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The Treasurer of Australia, also known as the Federal Treasurer or more simply the Treasurer, is the
minister of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
of the
Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...
charged with overseeing government revenue collection, federal expenditure and economic policy as the head of the Department of the Treasury. The current treasurer is
Jim Chalmers James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician and economist who has been serving as the treasurer of Australia in the Albanese government since May 2022. A member of the Labor Party (ALP), he has been the member of p ...
, who was selected by
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
in May 2022 following the
2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...
. The Treasurer implements ministerial powers through the Department of the Treasury and a range of other government agencies. According to constitutional convention, the Treasurer is always a member of the
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
with a
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. The office is generally seen as equivalent to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
in the
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or the
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
in the
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or, in some other countries, the
finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
. It is one of only four ministerial positions (along with prime minister, Minister for Defence and
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
) that have existed since
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
.


Responsibilities and duties

The Treasurer is the minister in charge of government revenue and expenditure. The Treasurer oversees
economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...
:
fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection ( taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...
is within the Treasurer's direct responsibility, while
monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to affect monetary and other financial conditions to accomplish broader objectives like high employment and price stability (normally interpreted as a low and stable rat ...
is implemented by the politically independent
Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...
, the head of which is appointed by the Treasurer. The Treasurer also oversees
financial regulation Financial regulation is a broad set of policies that apply to the financial sector in most jurisdictions, justified by two main features of finance: systemic risk, which implies that the failure of financial firms involves public interest consi ...
. Each year in May, the Treasurer presents the Federal Budget to the Parliament. The
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and Treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
does not have such a requirement. The tradition is due to the fact that under the constitution, appropriation bills have to originate from the House, and if the Treasurer is a senator, they would not be able to introduce the bills. This would also mean another minister would need to give the nationally televised budget speech and introduce the bills. While no Federal Treasurer has been a member of the Senate, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia had state Treasurers who had served as members of the Legislative Councils, the states' upper houses. Unlike the scenario in which a treasurer who is a senator cannot present the budget in the House of Representatives, state treasurers who have been members of upper houses have delivered their budgets in the respective lower houses. The treasurer is a very senior government post, usually ranking second or third in Cabinet. Historically, many treasurers have previously, concurrently or subsequently served as prime minister or
deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
; two subsequently served as
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
. Service as treasurer is seen as an important (though not essential) qualification for serving as prime minister: to date, six treasurers have gone on to be prime minister.
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...
and
Wayne Swan Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954) is an Australian politician serving as the 25th and current Australian Labor Party National Executive#National Presidents, National President of the Labor Party since 2018, previously serving as the 14th de ...
are currently the only two to have been named "
Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year Between 1981-2016, ''Euromoney'' magazine awarded the Finance Minister of the Year award. This award was given to a country Finance Minister who reformed or innovated their countries economy during their tenure. In Australia, the award is colloquial ...
" by ''
Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...
'' magazine. Since 1958, Treasurers in Coalition governments have often but not always been the deputy leader of the Liberal Party. In contrast, only four Labor Treasurers have also been the deputy leader of the Labor Party.


Related ministerial positions

Along with the Treasurer, other ministers have responsibility for the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer together with these other ministers are known as the "Treasury Ministers". At present, the Treasury Minister positions are: * Treasurer * Assistant Treasurer * Minister for Financial Services * Minister for Small Business * Minister for Housing * Minister for Homelessness * Minister for Cities The work of the Department of Finance is closely related to the work of the Department of the Treasury, with the former responsible for budget formation and operational management of government finances. The ministers who have responsibility for the Department of Finance are: * Minister for Finance *
Special Minister of State Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...


Treasury portfolio

Eleven organizations nominally fall under the auspices of the Australian Treasurer. They entail the provision of policy advice to portfolio ministers; effective government spending and taxation arrangements; and well-functioning markets. * The Department of the Treasury creates policies and reports for four output groups. These groups are macroeconomic, fiscal, revenue and markets: ** Macroeconomic reports include: domestic economic policy advice and forecasting and international economic policy advice and assessment. ** Fiscal reports include: budget policy advice and coordination; Commonwealth-State financial policy advice; and industry, environment and social policy advice. ** Revenue reports include: taxation and income support policy advice. ** Markets reports include: foreign investment policy advice and administration; financial corporate governance policy advice; competition and consumer policy advice; and actuarial services. In addition, the Royal Australian Mint is responsible for producing Australia's circulating currency. * The
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
is Australia's official statistical agency. Its reports are created for decision-making, research and discussion within governments and the community. It principally relates to the production of economic, population and social statistics. * The Australian Office of Financial Management manages the Commonwealth's net debt portfolio. Its reports on debt management directed at ensuring that the Commonwealth net debt portfolio is managed, subject to the government's policies and risk references. * The National Competition Council is an independent advisory body for all Australian governments involved in implementing the National Competition Policy. Outputs include: advice provided to governments on competition policy and infrastructure access issues and accessible public information on competition policy. * The
Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission (PC) is the Australian Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. The PC was created as an independent authority by th ...
is an advisory body on microeconomics policy that contributes to public understanding. * The
Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Taxation in Australia, Australian federal taxation ...
outputs are directed at systems that support and fund services for Australians and give effect to social and economic policy through the tax, superannuation, excise and other related systems. Outputs include: design and build administrative systems; management of revenue collection and transfers; compliance assurance; and regulation of superannuation funds compliance with retirement income standards. The Inspector-General of Taxation is an independent statutory office to review systemic tax administration issues and to report to the Government with recommendations for improving tax administration for the benefit of taxpayers. * The
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Tra ...
is a regulation agency mandated for
consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesse ...
by industry regulation and price monitoring. * The
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recom ...
is the financial supervisor responsible for prudentially regulating the banking, other deposit-taking, insurance and superannuation industries. * The
Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...
(ASIC) is the independent government body that enforces and administers the Corporations Law and Consumer Protection Law for investments, life and general insurance, and superannuation and banking (except lending). Outputs include: policy, enforcement and guidance about ASIC-administered laws; information on companies and corporate activity; and monitoring and licensing of participants. * The Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) creates reports directed at participation of investors and consumers. It makes recommendations to the responsible Minister on the Corporations Law, and produces and publishes an annual report along with other discussion papers and reports.


List of treasurers

The following individuals have been appointed as Treasurer of Australia: : Treasurers Watson, Fisher, Scullin, Lyons, Fadden, Menzies, Chifley, Whitlam, Hawke and Morrison were also
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
during some or all of their period as Treasurer. : Morrison was appointed as Treasurer by the Governor-General on Morrison's advice in May 2021, with both Morrison and Frydenberg holding the position of Treasurer until May 2022. However, the appointment of Morrison was not made public until August 2022.


Living former treasurers

As of , there are ten living former treasurers of Australia, the oldest being
Ralph Willis Ralph Willis AO (born 14 April 1938) is an Australian former politician who served as a Cabinet Minister during the entirety of the Hawke-Keating government from 1983 to 1996, most notably as Treasurer of Australia from 1993 to 1996 and brie ...
(served 1991, 1993−1996, born 1938). The most recent treasurer to die was
Bill Hayden William George Hayden (23 January 1933 – 21 October 2023) was an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 198 ...
(served 1975) on 21 October 2023. The most recently serving treasurer to die was John Kerin (served 1991) on 29 March 2023.


See also

* Assistant Treasurer of Australia * Minister for Financial Services * Minister for Consumer Affairs * Assistant Minister to the Treasurer


References


External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios Lists of government ministers of Australia *