[1] He was also appointed Acting Minister for Education and Youth in December 2021 and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fadden upon winning the seat at the 2007 federal election, until his resignation in May 2023.

[7] He was educated at Rockhampton Grammar School where he secured a scholarship to the Australian Defence Force Academy as an Army Officer Cadet at the age of 17.

[12][13] In June 2019, in response to delays and backlogs for children with disability in accessing Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) supports through the NDIS, Robert directed the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide standardised interim plans to children who have been found eligible for the NDIS, but who are likely to experience a wait time of greater than 50 days.

[14] News coverage in January 2021 noted that "NDIS waiting times have dropped after concerted efforts from the Federal Government and the National Disability Insurance Agency".

In July 2019 he appointed Martin Hoffman to lead a taskforce to develop a strategic plan to deliver the reform to government service delivery.

He noted Services Australia also successfully trialed facial verification technology to provide support to those who had lost identity documents.

In March 2020 the National Cabinet closed large sections of the Australian economy driving a high demand for social supports and saw thousands of people queue outside Centrelink offices to apply for government payments.

[18] On Sunday 7 February 2021 Robert announced Services Australia would ensure Australians would be able to tap and display COVID-19 “proof of vaccination” certificates on their phones or carry hard copies with them.

The Perth City Service Centre would offer a new “welcoming environment” that has been designed specifically to help older Australians who need additional support.

In February 2016, when details of the trip were released, the Opposition called Robert's presence at the signing "inappropriate", because Nimrod chairman Paul Marks was both a friend of his and a substantial donor to the Liberal Party.

[4] Prime Minister Turnbull asked his department secretary, Martin Parkinson, to investigate and report on the circumstances of Robert's visit to China to determine if he had breached ministerial standards of conduct.

[26][27] Despite a court ruling against Robodebt in 2019, Robert did not apologise for any errors made under the scheme, stating "the government makes no apologies for fulfilling our legal obligation to collect debts".

"[31] Renée Leon, the former Secretary of the Department of Human Services, testified to the Commission that when she informed Robert that Robodebt was illegal and encouraged an apology for the scheme, he responded by saying "We will absolutely not be doing that.

"[32] In March 2017, it was revealed that Robert would appear at a public hearing of the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission named Operation Belcarra, inquiring into the possibly illegal conduct of candidates in some local government elections.

It was alleged that some candidates had formed an undeclared group, and provided an electoral funding and financial disclosure return that was false or misleading.

This meant that he had been ineligible for election to Parliament under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia; Robert's situation had similarities to that of Bob Day, who had been disqualified under s. 44.

He was criticised by academics and politicians for interference with expert evaluation, for the delay in making his decision, and for announcing it "under cover" of Christmas Eve.

[56] Before the parliamentary committee could question him on 28 July, John Margerison moved overseas to an undisclosed country, and "severed all ties" with Australia.

[60] It was later reported that business associates believed John Margerison to have moved to Dubai with his new partner, having left his wife and children in Australia.

[63] To add to the confusion, a Singapore-based web hosting service had published at least 10 websites presenting differing accounts of John Margerison's identity.

[65] Investigative journalist Nick McKenzie revealed in October 2024 that Robert had been leveraging his work as Australia's inaugural digital minister as part of a $500 million venture to build a giant data centre to store defence secrets and other sensitive government information.

The deal, if realised, could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and deliver a windfall to Robert and his backers, including members of Scott Morrison’s inner-circle.