Ian Gordon Sharp AO (April 23, 1913 – July 26, 1996[1]) was a senior-level Australian public servant, best known for his time as Secretary heading the Department of Labour and subsequently the Department of Labor and Immigration in the early 1970s.

His Ph.D thesis "Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration in Great Britain" was published by Allen and Unwin in 1950.

[3] In 1972, Sharp was appointed Secretary of the new Department of Labour,[4] Contrary to the practice of most Whitlam Ministers, who inherited departmental heads from their Menzies Government colleagues, Sharp was chosen for the role by the Minister for Labour Clyde Cameron.

[10] On 31 March 1975, Sharp started a three-year appointment as a judge of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission.

[11][12] Sharp was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in June 1989 for his public service, particularly in the field of industrial relations.