The Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has responsibilities which include the following areas:

• Education policy and programs including schools, vocational, higher education and Indigenous education, but excluding migrant adult education
• Education and training transitions policy and programs
• Science awareness programs in schools
• Training, including apprenticeships and training services
• Policy, co-ordination and support for education exports and services
• Income support policies and programs for students and apprentices

The current Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth is Peter Garrett

Peter Garrett

Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...

. He administers his portfolios through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

List of Ministers

#	Minister	Party	Time In Office	Ministerial Title
1	John Gorton John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1963–65	Minister in charge of Commonwealth Activities in Education and Research under the Prime Minister
			1966–68	Minister for Education and Science
2	Malcolm Fraser Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...		1968–69
3	Nigel Bowen Nigel Bowen Sir Nigel Hubert Bowen, AC, KBE was an Australian politician and judge.-Biography:Bowen was born in a log cabin in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, of Welsh and English parents. He came to Australia as a boy and was educated for two years in England and later at The King's School in Parramatta...		1969–71
4	David Fairbairn David Fairbairn Sir David Eric Fairbairn KBE DFC was an Australian politician and cabinet minister.-Early life:Fairbairn was born in Claygate, Surrey, England...		1971–72
-	Malcolm Fraser		1972
5	Gough Whitlam Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1972
6	Kim Beazley, sr. Kim Edward Beazley Kim Edward Beazley, AO , known as Kim Beazley during his career, Australian politician, was Minister for Education in the government of Gough Whitlam and a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years, from 1945 to 1977.Beazley, the youngest of seven children, was born in...		1972–75	Minister for Education
7	Margaret Guilfoyle Margaret Guilfoyle Dame Margaret Georgina Constance Guilfoyle, AC, DBE was a British-born Australian Senator for the state of Victoria from 1971 to 1987. She was the second woman to receive a federal ministerial portfolio, after Dame Enid Lyons...	Liberal	1975
8	John Carrick John Carrick (Australian politician) Sir John Leslie Carrick, AC, KCMG is a former Australian politician.-Early life:Carrick studied economics at the University of Sydney . Before he was able to commence his career to any great degree he fought with the Sparrow Force of the Australian Army during World War II. He was landed on...		1975–79
9	Wal Fife Wal Fife Wallace Clyde Fife is a former Australian politician.Fife was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and was educated at Gurwood Street public school, Wagga Wagga and Canberra Grammar School. In 1948 he started working in the federal secretariat of the Liberal Party of Australia and in 1949 he...		1979–82
10	Peter Baume Peter Baume Peter Erne Baume, AC is a former Australian politician.Baume was born in Sydney, New South Wales and was educated at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney Grammar School. He married Jennifer Tucson 1958 and they have one son and one daughter...		1982–83
11	Susan Ryan Susan Ryan Susan Maree Ryan AO is an Australian educator who served as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory 1975–87...	Labor	1983–84	Minister for Education and Youth Affairs
			1984–87	Minister for Education
12	John Dawkins John Dawkins John Sydney "Joe" Dawkins, AO , Australian politician, was Treasurer in the Keating Labor government from December 1991 to December 1993...		1987–91	Minister for Employment, Education and Training
13	Kim Beazley Kim Beazley In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....		1991–93
14	Simon Crean Simon Crean Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...		1993–96
15	Amanda Vanstone Amanda Vanstone Amanda Eloise Vanstone is a former Australian politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the Howard Government. After her resignation from the Senate in 2007, she served as the Australian...	Liberal	1996–97	Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
16	David Kemp		1997–01	Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs
17	Brendan Nelson Brendan Nelson Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...		2001–06	Minister for Education, Science and Training
18	Julie Bishop Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...		2006–07
19	Julia Gillard Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...	Labor	2007–10	Minister for Education
-	Simon Crean Simon Crean Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...		2010
20	Peter Garrett Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...		2010–	Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

List of ministers for youth

There have been several portfolios to include the term "youth", sometimes separate from or under education portfolios.

Minister	Party	Time In Office	Prime Minister	Ministerial Title
Ian Viner Ian Viner Robert Ian Viner AO is an Australian former politician. He was the Liberal Party of Australia member for the House of Representatives seat of Stirling from 1972 until his defeat by Ron Edwards in the 1983 election...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1978–81	Fraser Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...	Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs
Neil Brown Neil Brown (Australian politician) Neil Anthony Brown, QC is an Australian lawyer, arbitrator, mediator and former Member of the Federal Parliament of Australia and Minister in the Federal Government....		1981–82
Susan Ryan Susan Ryan Susan Maree Ryan AO is an Australian educator who served as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory 1975–87...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1983–84	Hawke Bob Hawke Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....	Minister for Education and Youth Affairs
John Dawkins John Dawkins John Sydney "Joe" Dawkins, AO , Australian politician, was Treasurer in the Keating Labor government from December 1991 to December 1993...		1984–87		Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Youth Affairs
Clyde Holding Clyde Holding Allan Clyde Holding Australian politician, was Leader of the Opposition in Victoria for ten years, and was later a federal minister.-Early life and education:...		1987–88		Minister for Employment Services and Youth Affairs
Amanda Vanstone Amanda Vanstone Amanda Eloise Vanstone is a former Australian politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the Howard Government. After her resignation from the Senate in 2007, she served as the Australian...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1996–97	Howard John Howard John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....	Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
David Kemp		1997–98
		1998–2001		Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Larry Anthony Larry Anthony Lawrence James "Larry" Anthony is a former Australianpolitician. He was a National Party of Australia member of theAustralian House of Representatives representing the Division of Richmond, New South Wales, from the March 1996 election until his defeat in the 2004 election...	National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...	2001–04		Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
Kate Ellis Kate Ellis Katherine Margaret "Kate" Ellis, MP is an Australian politician, representing the federal division of Adelaide since 2004 and is currently the Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare and the Minister for the Status of Women in the Gillard Government.-Early life and career:Ellis was...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	2007–09	Rudd Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...	Minister for Youth and Sport
		2009–10		Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth
Peter Garrett Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...		2010–	Gillard Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...	Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

External links

• Ministers' Website