Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia

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This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Changes to positions within State and Territory Governments.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2021)

The following is the Australian Table of Precedence.

1. The Queen of Australia: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
2. The Governor-General of Australia: His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC, DSC, FTSE
3. Governors of states in order of appointment:
   1. Governor of Queensland His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, CVO, QC (29 July 2014)
   2. Governor of South Australia His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC (1 September 2014)
   3. Governor of Victoria Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC (1 July 2015)
   4. Governor of Western Australia His Excellency the Honourable Kim Beazley AC (1 May 2018)
   5. Governor of New South Wales Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC, QC (2 May 2019)
   6. Governor of Tasmania Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC (16 June 2021)
4. The Prime Minister: The Honourable Scott Morrison MP
5. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of election:
   1. Speaker of the House of Representatives The Honourable Tony Smith MP (10 August 2015)
   2. President of the Senate Senator The Honourable Scott Ryan (13 November 2017)
6. The Chief Justice of Australia: The Honourable Susan Kiefel AC
7. Senior diplomatic posts:
   1. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
   2. Chargés d'affaires en pied or en titre in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
   3. Chargés d'affaires and Acting High Commissioners in order of date of assumption of duties
8. Members of the Federal Executive Council:
   1. Ministry List
9. Administrators of Territories in order of appointment:
   1. Administrator of Norfolk Island (Eric Hutchinson) (1 April 2017)
   2. Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories (Natasha Griggs) (5 October 2017)
   3. Administrator of the Northern Territory (Vicki O'Halloran) (31 October 2017)
10. The Leader of the Opposition: The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP
11. Former holders of high offices:
    1. Former Governors-General in order of leaving office:
       1. The Hon. Bill Hayden AC (1989–1996)
       2. The Hon. Sir William Deane AC KBE QC (1996–2001)
       3. The Rt. Rev and Hon. Dr Peter Hollingworth AC OBE (2001–2003)
       4. The Hon. Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO (2008–2014)
       5. General The Hon. Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC (2014–2019)
    2. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
       1. The Hon. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
       2. The Hon. John Howard OM AC SSI (1996–2007)
       3. The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC (2007–2010, 2013)
       4. The Hon. Julia Gillard AC (2010–2013)
       5. The Hon. Tony Abbott AC (2013–2015)
       6. The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull AC (2015–2018)
    3. Former Chief Justices in order of leaving office:
       1. The Hon. Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE GBM QC (1987–1995)
       2. The Hon. Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS QC (1995–1998)
       3. The Hon. Murray Gleeson AC GBS QC (1998–2008)
       4. The Hon. Robert French AC (2008–2017)
12. Premiers of states in order of state populations, then the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory:
    1. Premier of New South Wales (The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP)
    2. Premier of Victoria (The Hon. Daniel Andrews MP)
    3. Premier of Queensland (The Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP)
    4. Premier of Western Australia (The Hon. Mark McGowan MLA)
    5. Premier of South Australia (The Hon. Steven Marshall MHA)
    6. Premier of Tasmania (The Hon. Peter Gutwein MP)
    7. Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (The Hon. Michael Gunner MLA)
13. Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
    1. The Hon. Stephen Gageler AC (9 October 2012)
    2. The Hon. Patrick Keane AC (1 March 2013)
    3. The Hon. Michelle Gordon AC (9 June 2015)
    4. The Hon. James Edelman (30 January 2017)
    5. The Hon. Simon Steward (1 December 2020)
    6. The Hon. Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson (1 March 2021)
14. Senior judges:
    1. Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia (The Hon. James Allsop AO)
    2. President of the Fair Work Commission (Iain Ross)
15. Chief Justices of States in order of appointment:
    1. Chief Justice of New South Wales (H.E. The Hon. Tom Bathurst AC FRSN) (1 June 2011)
    2. Chief Justice of South Australia (The Hon. Chris Kourakis SC) (25 June 2012)
    3. Chief Justice of Tasmania (The Hon. Alan Blow AO) (8 April 2013)
    4. Chief Justice of Queensland (The Hon. Catherine Holmes AC) (11 September 2015)
    5. Chief Justice of Victoria (Anne Ferguson) (2 October 2017)
    6. Chief Justice of Western Australia (Peter Quinlan) (13 August 2018)
16. Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in order of appointment:
    1. The Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair (17 January 1977)
    2. The Rt Hon. Sir William Heseltine (26 March 1986)
17. The Chief of the Defence Force (General Angus Campbell)
18. Chief Judges of Federal and Territory Courts in order of appointment
    1. Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory (Helen Murrell) (28 October 2013)
    2. Chief Justice of the Northern Territory () (5 July 2016)
    3. Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia (Will Alstergren) (10 December 2018)
19. Members of Parliament (see Members of the Australian Senate, 2019–2022 and Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2019–2022)
20. Judges of the Federal Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia, and Deputy presidents of the Fair Work Commission in order of appointment
21. Lord Mayors of capital cities in order of city populations:
    1. Lord Mayor of Sydney (Clover Moore)
    2. Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Sally Capp)
    3. Lord Mayor of Brisbane (Adrian Schrinner)
    4. Lord Mayor of Perth (Basil Zempilas)
    5. Lord Mayor of Adelaide (Sandy Verschoor)
    6. Lord Mayor of Hobart ()
    7. Lord Mayor of Darwin (Kon Vatskalis)
22. Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia
23. Presiding officers of State Legislatures in order of appointment, then Presiding Officer of the Northern Territory legislature:
    1. Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (Colin Brooks) (7 March 2017)
    2. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland (Curtis Pitt) (13 February 2018)
    3. Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly (Josh Teague) (8 September 2020)
    4. President of the Victorian Legislative Council (Nazih Elasmar) (18 June 2020)
    5. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (Jonathan O'Dea) (7 May 2019)
    6. President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council (Craig Farrell) (21 May 2019)
    7. President of the South Australian Legislative Council (John Dawkins) (8 September 2020)
    8. Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (Michelle Roberts) (29 April 2021)
    9. President of the New South Wales Legislative Council (Matthew Mason-Cox) (4 May 2021)
    10. President of the Western Australian Legislative Council (Alanna Clohesy) (25 May 2021)
    11. Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly (Mark Shelton) (22 June 2021)
    12. Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly (Ngaree Ah Kit) (20 October 2020)
24. Members of State Executive Councils in order of state populations, and then members of the Northern Territory Executive Council:
    1. Executive Council of New South Wales
    2. Executive Council of Victoria
    3. Executive Council of Queensland
    4. Executive Council of Western Australia
    5. Executive Council of South Australia
    6. Executive Council of Tasmania
    7. Executive Council of the Northern Territory
25. Leaders of the Opposition of State Legislatures in order of state populations, then in the Northern Territory:
    1. Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales (Chris Minns)
    2. Leader of the Opposition of Victoria (Matthew Guy)
    3. Leader of the Opposition of Queensland (David Crisafulli)
    4. Leader of the Opposition of Western Australia (Mia Davies)
    5. Leader of the Opposition of South Australia (Peter Malinauskas)
    6. Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania (Rebecca White)
    7. Leader of the Opposition of the Northern Territory (Lia Finocchiaro)
26. Judges of State and Territory Supreme Courts in order of appointment:
    1. Supreme Court of New South Wales
    2. Supreme Court of Victoria
    3. Supreme Court of Queensland
    4. Supreme Court of Western Australia
    5. Supreme Court of South Australia
    6. Supreme Court of Tasmania
    7. Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
27. Members of State Legislatures in order of state populations:
    1. New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    2. Victorian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    3. Queensland Legislative Assembly
    4. Western Australian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    5. South Australian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    6. Tasmanian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    7. Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
28. The Secretaries of Departments of the Australian Public Service and their peers and the Chiefs of the Air Force, Army, and Navy and Vice Chief of the Defence Force^{[citation needed]} in order of first appointment to this group:
    1. Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Vice Admiral David Johnston, AO, RAN) (6 July 2018)
    2. Chief of Navy (Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, AO, RAN) (6 July 2018)
    3. Chief of Army (Lieutenant General Richard Burr, AO, DSC, MVO) (2 July 2018)
    4. Chief of Air Force (Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, AO, DSC) (3 July 2019)
29. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted
30. Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
31. Recipients of Decorations or Honours from the Sovereign
32. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia

Notes[]

• The Location of Officials matters for precedence; an official enjoys different precedence within and without his or her state.
• Each State and Territory also has its own Table of Precedence.
• The recipients of Decorations or Honours gain precedence in the order of Seniority or Superiority of the Orders themselves; the Orders of Knighthood in Australia have the same seniority as in the United Kingdom, with a few insertions or promotions of entirely Australian, non-British honours; see Australian Honours Order of Wearing.
• No reference is made to the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition or the Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory. This appears to be an oversight after the ACT was granted self government. This had been raised with the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and was expected to be resolved in 2015.^[1]

References[]

• Table of Precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia– as Gazetted in Special Gazette No. S206 on Tuesday, 5 October 1982. Note, this pre dates ACT Self Government, 1988.
• Protocol Guidelines, Appendix 22, Commonwealth Table of Precedence