List of high commissioners of New Zealand to Australia

High Commissioner of New Zealand to Australia
High Commissioner of New Zealand to Australia
	Coat of Arms of New Zealand
	Incumbent; Mr Andrew Needs; since 22 April 2024
Style	His Excellency
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length	At His Majesty's Pleasure
Inaugural holder	Carl Berendsen
Formation	27 February 1943

The high commissioner of New Zealand to Australia is New Zealand's foremost diplomatic representative in the Commonwealth of Australia, and in charge of New Zealand's diplomatic mission in Australia.

The high commission is located in Canberra, Australia's capital city. New Zealand has maintained a resident high commissioner in Australia since 1943.

As fellow members of the Commonwealth of Nations, diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Australia are at governmental level, rather than between heads of state. Thus, the countries exchange high commissioners, rather than ambassadors.

List of heads of mission

High commissioners to Australia

The following individuals have held the office of high commissioner to Australia resident in Canberra:^[1]

No.	Name	Term of office
1	Carl Berendsen	27 February 1943	5 April 1944
2	Jim Barclay	5 April 1944	31 August 1950
3	Lisle Alderton^[2]	31 August 1950	1 April 1958
4	Fred Jones	1 April 1958	31 May 1961
5	Syd Johnston	31 May 1961	10 May 1963†
6	Jack Shepherd (acting)	11 May 1963	11 April 1964
7	Luke Hazlett	11 April 1964	10 August 1970
8	Arthur Yendell	10 August 1970	9 May 1973
9	Eric Chapman	9 May 1973	2 August 1976
10	Sir Laurie Francis	2 August 1976	29 January 1985
11	Graham Ansell	29 January 1985	31 May 1989
12	Ted Woodfield	31 May 1989	13 June 1994
13	Graham Fortune	13 June 1994	3 March 1999
14	Simon Murdoch	3 March 1999	21 September 2002
15	Kate Lackey	21 September 2002	9 November 2006
16	John Larkindale	9 November 2006	4 May 2011
17	Martyn Dunne	4 May 2011	21 November 2013
18	Chris Seed^[3]	21 November 2013	7 December 2018
19	Dame Annette King	7 December 2018	22 December 2023

Notes

^ "Heads of Missions List: A". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 8 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2006.
^ "Mr. G. E. Alderton New Zealand High Commissioner". The Canberra Times. 14 July 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^ "Foreign embassies and consulates in Australia - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Protocol.dfat.gov.au. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

References

"Heads of Missions List: A". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 8 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2006.
Chris Seed named NZ's next High Commissioner to Australia. The New Zealand Herald, 24 October 2013. Retrieved on 2014-04-28.

[1] "Heads of Missions List: A". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 8 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2006.

[2] "Mr. G. E. Alderton New Zealand High Commissioner". The Canberra Times. 14 July 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2020.

[3] "Foreign embassies and consulates in Australia - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Protocol.dfat.gov.au. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Australia–New Zealand relations
Diplomatic posts	High Commission of Australia, Wellington High commissioners of Australia to New Zealand Consulate General of New Zealand, Melbourne Consulate General of New Zealand, Sydney High commissioners of New Zealand to Australia Consulate General of Australia, Auckland
Diplomacy	Trans-Tasman Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement Canberra Pact Nauru Island Agreement Pacific Islands Forum
Incidents	Underarm bowling incident of 1981 Carr–Peters scandal
Military relations	Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) Anzac Day Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) N Force Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) New Zealand Memorial, Canberra Five Power Defence Arrangements Five Eyes UKUSA Agreement
Economic relations	Exclusive economic zone of Australia Exclusive economic zone of New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Pacific Union
Border	Tasman Sea Australia–New Zealand Maritime Treaty Special Category Visa Territorial claims in Antarctica
Related	Australia–New Zealand sports rivalries Trans-Tasman Trophy (Test cricket) Chappell–Hadlee Trophy (ODI/T20 cricket) Rose Bowl series (women's ODI crikcet) Laurie O'Reilly Cup (netball) Rugby league Anzac Test Rugby union (men's) Bledisloe Cup rugby union (women's) Constellation Cup Soccer Soccer Ashes 2015 Cricket World Cup final Australasia at the Olympics Crossing the Ditch 2015 Rugby World Cup final Rugby League World Cup finals 2000 2008 2013 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Australian rules football in New Zealand Commonwealth Pacific Cable System Southern Cross Cable PacRimWest Tasman Global Access Patriot Brains Join Australia Movement Party Proposals for new Australian states Māori voting rights in Australia Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902
Category:Australia–New Zealand relations

v t e Lists of heads of diplomatic missions to Australia
Ambassadors	Afghanistan China France Germany Greece Indonesia Iran Israel Japan Morocco Philippines Russia Sweden Switzerland United States Zimbabwe
High Commissioners	Canada New Zealand South Africa Sri Lanka Tonga United Kingdom

v t e Heads of missions from New Zealand
Ambassadors	Argentina Belgium Brazil Chile China France Germany Indonesia Iran Ireland Italy Japan Mexico Netherlands Philippines Poland Russia Saudi Arabia South Korea Soviet Union Spain Thailand Timor-Leste Turkey United States Vietnam
High commissioners	Australia Barbados Canada Cook Islands Fiji India Kiribati Malaysia Niue Papua New Guinea Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Tonga United Kingdom Vanuatu
Administrators	Tokelau
Permanent representatives	UN – New York UN – Geneva UN – Vienna UNESCO WTO