Special Minister of State | 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) | 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) | 41 days |
| 5 | Mick Young | Labor | Hawke | Special Minister of State | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 14 July 1983 (1983-07-14) | 125 days |
| 6 | Kim Beazley | Labor | Hawke | Special Minister of State | 14 July 1983 (1983-07-14) | 21 January 1984 (1984-01-21) | 191 days |
| n/a | Mick Young | Labor | Hawke | Special Minister of State | 21 January 1984 (1984-01-21) | 16 February 1987 (1987-02-16) | 3 years, 26 days |
| 7 | Michael Tate | Labor | Hawke | Special Minister of State | 16 February 1987 (1987-02-16) | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 158 days |
| 8 | Susan Ryan | Labor | Hawke | Special Minister of State | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 19 January 1988 (1988-01-19) | 179 days |
| 9 | Frank Walker | Labor | Keating | Special Minister of State | 24 March 1993 (1993-03-24) | 25 March 1994 (1994-03-25) | 1 year, 1 day |
| 10 | Gary Johns | Labor | Keating | Special Minister of State | 25 March 1994 (1994-03-25) | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 1 year, 352 days |
| 11 | Nick Minchin | Liberal | Howard | Special Minister of State | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 21 October 1998 (1998-10-21) | 1 year, 12 days |
| 12 | Chris Ellison | Liberal | Howard | Special Minister of State | 21 October 1998 (1998-10-21) | 30 January 2001 (2001-01-30) | 2 years, 101 days |
| 13 | Eric Abetz | Liberal | Howard | Special Minister of State | 30 January 2001 (2001-01-30) | 27 January 2006 (2006-01-27) | 4 years, 362 days |
| 14 | Gary Nairn | Liberal | Howard | Special Minister of State | 27 January 2006 (2006-01-27) | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 1 year, 310 days |
| 15 | John Faulkner | Labor | Rudd | Special Minister of State | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 9 June 2009 (2009-06-09) | 1 year, 188 days |
| 16 | Joe Ludwig | Labor | Rudd | Special Minister of State | 9 June 2009 (2009-06-09) | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 1 year, 97 days |
| 16 | Joe Ludwig | Labor | Gillard | Special Minister of State | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 14 September 2010 (2010-09-14) | 1 year, 97 days |
| 17 | Gary Gray | Labor | Gillard | Special Minister of State | 14 September 2010 (2010-09-14) | 25 March 2013 (2013-03-25) | 2 years, 192 days |
| 18 | Mark Dreyfus | Labor | Gillard | Special Minister of State | 25 March 2013 (2013-03-25) | 27 June 2013 (2013-06-27) | 177 days |
| 18 | Mark Dreyfus | Labor | Rudd | Special Minister of State | 27 June 2013 (2013-06-27) | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 177 days |
| 19 | Michael Ronaldson | Liberal | Abbott | Special Minister of State | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) | 2 years, 3 days |
| 19 | Michael Ronaldson | Liberal | Turnbull | Special Minister of State | 15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) | 21 September 2015 | 2 years, 3 days |
| 20 | Mal Brough | Liberal | Turnbull | Special Minister of State | 21 September 2015 (2015-09-21) | 29 December 2015 (2015-12-29) | 99 days |
| 21 | Mathias Cormann | Liberal | Turnbull | Special Minister of State | 29 December 2015 (2015-12-29) | 19 July 2016 (2016-07-19) | 203 days |
| 22 | Scott Ryan | Liberal | Turnbull | Special Minister of State | 19 July 2016 (2016-07-19) | 13 November 2017 (2017-11-13) | 1 year, 117 days |
| n/a | Mathias Cormann | Liberal | Turnbull | Special Minister of State | 13 November 2017 (2017-11-13) | 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23) | 283 days |
| 23 | Alex Hawke | Liberal | Morrison | Special Minister of State | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 274 days |
| n/a | Mathias Cormann | Liberal | Morrison | Special Minister of State | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 30 October 2020 (2020-10-30) | 1 year, 154 days |
| 24 | Simon Birmingham | Liberal | Morrison | Special Minister of State | 30 October 2020 (2020-10-30) | 8 October 2021 | 343 days |
| 25 | Ben Morton | Liberal | Morrison | Special Minister of State | 8 October 2021 (2021-10-08) | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) | 227 days |
| 26 | Don Farrell | Labor | Albanese | Special Minister of State | 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | Incumbent | 2 years, 175 days |