The Australian Treasurer is the minister responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. In some other countries the equivalent role is the Minister for Finance, although Australia has a separate office of that name responsible for regulating government spending. The Treasurer is a very senior government post. Its holder is often Deputy Prime Minister or deputy leader of his party. The Treasurer is often seen by the press and the public as a necessary stepping-stone to the Prime Ministership, however, only six Prime Ministers have served as Treasurer before ascending to higher office.

List of Australian Treasurers

1.	Sir George Turner	Protectionist Party	1901–1904
2.	Chris Watson	Australian Labor Party	1904
3.	Sir George Turner	Protectionist Party	1904–1905
4.	Sir John Forrest	Protectionist Party	1905–1907
5.	Sir William Lyne	Protectionist Party	1907–1908
6.	Andrew Fisher	Australian Labor Party	1908–1909
7.	Sir John Forrest	Protectionist Party	1909–1910
8.	Andrew Fisher	Australian Labor Party	1910–1913
9.	Sir John Forrest	Commonwealth Liberal Party	1913–1914
10.	Andrew Fisher	Australian Labor Party	1914–1915
11.	William Higgs	Australian Labor Party	1915–1916
12.	Alexander Poynton	National Labor Party	1916–1917
13.	Sir John Forrest	Nationalist Party	1917–1918
14.	William Watt	Nationalist Party	1918–1920
15.	Sir Joseph Cook	Nationalist Party	1920–1921
16.	Stanley Bruce	Nationalist Party	1921–1923
17.	Dr Earle Page	Country Party	1923–1929
18.	Ted Theodore	Australian Labor Party	1929–1930
19.	James Scullin	Australian Labor Party	1930–1931
20.	Ted Theodore	Australian Labor Party	1931–1932
21.	Joseph Lyons	United Australia Party	1932–1935
22.	Richard Casey	United Australia Party	1935–1940
23.	Robert Menzies	United Australia Party	1940–1941
24.	Percy Spender	United Australia Party	1940
25.	Arthur Fadden	Country Party	1940–1941
26.	Ben Chifley	Australian Labor Party	1941–1949
27.	Sir Arthur Fadden	Country Party	1949–1958
28.	Harold Holt	Liberal Party of Australia	1958–1966
29.	William McMahon	Liberal Party of Australia	1966–1970
30.	Leslie Bury	Liberal Party of Australia	1970–1971
31.	Billy Snedden	Liberal Party of Australia	1971–1972
32.	Gough Whitlam	Australian Labor Party	1972
33.	Frank Crean	Australian Labor Party	1972–1974
34.	Dr Jim Cairns	Australian Labor Party	1974–1975
35.	Bill Hayden	Australian Labor Party	1975
36.	Phillip Lynch	Liberal Party of Australia	1975–1977
37.	John Howard	Liberal Party of Australia	1977–1983
38.	Paul Keating	Australian Labor Party	1983–1991
39.	Bob Hawke	Australian Labor Party	1991
40.	John Kerin	Australian Labor Party	1991
41.	Ralph Willis	Australian Labor Party	1991
42.	John Dawkins	Australian Labor Party	1991–1993
43.	Ralph Willis	Australian Labor Party	1993–1996
44.	Peter Costello	Liberal Party of Australia	1996—

Treasurers Watson, Fisher, Scullin, Lyons, Menzies, Chifley, Whitlam and Hawke were also Prime Minister during some or all of their period as Treasurer.