Bill Shorten has hailed his shadow ministry as an example of "generational change", heavy on Generation X representation.

Here is how the Abbott ministry and the Shorten shadow ministry match up on age and experience.

In the table below, Gen X ministers and shadows are in bold. We have used the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition of 1966 as the cut-off date between Baby Boomers and Gen X.

There are 10 Xers in the Shorten shadow ministry versus six in the Abbott team - although Joe Hockey and Greg Hunt only just miss out on GenX-dom having been born in 1965.

Portfolio Minister Experience Shadow Experience Prime Minister Tony Abbott Born in 1957, MP since 1994, nine years as minister. Bill Shorten Born in 1967, MP since 2007, three years as minister. Infrastructure Warren Truss Born in 1948, MP since 1990, 10 years as minister. Anthony Albanese Born in 1963, MP since 1996, six years as minister. Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop Born in 1956, MP since 1998, four years as minister. Tanya Plibersek Born in 1969, MP since 1998, six years as minister. Employment Eric Abetz Born in 1958, senator since 1994, two years as minister. Brendan O'Connor Born in 1962, MP since 2001, six years as minister. Attorney-General George Brandis Born in 1957, senator since 2000, one year as minister. Mark Dreyfus Born in 1956, MP since 2007, seven months as minister. Treasury Joe Hockey Born in 1965, MP since 1996, nine years as minister. Chris Bowen Born in 1973, MP since 2004, six years as minister. Agriculture Barnaby Joyce Born in 1967, senator since 2005, no previous ministry. Joel Fitzgibbon Born in 1962, MP since 1996, 20 months as minister. Education Christopher Pyne Born in 1967, MP since 1993, nine months as minister. Kate Ellis Born in 1977, MP since 2004, six years as minister. Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion Born in 1956, senator since 2001, one year as minister. Shayne Neumann Born in 1961, MP since 2007, no previous ministry. Industry Ian Macfarlane Born in 1955, MP since 1998, seven years as minister. Gary Gray (Resources) Born in 1958, MP since 2007, two years as minister. Social Services Kevin Andrews Born in 1955, MP since 1991, six years as minister. Jenny Macklin (Families) Born in 1953, MP since 1996, six years as minister. Communications Malcolm Turnbull Born in 1954, MP since 2004, one year as minister. Jason Clare Born in 1972, MP since 2007, three years as minister. Health Peter Dutton Born in 1970, MP since 2001, three years as minister. Catherine King Born in 1966, MP since 2001, six months as minister. Small Business Bruce Billson Born in 1966, MP since 1996, two years as minister. (Bill Shorten)* (Born in 1967, MP since 2007, three years as minister) Trade and Investment Andrew Robb Born in 1951, MP since 2004, one year as minister. Penny Wong Born in 1968, senator since 2002, six years as minister. Defence David Johnston Born in 1956, senator since 2002, nine months as minister. Stephen Conroy Born in 1963, senator since 1996, six years as minister. Environment Greg Hunt Born in 1965, MP since 2001, no previous ministry. Mark Butler Born in 1970, MP since 2007, three years as minister. Immigration Scott Morrison Born in 1968, MP since 2007, no previous ministry. Richard Marles Born in 1967, MP since 2007, two months as minister. Finance Mathias Cormann Born in 1970, senator since 2007, no previous ministry. Tony Burke Born in 1969, MP since 2004, six years as minister.

Note: ministry experience totals rounded to the nearest year. *Mr Shorten has included responsibility for small business within his role as Opposition Leader.