David Bernard Coleman (born 5 March 1974) is an Australian politician who represented the New South Wales seat of Banks 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 ...

from 2013 to 2025 for the

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. Coleman served as the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention from December 2020 until May 2022. He previously served as

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is a ministerial post of the Australian Government and is currently held by Tony Burke since July 2024 in the Albanese ministry. The post was created in 1945 and its inaugural officeholder was Arth ...

in the

Morrison government The Morrison government was the Australian Government, federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison governmen ...

from August 2018, although in December 2019 he took indefinite leave for personal reasons. He had earlier served as Assistant Minister for Finance in the

Turnbull government The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government, which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Au ...

from 2017 to 2018.

Early life and education

Coleman was born in , a south-western suburb of Sydney. He attended primary school at Saint Thomas à Becket primary school in ; and completed his schooling at the Christian Brothers' High School, also in Lewisham. Coleman studied at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and

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s, and was president of the UNSW Student Guild in 1997.

Career

Before entering politics, Coleman worked for global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co,

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, dStore, and since 2005, in a variety of roles for PBL Media and the

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where he was the director of strategy and digital. Coleman entered Liberal preselection contests for

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in 2007 and Bradfield in 2010; but he was unsuccessful in receiving Liberal endorsement. Before his election to

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, Coleman held directorships with

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Pty Limited (2008–13),

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Pty Limited (2008–13), and Yellow Brick Road Holdings Limited (2011–13). At the 2013 federal election Coleman defeated the incumbent

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member for Banks, Daryl Melham, who had held the seat for 23 years. Coleman recorded a two-party preferred swing of 3.28 points in his favour; and became the first non-Labor member to hold the seat since the Division of Banks was created in 1949.

Ministerial career

Coleman was appointed Assistant Minister for Finance in December 2017, in the Second Turnbull Ministry. In the August 2018 leadership spills, he reportedly supported

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 Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...

in the first vote and

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

in the second. He was subsequently appointed

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is a ministerial post of the Australian Government and is currently held by Tony Burke since July 2024 in the First Albanese ministry, Albanese ministry. The post was created in 1945 and its inaugur ...

in the First Morrison Ministry. After the government's re-election at the 2019 election, his title was changed to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. In December 2019, it was announced that Coleman would be taking indefinite leave for personal reasons, with Alan Tudge taking over his portfolio as acting minister. He formally remained as a minister until a December 2020 reshuffle, in which he was instead appointed Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. He served in this portfolio until May 2022, following the appointment of the Albanese ministry.

Opposition

Coleman was re-elected as Member for Banks in 2022. He was appointed as Shadow Minister for Communications in the shadow ministry of Peter Dutton on 12 February 2023. In 2024, Coleman as Shadow Minister for Communications supported the Labor government plans for an

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in social media.

Personal life and views

Coleman is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party. Coleman was in favour of legalising

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

in the 2017 postal survey. Coleman is married to Dotte Derrickson and they have two children.

References

External links

Coleman's OpenAustralia page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, David 1974 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Politicians from Sydney University of New South Wales Law School alumni Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Banks Members of the Australian House of Representatives Turnbull government Government ministers of Australia Morrison government People educated at Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham University of New South Wales alumni Australian MPs 2013–2016 Australian MPs 2016–2019 Australian MPs 2019–2022 Australian MPs 2022–2025