This is a list of the administrative heads of Cocos (Keeling) Islands since 23 November 1955, when it became an external territory of the Commonwealth of Australia.
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands Territory of the Commonwealth of Australia | ||||||
| 1 | H. J. Hull | Official Representative of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 23 November 1955 | 13 November 1957 | ||
| 2 | C. H. Cox | Acting Official Representative of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 14 December 1957 | 13 March 1958 | ||
| 3 | John William Stokes | Official Representative of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 8 November 1958 | 27 July 1960 | ||
| 4 | Charles Ivens Buffett | 27 July 1960 | 17 April 1966 | |||
| 5 | P. L. Ryan | 18 April 1966 | 19 June 1966 | |||
| 6 | Peter C. Burbrook | 20 June 1966 | 25 June 1969 | |||
| 7 | C. W. Suthern | 26 June 1969 | 28 July 1972 | |||
| 8 | C. McManus | 29 July 1972 | 16 July 1975 | |||
| 9 | Robert James Linford | Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 23 July 1975 | 15 November 1977 | ||
| 10 | Charles Ivens Buffett | 16 November 1977 | 25 July 1979 | |||
| Granted autonomy from the Commonwealth of Australia | ||||||
| (10) | Charles Ivens Buffett | Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 25 July 1979 | 31 December 1981 | (contd.) | |
| 11 | Eric Herbert Hanfield | 21 April 1982 | 22 November 1983 | |||
| 12 | Kenneth Chan | 14 December 1983 | 6 April 1984 | |||
| Integrated with Australia in an act of self-determination (see 1984 status referendum) | ||||||
| (12) | Kenneth Chan | Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 6 April 1984 | 19 November 1985 | (contd.) | |
| 13 | Carolyn Stuart | 20 November 1985 | December 1987 | |||
| − | W. N. Syrette | Acting Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | January 1988 | 30 June 1988 | ||
| − | M. Jopling | 1 July 1988 | 7 November 1988 | |||
| 14 | Dawn Lawrie | Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 8 November 1988 | 27 November 1990 | ||
| 15 | Barry T. Cunningham | 1 December 1990 | 4 December 1992 | |||
| 16 | John Bell Read | 5 December 1992 | 4 December 1994 | |||
| − | Danny Ambrose Gillespie | Acting Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 4 December 1994 | 31 January 1995 | ||
| 17 | Martin Mowbray | Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 1 February 1995 | 30 January 1996 | ||
| − | Jarl Andersson | Acting Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 1 February 1996 | 1 July 1996 | ||
| Part of Australian Indian Ocean Territories of the Commonwealth of Australia | ||||||
| (−) | Jarl Andersson |
| 1 July 1996 | 12 April 1997 | (contd.) | |
| 18 | Maureen Ellis | 12 April 1997 | 30 September 1997 | |||
| 19 | Ronald George Harvey | 1 October 1997 | 30 October 1998 | 1 year, 29 days | ||
| − | Graham Nicholls |
| 1 November 1998 | 3 February 1999 | 94 days | |
| 20 | William "Bill" Leonard Taylor |
| 4 February 1999 | 30 July 2003 | 4 years, 176 days | |
| − | Ray Stone |
| 31 July 2003 | 1 November 2003 | 93 days | |
| 21 | Evan Williams |
| 1 November 2003 | 31 October 2005 | 2 years, 92 days | |
| 22 | Neil Lucas | 30 January 2006 | 22 February 2008 | 2 years, 23 days | ||
| − | Julian Yates |
| 22 February 2008 | 28 February 2008 | 6 days | |
| − | Sheryl Klaffer | 28 February 2009 | 2009 | 0 years | ||
| − | Stephen Clay | 2009 | 5 October 2009 | 0 years | ||
| 23 | Brian James Lacy |
| 5 October 2009 | 29 September 2012 | 2 years, 360 days | |
| 24 | Jon Stanhope | 5 October 2012 | 6 October 2014 | 2 years, 1 day | ||
| 25 | Barry Haase | 6 October 2014 | 4 October 2017 | 2 years, 363 days | ||
| 26 | Natasha Griggs | 5 October 2017 | 4 October 2022 | 4 years, 364 days | ||
| 27 | Sarah Vandenbroek [1] |
| 4 October 2022 | 26 May 2023 | 295 days | |
| 28 | Farzian Zainal |
| 26 May 2023 | incumbent | 2 years, 71 days | |
