Gareth James Ward is an Australian politician who was the New South Wales Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the second Berejiklian ministry from 2019 to 2021.

Following the 2019 state election Ward was appointed as Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the Second Berejiklian ministry.

In February 2023 he announced that he would be contesting his seat as an independent at the 2023 state election, "to stand up for the principles and values that are worth fighting for".

In conflicting reports, it was claimed he "called a phone number provided by an acquaintance",[20] but others maintained that he ordered "the massage online from an outside service".

[22] In September 2018 Ward was described in federal parliament by his fellow Liberal colleague, Ann Sudmalis, as leading a campaign of "bullying, betrayal and backstabbing" against her while she was a representative.

Sudmalis went on to accuse him of misogynistic behaviour and raised several examples of where he had actively opposed and campaigned against female Liberals on the South Coast.

[25] On 14 May 2021 Ward resigned from his portfolio and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP subject to an inquiry by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of the New South Wales Police Force.

He allegedly indecently assaulted a 17-year-old boy at Meroo Meadow in February 2013 and sexually abused a 27-year-old man in Sydney in September 2015.

[33] The NSW government decided to follow the advice of parliament's privileges and ethics committee not to extend Ward's suspension into his new term.