It was led by the country's 7th Prime Minister, Billy Hughes.

The Third Hughes ministry succeeded the Second Hughes ministry, which dissolved on 17 February 1917 after the governing National Labor Party merged with the Liberal Party to form the Nationalist Party.

The National Labor Party itself formed as a consequence of the split that took place within the then-governing Labor Party over the issue of conscription.

The ministry was replaced by the Fourth Hughes ministry on 8 January 1918 following the resignation of Hughes as prime minister after a vote of no-confidence within the Nationalist Party in the wake of a failed second referendum on conscription.

However, due to a lack of alternative leaders, Hughes was immediately re-commissioned as prime minister by Governor-General Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson.