Prime Minister's Office (Australia)

This article is about the private office of the Prime Minister of Australia. For the powers and privileges of the Prime Minister, see Prime Minister of Australia.

Prime Minister of Australia
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
since 23 May 2022
Style
Member of
Reports toParliament, Governor-General
Residence
SeatCanberra
AppointerGovernor-General of Australia
by convention, based on appointee's ability to command confidence in the House of Representatives[1]
Term lengthAt the Governor-General's pleasure
contingent on the Prime Minister's ability to command confidence in the lower house of Parliament[2]
Inaugural holderEdmund Barton
Formation1 January 1901
DeputyRichard Marles
Salary$607,471 (AUD) annually[3][4]
Websitepm.gov.au

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), also known as the Office of the Prime Minister, is the personal office of the Prime Minister of Australia that provides political advice and executive support to the Prime Minister.[5][6] The PMO is led by the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and or Principal Private Secretary and is composed of ministerial advisers assisting with party politics, media relations, and political strategy.[7] Scholars including Professor Anne Tiernan of Griffith University and Professor James Walter of Monash University have observed the centralisation and expansion of power within the PMO over the past three decades.[8][9]

The PMO should not be confused with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is a public service entity that provides non-political policy coordination and executive support for the Prime Minister and Cabinet's agenda or with the Prime Minister's official residences at The Lodge and Kirribilli House.

  1. ^ Australia's Constitution : With Overview and Notes by the Australian Government Solicitor (Pocket ed.). Canberra: Parliamentary Education Office and Australian Government Solicitor. 2010. p. v. ISBN 9781742293431.
  2. ^ "9 - Motions". House of Representatives Practice, 6th Ed – HTML version. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  3. ^ Jackson, Blair (29 June 2024). "Anthony Albanese grilled on eye-watering salary ahead of pay rise". News.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  4. ^ Evans, Jake (17 June 2024). "Politicians receive pay rise, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's salary jumping over $600,000". ABC News. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  5. ^ [The Gatekeepers: Lessons from prime ministers’ chiefs of staff] RAW Rhodes and Anne Tiernan. Melbourne University Press 2014
  6. ^ The Pivot of Power: Australian Prime Ministers and Political Leadership, 1949–2016 Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
  7. ^ Professor Anne Tiernan (29 October 2015). "What does the PM's chief of staff really do?". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. ^ [The Gatekeepers: Lessons from prime ministers’ chiefs of staff] RAW Rhodes and Anne Tiernan. Melbourne University Press 2014
  9. ^ The Pivot of Power: Australian Prime Ministers and Political Leadership, 1949–2016 Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House