Section 3 of the Constitution of Australia deals with the salary of

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

. The salary of Governor-General is paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and is regulated by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, which fixed the initial salary at £10,000, an amount that would not increase until 1974.

The Constitution

Section 3 of the Constitution states :

History

The salary remained unchanged at £10,000 until the introduction of decimal currency in Australia in 1966 when it became A$20,000 and remained unchanged until 1974. The 1st Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, received no allowance for maintaining Government Houses in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

nor for staff, travel or other expenses. Instead the Governor-General was required to meet these from the fixed salary. The 2nd Governor-General,

Baron Tennyson Baron Tennyson, of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for the poet Alfred Tennyson. His son, the second Baron, served as Governor-G ...

fared slightly better, with an allowance for the operation of Government House in Melbourne and Sydney, and the Official Secretary to the Governor-General was paid by the Australian government. The Governor-General was required to meet staff salaries and some household expenses from their salary. The requirement to meet staff salaries continued until the retirement of the 12th Governor-General,

Sir William McKell Sir William John McKell (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947 ...

, with half his salary going on "staff sustenance". The contribution to household expenses continued until the retirement of the 17th Governor General, Sir Paul Hasluck. Before the appointment of

Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...

as the 18th Governor-General in 1974, the salary was increased to $30,000,''Governor-General Act'' 1974 (Cth
s3 Salary of Governor-General
and the government covered all expenses. Today, the salary is set to be slightly higher than that of the Chief Justice of the High Court, over a five-year period. Until 2001, Governors-General did not pay

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Ta ...

on their salary; this was changed after the Queen agreed to pay tax.''Governor‑General Legislation Amendment Act'' 2001 (Cth)

A question of currency

The ten thousand pounds specified by the Constitution referred to the currency in use in Australia in 1901,

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

. This was replaced by the

Australian pound The pound ( Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol ...

in 1910, which was linked to the gold standard at parity to £ sterling until 1931. When the United Kingdom abandoned the gold standard in 1931, the Australian pound was devalued and traded at a discount to pound sterling of around 25%. The Australian pound was replaced by the Australian dollar on 14 February 1966, where £1 Australian equalled A$2. It has been argued unsuccessfully that that legislation passed in Australia since 1966 is unconstitutional because it has been signed by Governors-General who were paid in dollars, not pounds as specified by section 3 of the Constitution.

References

{{Constitution of Australia Australian constitutional law Governors-General of Australia