# List of high commissioners of Australia to Brunei

The high commissioner of Australia to Brunei is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in Brunei. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is currently held by Luke Arnold since January 2022. There has been a resident Australian high commissioner in Brunei since March 1983.

## Posting history

The reporting responsibility for the British Protectorate of Brunei was originally held by the Australian office in Singapore, with a "Commissioner for Malaya and South-East Asia" appointed in 1946. On 7 April 1956, Ralph Harry took up his appointment in Singapore as the Australian Commissioner for Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo. With the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the Australian Commission in Singapore became a subordinate Deputy High Commission to the new High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and responsibility for Brunei, which remained a British protectorate outside of Malaysia, was transferred to the high commission.
On 30 July 1979, the Australian high commissioner to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, was appointed as the non-resident Commissioner to Brunei, with a stated purpose to "facilitate contacts and closer cooperation with the Government of Brunei during the period leading up to Brunei's full independence in 1983". A resident Australian Commission in Brunei was established in March 1983 headed by John Monfries, in anticipation of Brunei's independence on 1 January 1984. When Brunei gained its independence, the Australian mission became a High Commission.

## Heads of mission

| # | Officeholder | Title | Residency | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Graham Feakes | Commissioner | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 30 July 1979 (1979-07-30) | April 1980 (1980-04) | 8 months |
| 2 | Garry Woodard | Commissioner | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | April 1980 (1980-04) | March 1983 (1983-03) | 2 years, 11 months |
| 3 | John Monfries | Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | March 1983 (1983-03) | 31 December 1983 (1983-12-31) | 9 months |
| 4 | John Starey | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | 1 January 1984 (1984-01-01) | August 1988 (1988-08) | 4 years, 7 months |
| 5 | Philip Knight | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | August 1988 (1988-08) | June 1992 (1992-06) | 3 years, 10 months |
| 6 | Frank Milne | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | June 1992 (1992-06) | September 1995 (1995-09) | 3 years, 3 months |
| 7 | Neal Davis | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | September 1995 (1995-09) | October 1999 (1999-10) | 4 years, 1 month |
| 8 | Doug Chester | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | October 1999 (1999-10) | January 2001 (2001-01) | 1 year, 3 months |
| 9 | Allaster Cox | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | January 2001 (2001-01) | February 2004 (2004-02) | 3 years, 1 month |
| 10 | Christian Bennett | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | February 2004 (2004-02) | February 2006 (2006-02) | 2 years |
| 11 | Ruth Adler | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | February 2006 (2006-02) | February 2009 (2009-02) | 3 years |
| 12 | Mark Sawers | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | February 2009 (2009-02) | August 2012 (2012-08) | 3 years, 6 months |
| 13 | Todd Mercer | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | August 2012 (2012-08) | August 2016 (2016-08) | 4 years |
| 14 | Nicola Rosenblum | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | August 2016 (2016-08) | October 2020 (2020-10) | 4 years, 2 months |
| 15 | Tiffany McDonald | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | October 2020 (2020-10) | December 2021 (2021-12) | 1 year, 2 months |
| 16 | Luke Arnold | High Commissioner | Bandar Seri Begawan | 31 January 2022 (2022-01-31) | Incumbent | 2 years, 270 days |