Prime Minister of Australia

For a list of officeholders, see List of prime ministers of Australia.

Prime Minister of Australia
Coat of arms of Australia
Flag of Australia
since 23 May 2022
Australian Government
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Style
StatusHead of government
Member of
Reports to
Residence
SeatOffice of the Prime Minister, Parliament House
AppointerGovernor-General[2] (according to the wishes of the House of Representatives)
Formation1 January 1901; 123 years ago (1901-01-01)[2]
First holderEdmund Barton[2]
DeputyDeputy Prime Minister
Salary$586,930 (2023)[3]
Websitepm.gov.au

The prime minister of Australia[7] is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.[8][9]

The role and duties of the prime minister are not described by the Australian constitution but rather defined by constitutional convention deriving from the Westminster system and responsible government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the governor-general, who is ordinarily[10] constrained by convention to choose the parliamentarian able to command the confidence of the House of Representatives (the lower house). Since Federation, this has almost always been the leader of the majority party or coalition. In practice, this means the prime minister most often changes after an election results in a different party gaining control of the lower house or as a result of the majority party changing its leader internally between elections.

The office of prime minister comes with various privileges, including the use of two official residences: The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney, as well as an office at Parliament House.

Thirty-one people (thirty men and one woman) have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Edmund Barton taking office on 1 January 1901 following federation of the British colonies in Australia. The longest-serving prime minister was Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the shortest-serving was Frank Forde, who served one week.

  1. ^ "How to address Senators and Members". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Prime Ministers". Australian Prime Ministers Centre, Old Parliament House. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ^ Evans, Jake (29 August 2023). "Politicians receive 4 per cent pay rise after years of 'conservative' adjustments". ABC News (Australia).
  4. ^ Australia Act 1986 (Cth).
  5. ^ "Letters Patent Relating to the Office of Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 16 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Northern Australia Indigenous Development Accord" (PDF). 13 December 2019. p. 8.
  7. ^ Formally the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth[4][5] or the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia.[6]
  8. ^ "Prime Minister of Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Australia election: Anthony Albanese signals climate policy change". BBC News. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. ^ The only exception since the appointment of the first prime minister in 1901 occurring during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.