Ministers are members of the Parliament who have been given the responsibility for managing specific areas of government policy and departments. These areas are known as portfolios. Some portfolios are health, education, environment, and police, fire and emergency management. Ministers are chosen by the Premier and are usually experienced Members of Parliament.

The Premier can choose Ministers from either the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council. There are 11 Ministers in the Tasmanian Parliament, including the Premier. Each Minister may have responsibility for more than one portfolio.

Together the Premier and Ministers are called Cabinet and they make key decisions for Tasmania. Ministers are sometimes called "frontbenchers" because they often sit on the front benches of the House of Assembly.