The following persons have served as British High Commissioner to Australia. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 typically exchange High Commissioner

High Commissioner

High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...

s, rather than Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

s. Though there are a few technical and historical differences, they are now in practice one and the same office. Despite Britain's close relationship with Australia, there was only a High Commissioner from London appointed in 1936.

Prior to 1936, the Governor-General of Australia

Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...

 was the official representative of the British government, as well as the crown. This was changed after the 1926 Imperial Conference

1926 Imperial Conference

The 1926 Imperial Conference was the sixth Imperial Conference held amongst the Prime Ministers of the dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 22 November 1926...

 and the subsequent Balfour Declaration and the Statute of Westminster

Statute of Westminster 1931

The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...

. Although Australia didn't ratify the Statute of Westminster until 1942

Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942

The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an Act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the British Imperial Parliament enabling the legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire...

 (retroactive to 1939), the United Kingdom appointed a High Commissioner to regularise the role of the Governor-General in Australia.

High Commissioner	Start of Term	End of Term
Sir Geoffrey Whiskard GCMG	1936	1941
The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Cross KCMG KCVO	1941	1945
Edward Williams Edward Williams (UK politician) Edward John Williams, generally known as Ted Williams was a British Labour Party politician and diplomat.After elementary school he went into the mines aged 12. Keen to educate himself, he rose to become secretary to a colliery company and in 1913 entered the Labour College in London as a student...	1946	1952
Sir Stephen Holmes	1952	1956
The Rt Hon. The Lord Carrington KG GCMG CH MC PC DL Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, is a British Conservative politician. He served as British Foreign Secretary between 1979 and 1982 and as the sixth Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He is the last surviving member of the Cabinets of both Harold Macmillan and Sir...	1956	1959
Sir William Oliver GBE KCB KCMG DL William Oliver (British Army officer) Lieutenant General Sir William Pasfield Oliver GBE KCB KCMG was Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff.-Military career:Oliver was commissioned into the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1920. He became Adjutant of his Regiment in 1927 and went on to be an Instructor at the Army School of...	1959	1965
Sir Charles Johnston GCMG KStJ Charles Hepburn Johnston Sir Charles Hepburn-Johnston GCMG, KStJ was a senior British diplomat.-Biography:He was born in London, the son of Ernest Johnston and Emma Hepburn, on 11 March 1912. He was educated at Winchester College, and Balliol College, Oxford, joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936...	1965	1971
The Rt Hon. Sir Morrice James GCMG CVO MBE	1971	1976
Sir Donald Tebbit GCMG Donald Tebbit Sir Donald Tebbit, GCMG, was a British diplomat.He attended The Perse School, Cambridge, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was from 1984-85....	1976	1980
Sir John Mason	1980	1984
Sir John Leahy KCMG John Leahy (diplomat) Sir John Leahy, KCMG is a former senior British diplomat. He later became Chairman of Lonrho. John has a wife and 4 children: 2 girls and 2 boys. All of which, now, have fully grown up.-Early career:...	1984	1988
Sir John Coles John Coles (diplomat) Sir Arthur "John" Coles, GCMG is a retired British diplomat. He served as the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1994-1997.- Offices held :-References:...	1988	1991
Sir Brian Barder Brian Barder Sir Brian Leon Barder, KCMG is a retired British diplomat; and subsequently blogger and civil liberties advocate.-Life and career:Brian Barder was born in Bristol, the son of Harry and Vivien Barder...	1991	1994
Sir Roger Carrick	1994	1997
The Hon. Alex Allan Alex Allan Alexander Allan is the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee of the United Kingdom and Head of Intelligence Assessment. He is the son of Robert Allan, Baron Allan of Kilmahew.- Early life :...	1997	1999
The Rt Hon. Lord Goodlad KCMG PC Alastair Goodlad, Baron Goodlad Alastair Robertson Goodlad, Baron Goodlad, KCMG, PC, is a British Conservative politician who served as the British High Commissioner to Australia from 2000 until 2005....	1999	2005
The Rt Hon. Helen Liddell Helen Liddell Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Monklands East from 1994 to 1997, and then for Airdrie and Shotts until 2005, whereafter she became the British High Commissioner to Australia until 2009...	2005	2009
The Rt Hon. Baroness Amos PC Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC is the eighth and current UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before her appointment to the UN, she had been British High Commissioner to Australia. She was made a Labour life peer in 1997 and served as Leader...	2009	2010
Paul Madden	2011	Present

External links

• British High Commissioner in Australia