List of high commissioners of Australia to Tonga

Australian High Commissioner to Tonga
Incumbent Brek Batley since 23 April 2024
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seat	Nukuʻalofa
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	R. N. Birch (Non-resident High Commissioner, located in Suva, Fiji)
Formation	1970

The Australian high commissioner to Tonga is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the high commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in the Kingdom of Tonga. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and the high commissioner resides in Nukuʻalofa. ^[1] The high commissioner, since April 2024, is Brek Batley.

List of high commissioners

#	Officeholder	Residency	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	R. N. Birch	Suva, Fiji	1970 (1970)	1970 (1970)	0 years
2	Rowen Osborn		1970 (1970)	1973 (1973)	2–3 years	[2] [3]
3	H. W. Bullock		1973 (1973)	1976 (1976)	2–3 years	[4] [5]
4	Gordon Upton		1976 (1976)	1979 (1979)	2–3 years	[6]
5	Maris King	Nukuʻalofa	1980 (1980)	1984 (1984)	3–4 years
6	Brian Smith		1984 (1984)	1986 (1986)	1–2 years
7	Rodney Hills		1987 (1987)	1990 (1990)	2–3 years	[7] [8]
8	Howard Craig Brown		1990 (1990)	1992 (1992)	1–2 years
9	Jennifer E. Rawson		1993 (1993)	1995 (1995)	1–2 years
10	Andrew Mullin		1995 (1995)	1999 (1999)	3–4 years	[9]
11	Angus Macdonald		1999 (1999)	2003 (2003)	3–4 years	[10]
12	Colin Hill		2003 (2003)	2006 (2006)	2–3 years	[11]
13	Bruce Hunt		2006 (2006)	2011 (2011)	4–5 years	[12]
14	Thomas Roth		2011 (2011)	2013 (2013)	1–2 years	[13]
15	Brett Aldam		2013 (2013)	2016 (2016)	2–3 years	[14]
16	Andrew Ford		2016 (2016)	2019 (2019)	2–3 years	[15]
17	Adrian Morrison		2019 (2019)	2021 (2021)	1–2 years	[16]
18	Rachael Moore		2021 (2021)	2024 (2024)	2–3 years	[17]
19	Brek Batley		23 April 2024 (2024-04-23)	incumbent	1 year, 90 days	[18]

References

1. CA 7221: Australian High Commission, Tonga [Nuku'alofa], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 7 January 2016
2. "Fiji envoy appointed". The Canberra Times. 20 November 1970. p. 7.
3. Osborn, Francis d’Arenberg. "Francis d'Arenberg OSBORN" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Susan Marsden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2015.
4. Whitlam, Edward Gough (9 February 1973). "Appointment of High Commissioner to Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015.
5. "Ambassador". The Canberra Times. 12 March 1973. p. 3.
6. "Appointment". The Canberra Times. 26 May 1976. p. 3.
7. Hayden, Bill (28 November 1986). "Diplomatic appointment: Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
8. "Tonga posting". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1986. p. 3.
9. Evans, Gareth (13 October 1995). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
10. Downer, Alexander (31 August 1999). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015.
11. Downer, Alexander (16 August 2002). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
12. Downer, Alexander (13 October 2006). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner To Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015.
13. Rudd, Kevin (9 November 2010). "Diplomatic Appointment – High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016.
14. Carr, Bob (10 January 2013). "High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
15. Bishop, Julie (29 January 2016). "High Commissioner to Tonga" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
16. Payne, Marise (23 January 2019). "High Commissioner to Tonga". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
17. Payne, Marise (4 August 2021). "High Commissioner to Tonga". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
18. Wong, Penny (23 April 2024). "High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 8 July 2025.