[1][2] Ciobo served as the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Turnbull government from February 2016[3] until his resignation on 21 August 2018 in the wake of the Liberal Party leadership spill earlier that day.

[14] In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, responding to a dare from a local radio station, Ciobo and his wife were thrown into the air on a sling shot bungee at the Surfers Paradise Adrenalin Park.

[17] Ciobo was critical of the merger of the Liberal and National parties in Queensland, telling ABC Local Radio in July 2008: "I don't believe it's going to have a positive effect on a federal level.

"[18] When Turnbull replaced Nelson as leader in September 2008, Ciobo's portfolio was changed to Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts.

[20] In September 2010, shortly after the 2010 federal election, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott removed Ciobo from the shadow ministry, relegating him to the backbench.

"[22] Van Onselen said the demotion reflected poorly on Abbott because Ciobo is "talented, a good media performer and part of the next generation in the Liberal Party.

He said turning Surfers Paradise into a world-class entertainment precinct to rival Las Vegas and Macau was the solution to save the Gold Coast from rising unemployment and economic doom.

[28] Ciobo was a prominent opponent of Andrew Wilkie's plan (initially adopted by the Gillard government but later shelved) to require all poker machine players to set a daily betting limit.

"[32] In an opinion piece he wrote for ABC's The Drum in June 2011, Ciobo declared he was a libertarian who would "attempt to persuasively argue the need for less regulation.

"[33] In the article he said that "like the Tassie Tiger, personal responsibility has died out"[33] and that "increasingly, I find myself thinking it is not this new law that is required, rather, it is a good dose of 'toughen up and stop blaming others for your bad decision'.

[35] Since his appointment, Ciobo has abolished both the National Housing Supply Council, saying the council's activities were "no longer needed";[36][37] and the Australian Valuation Office, saying "a compelling case for the Commonwealth providing its own valuation services no longer exists, particularly given there is a highly competitive market of private sector providers";[38][39] and announced plans to privatise the Royal Australian Mint.

[43] Mallah later was given an opportunity to respond, and stated "The Liberals now have just justified to many Australian Muslims in the community tonight to leave and go to Syria and join ISIS because of ministers like him.

[48][49] Abbott subsequently banned front bench members of his government from appearing on Q&A, demanding that the show be moved to another part of the ABC's editorial programming.

He subsequently joined private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, based in New York as a managing director with responsibility for "global affairs and engagement".