 The islands are administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities through a non-resident Administrator appointed by the Governor-General.They were previously the responsibility of the Department of Transport and Regional Services (before 2007), the Attorney-General's Department (2007–2013), and Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (2013–2017)

The current Administrator is Natasha Griggs, who was appointed on 5 October 2017 and is also the Administrator of Christmas Island.These two Territories comprise the Australian Indian Ocean Territories.