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Cabinet And Ministry Numbers In Australian Federal Governments

The table on this page shows the numbers of members of Cabinet and the overall Ministry since 1949.

The overall ministry today has 42 members, comprising 23 members in Cabinet, 7 members in the Outer Ministry, and 12 Assistant Ministers, previously known as Parliamentary Secretaries.

Scott Morrison’s Cabinet, sworn in on August 28, 2018, has 23 members. Following the July 2016 election, the Turnbull government had 22 members, itself an increase from 21 when Turnbull became prime minister in September 2015, and from 19 in the Abbott government.

Until 1956, all ministers were members of Cabinet. Menzies introduced the inner and outer ministry system following the 1955 election.

During the Whitlam government (1972-75), all 27 members of the ministry were in the Cabinet because the system of a Cabinet and Outer Ministry was abandoned. Having so many ministers in the Cabinet was widely regarded as a bad thing and the next Labor government under Bob Hawke reintroduced the two-tier model.

Detailed Data on Recent Governments

The table below shows the numbers in each federal ministry since the election of the Menzies Liberal-Country Party coalition in 1949. Each set of numbers reflects the composition of the government immediately after an election, or immediately following a change of prime minister. Other mid-term changes are not included. The final column of the table shows the breakdown of Liberal and Country/Nationals representation in coalition governments.

Federal Ministry Numbers Since 1949
Year Ministry Cabinet Outer
Ministry		 Parliamentary
Secretaries/
Asst Ministers		 Total Lib-CP/Nats
1949
 Fourth Menzies Ministry
19
–
–
19
15/4
1951
 Fifth Menzies Ministry
20
–
–
20
15/5
1954
 Sixth Menzies Ministry
21
–
–
21
16/5
1955
 Seventh Menzies Ministry
15
9
–
24
13/2, 6/3
1958
 Eighth Menzies Ministry
13
11
–
24
10/3, 8/3
1961
 Ninth Menzies Ministry
12
11
–
23
9/3, 9/2
1963
 Tenth Menzies Ministry
12
13
–
25
9/3, 10/3
1966
 First Holt Ministry
12
13
–
25
9/3, 10/3
1966
 Second Holt Ministry
12
14
–
26
9/3, 12/2
1967
 McEwen Ministry
11
14
–
25
8/3, 11/3
1968
 First Gorton Ministry
12
14
–
26
9/3, 11/3
1969
 Second Gorton Ministry
13
13
–
26
9/4, 10/3
1971
 McMahon Ministry
13
13
–
26
10/3, 9/4
1972
 First Whitlam Ministry
2
–
–
2
–
1972
 Second Whitlam Ministry
27
–
–
27
–
1974
 Third Whitlam Ministry
27
–
–
27
–
1975
 First Fraser Ministry
15
–
–
15
11/4
1975
 Second Fraser Ministry
12
12
–
24
9/3, 9/3
1977
 Third Fraser Ministry
14
13
–
27
11/3, 10/3
1980
 Fourth Fraser Ministry
14
12
–
26
11/3, 9/3
1983
 First Hawke Ministry
13
14
–
27
–
1984
 Second Hawke Ministry
17
10
–
27
–
1987
 Third Hawke Ministry
17
13
–
30
–
1990
 Fourth Hawke Ministry
17
13
4
34
–
1991
 First Keating Ministry
18
12
8
38
–
1993
 Second Keating Ministry
19
11
10
40
–
1996
 First Howard Ministry
15
13
10
38
12/3, 11/2, 9/1
1998
 Second Howard Ministry
17
13
12
42
14/3, 10/3, 10/2
2001
 Third Howard Ministry
17
13
12
42
14/3, 11/2, 11/1
2004
 Fourth Howard Ministry
17
13
12
42
14/3, 11/2, 11/1
2007
 First Rudd Ministry
20
10
12
42
–
2010
 First Gillard Ministry
19
10
11
40
–
2010
 Second Gillard Ministry
20
10
13
43
–
2013
 Second Rudd Ministry
20
10
12
42
–
2013
 Abbott Ministry
19
11
12
42
16/3, 9/2, 10/2
2015
 First Turnbull Ministry
21
9
12
42
18/3, 7/2, 10/2
2016
 Second Turnbull Ministry
23
7
12
42
18/5, 6/1, 9/3
2018
 First Morrison Ministry
23
7
12
42
18/5, 6/1, 9/3

 

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