Dean Smith has been a Liberal Senator for Western Australia since May 2012.
In February 2026, he was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Assistant Minister for the Cost of Living.
He previously served as Shadow Assistant Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction and Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and was a member of the Coalition’s Shadow Economic Team as Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury from June 2022.
From 2019 to 2022, Dean served as Chief Government Whip in the Senate after being elected to the position by his Liberal Senate colleagues and was a member of the Coalition Government’s Senate Leadership Team.
A proud Western Australian originally from the Pilbara, Dean is a strong advocate for Western Australian interests, particularly issues affecting regional communities, the resources sector and the State’s export industries.
He was one of WA’s earliest and strongest voices calling for GST reform and was part of the Federal WA Liberal team that secured a fairer GST deal for the State in 2018.
Dean is also recognised as the architect of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017, which delivered marriage equality while protecting religious freedoms.
In 2018, he was awarded the McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership by a panel of eminent Australians, including former Prime Ministers John Howard and Julia Gillard.
His current parliamentary committee responsibilities include serving as Chair of the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee; Deputy Chair of the Joint Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and the Chair of Implementation of the National Redress Scheme; and membership of the Senate Select Committee on the Taxation of Gas Resources. He also serves on committees examining Northern Australia, environment and communications policy, and economic issues.
Before entering the Senate, Dean worked as a Policy Adviser to Western Australian Premier Richard Court and Prime Minister John Howard and held senior executive positions with Insurance Australia Group and SingTel Optus.
Dean was appointed to the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council in July 2022 and has previously served as a Government-appointed member of the Australian National University’s China in the World Centre.
He is active in a variety of community groups, and is a Patron of the Bayswater Tennis Club, Tuart place in Fremantle and a Paul Harris Rotary Fellow.