Each Australian
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
has a governor to represent
Australia's monarch within it. The governors are the nominal chief executives of the states, performing the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the
governor-general of Australia at the national or federal level. In practice, with notable exceptions the governors are generally required by
convention to act on the
advice of the
state premiers or the other members of a state's cabinet.
Australia's state governors are not subject to the constitutional authority of the governor-general, but are direct representatives of the monarch. This means, for example, that the governor-general may not issue pardons or commutations of sentence for any state offences, or issue any state honours.
Origins
The office of governor ("governor in chief" was an early title) is the oldest constitutional office in Australia. The title was first used with the
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
, and dates back to 1788 to the day on which the area (which is now the city of Sydney) became the first British settlement in Australia. Each of the subsequent five states in Australia was also founded as a British colony, and a governor was appointed by the British government to exercise executive authority over the colony. The first governors of the colonies, and their dates of appointment, are as follows:
*
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
:
Captain Arthur Phillip (7 February 1788)
*
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
:
Captain James Stirling
Admiral Sir James Stirling (28 January 179122 April 1865) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governo ...
(6 February 1832)
*
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
:
Captain John Hindmarsh (28 December 1836)
*
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
:
Sir Henry Fox Young (8 January 1855)
*
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
:
Sir Charles Hotham (22 May 1855)
*
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
:
Sir George Bowen (10 December 1859)
Only in New South Wales and South Australia was the date of the appointment of the first governor the actual date of the colony's foundation. The settlement which became Queensland was founded in 1824, but was not
separated from New South Wales until 1859. In Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia executive authority was exercised by a
Lieutenant-Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...
for some years before the first Governor was appointed; Tasmania was founded in 1804, Western Australia in 1828 and Victoria in 1835.
New South Wales and Tasmania (which was known as
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
until 1855) were founded as penal colonies, and their governors (lieutenant-governors in Tasmania) exercised more or less absolute authority. Tasmania in particular was run as a virtual prison camp in its early years. The Governors were also
commanders-in-chief, and the troops under their command were the real basis of their authority.
From the 1820s, however, the increasing number of free settlers in the colonies led to a process of constitutional reform which gradually reduced the powers of the governors. New South Wales was given its first legislative body, the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
, in 1825. Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, which were not founded as penal settlements, moved rapidly towards constitutional government after their establishment.
Federation
When the six colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, there were some suggestions that the position of state governor should be abolished or that its appointment be made by the Governor-General as is done in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. However, the states insisted on retaining their separate links to the Crown, a concept that can be compared to the American system of separate sovereignty for state and federal governments. The states were concerned that Commonwealth-appointed governors might be used to do the federal government's bidding, up to and including use of a Governor's reserve powers to dismiss a recalcitrant state government. To ensure that state governments would be free from such extra-constitutional intervention or coercion, state governors continued to be appointed by the monarch on the
advice of the
Colonial Secretary in London, usually after an informal consultation with the state government.
The post of governor was again called into question during the
Depression of the 1930s, when the cost of maintaining six vice-regal establishments (as well as a governor-general in
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
) drew criticism from the labour movement and others. During this period some states (notably Western Australia) left the position unfilled as an economy measure for some years, and the vice-regal functions were filled by the state chief justices with the title of administrator. But no state attempted to abolish the post of governor, and this could not have been done at this time without the consent of the Crown (acting on the advice of the British government).
The political role of the governor became a matter of controversy in 1932 when the Governor of New South Wales,
Sir Philip Game, used his reserve power to dismiss the premier,
Jack Lang, on the grounds that Lang was acting illegally. All governors at this time were British, and most were from the upper classes and political conservatives, and
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
governments always suspected that they had an enemy in Government House. Most governors, however, tried to act impartially, and some were genuinely popular.
From the 1940s the states, particularly those with Labor governments, began to appoint Australians to the post of governor. The first Australian governors of each of the states, and their dates of appointment, were:
*
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
:
Sir John Northcott (1 August 1946)
*
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
:
Sir John Lavarack (1 October 1946)
*
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
:
Sir James Mitchell (5 October 1948)
*
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
:
Sir James Harrison (4 December 1968)
*
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
:
Sir Stanley Burbury (5 December 1973)
*
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
:
Sir Henry Winneke (3 June 1974)
The first colonies were penal settlements and the early colonial governors were military officers who ruled under martial law. Once the governors' role moved from the executive to the ceremonial, most governors were drawn from the ranks of retired officers. Although a few members of the
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
served as governors (the most prominent being
Earl Beauchamp
Earl Beauchamp () was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The peerage was created in 1815 for William Lygon, 1st Baron Beauchamp, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Elmley, in the County of Worcester. He had already been crea ...
in New South Wales), the Australian colonial capitals were small towns and considered not grand enough to attract senior members of the British aristocracy. Even when Australians replaced Britons as governors, most continued to be retired Army, Navy or Air Force officers until the 1970s.
The last non-Australian governor of an Australian state was Rear Admiral Sir
Richard Trowbridge
Rear Admiral Sir Richard John Trowbridge, (21 January 1920 – 4 May 2003), was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and the 25th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 25 November 1980 to 24 November 1983. He was the last non-Australian vi ...
, who was governor of Western Australia from 1980 to 1983.
Davis McCaughey
John Davis McCaughey (12 July 1914 – 25 March 2005) was an Irish-born Australian academic theologian, Christian minister, university administrator and the 23rd Governor of Victoria from 1986 to 1992.
Early life and academic career
McCaughey ...
, born in Northern Ireland, was not an Australian citizen at the time his appointment as governor of Victoria was announced in 1985, but was a long-time resident of Australia and took up citizenship before commencing his term in 1986.
From the 1960s the governors continued to be appointed by the
Monarch of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...
, acting on the advice of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary (who replaced the Colonial Secretary). While usually acting on the recommendation of the state premier, the role of the British government was more than nominal. In 1975 the British government refused to accept premier Sir
Joh Bjelke-Petersen's request that Sir
Colin Hannah's term as Queensland governor be extended due to Hannah's impartial public comments on the Whitlam government. It was not until 1986, with the passage of the
Australia Acts through the state, Australian and British parliaments, that governors became appointed by the
Monarch of Australia
The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parli ...
on the direct advice of the relevant premier.
The Australia Acts 1986
Although the Commonwealth of Australia became largely sovereign in external and federal affairs over a period beginning with the
Imperial Conference of 1923
The 1923 Imperial Conference met in London in the autumn of 1923, the first attended by the new Irish Free State. While named the Imperial Economic Conference, the principal activity concerned the rights of the Dominions in regards to determinin ...
and the
adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1942, the states remained colonial dependencies of Britain, subject to the authority of the British government and Imperial Parliament.
State laws were still invalid if they conflicted with British laws due to the ''
Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865
The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. 63) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title is "An Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of Colonial Laws".
The purpose of the Act was to remove any apparent inc ...
''. Additionally, state governors continued to be appointed by the Queen of the United Kingdom (not the legally distinct Queen of Australia) on the advice of the British
Foreign Secretary. Generally, the premier of each state recommended a prospective governor to the foreign secretary, who almost always acted in accordance with that recommendation. However, in 1976 the Foreign Secretary refused to advise the Queen to extend extend the term of Sir
Colin Hannah
Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah, (22 December 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he was a member of the Militia before joining t ...
as governor, as recommended by Queensland premier Sir
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...
, on the grounds of the governor's partisan comments on the federal Whitlam government.
In 1978, the Parliament of New South Wales passed the ''Constitutional Powers (New South Wales) Act'', requesting that the Commonwealth Parliament legislate to address the constitutional anomaly of the United Kingdom Government's role in the constitutional affairs of the state. Eventually, identical
Australia Acts were passed by the Commonwealth Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1986, thus removing what remaining authority London had over affairs in Canberra. Under section 7 of these Acts, the King now receives advice on the appointment and termination of appointments of state governors from the relevant state premier.
Role of the governors

The role of state governor in modern times is broken down into constitutional, ceremonial and social responsibilities. Regarding constitutional practices, in most cases the governor observes the convention to act on the advice of the state's cabinet (and/or premier). Nevertheless, the state governors, like the governor-general, retain the full panoply of the
reserve powers
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...
of the Crown. This has been shown on two recent occasions.
In 1987 the Governor of Queensland,
Sir Walter Campbell, refused to accept the advice of the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to:
Active parties
* National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals''
* Bangladesh:
** Bangladesh Nationalist Party
** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)''
* Californ ...
premier,
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...
, to dismiss five of his ministers and call fresh elections. Campbell believed that Bjelke-Petersen had lost the confidence of his own party and was behaving irrationally. He was also reluctant to call an election for a legislature that was barely a year old, and felt that the situation was a political rather than a constitutional matter. Bjelke-Petersen subsequently resigned.
In 1989 the Governor of Tasmania,
Sir Phillip Bennett, refused to grant a fresh dissolution to the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist.
* An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
premier,
Robin Gray, after Gray lost his majority in the recent election. Although no one party had a majority in the new House of Assembly, Bennett had already been assured that the
Tasmanian Greens
The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens.
Followi ...
would support a minority Labor government under
Michael Field. Bennett thus took the view that Gray no longer had enough support to govern and could not advise him to call a second election. Gray then resigned; Bennett then commissioned Field as premier.
In the event of a
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
's death, incapacity, removal, resignation or absence overseas, each of the state governors has a
dormant commission
A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until a particular event triggers it. A commission in this case means an appointment to a particular government office, which the reigning monarch of the ...
to become the
Administrator of the Commonwealth, that is, to take on the Governor-General's duties until he returns from overseas or a new appointment is made. The convention has been that the longest-serving state governor is appointed administrator. When
Peter Hollingworth
Peter John Hollingworth, (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...
resigned in May 2003, Sir
Guy Green, Governor of Tasmania, took on that role, serving until Major-General
Michael Jeffery
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th governor of Western Australia from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-genera ...
took office in August 2003.
Lieutenant-governors and administrators
A lieutenant-governor takes on the responsibilities of a governor when that post is vacant or when the governor is out of the state or unable to act. In some states the lieutenant governor is also the chief justice. An administrator takes on those duties if both the governor and lieutenant-governor are not able to act for the above reasons.
Backgrounds of governors
In 1976, South Australia appointed
Sir Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls (9 December 1906 – 4 June 1988) was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneerin ...
as the first (and, to date, the only)
Aboriginal governor of an Australian state. Governors of non-Anglo-Australian background have been appointed in recent years. These include
Ken Michael
Kenneth Comninos Michael, (born 12 April 1938) is an Australian civil engineer, academic and former public servant who was the 30th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2011.
Early life and career
Michael was born in Perth, W ...
(
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
; Western Australia), Sir
James Gobbo
Sir James Augustine Gobbo, (22 March 1931 – 7 November 2021) was an Australian jurist who served as the 25th Governor of Victoria, from 1997 to 2000.
Family and early life
James Gobbo was born in Carlton, Victoria, on 22 March 1931, to Itali ...
(Italian; Victoria),
David de Kretser
David Morritz de Kretser (born 27 April 1939) is an Australian medical researcher who served as the 27th Governor of Victoria, from 2006 to 2011.
Early life and medical career
David de Kretser was born in British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka ...
(Sri Lankan/Ceylonese; Victoria), Dame
Marie Bashir
Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...
(Lebanese; New South Wales),
Alex Chernov
Alex Chernov (born 12 May 1938) is an Australian lawyer, judge and barrister who served as the 28th Governor of Victoria, from 2011 to 2015. Chernov also served as Vice-President of the Australian Bar Association, from 1986 to 1987, President ...
(Russian: Victoria), and
Hieu Van Le
Hieu Van Le, (; born 1 January 1954) was the 35th governor of South Australia, in office from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2021. He served as the state's lieutenant-governor from 2007 to 2014. He also served as chair of the South Australian Mu ...
(
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
; South Australia). Sir
Matthew Nathan
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland. He was Under-Secre ...
, Governor of Queensland from 1920 to 1925, was Australia's only Jewish governor until the appointment of
Linda Dessau
Linda Marion Dessau (born 8 May 1953) is an Australian jurist and barrister who served as the 29th governor of Victoria from 2015 to 2023. She was the first female and the first Jewish holder of the office. She was previously a judge of the ...
as Governor of Victoria in 2015.
South Australia was also the first state to
appoint a woman as governor, when
Dame Roma Mitchell
Dame Roma Flinders Mitchell, (2 October 1913 – 5 March 2000) was an Australian lawyer, judge and state governor. She was the first woman to hold a number of positions in Australia – the country's first woman judge, the first woman to be a ...
took office in 1991. With the appointment of
Jeannette Young
Jeannette Rosita Young (born 1963) is an Australian medical doctor and administrator who is currently Governor of Queensland, since 1 November 2021. Before being sworn in as Governor, Young was Chief Health Officer of Queensland from 2005 to 20 ...
on 1 November 2021, Queensland currently has four female governors, more than any other state. Queensland is also the first state to have had two female governors in succession (
Penelope Wensley
Penelope Anne Wensley, (born 18 October 1946) is an Australian former public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador t ...
succeeded
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...
), followed by Tasmania (
Kate Warner
Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th Governor of Tasmania from 2014 to 2021.
Early life and education
Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend in Hobart, Tasmania, and attended St Mi ...
in 2014 and
Barbara Baker
Barbara Avalon Baker (born 31 March 1958) is an Australian barrister and former judge, who is the 29th and current governor of Tasmania since 16 June 2021. She served on the Federal Circuit Court of Australia from 2008 to 2021.
Early life
Bake ...
in 2021) and then Victoria in 2023. South Australia now has three female governors following the appointment of
Frances Adamson
Frances Jennifer Adamson (born 20 April 1961) is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021. She previously served as Australian Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2015 a ...
who was sworn in on 7 October 2021. With the appointment of
Margaret Gardner
Margaret Elaine Gardner (born 19 January 1954) is an Australian academic, economist and university executive serving as the 30th and current governor of Victoria since August 2023. She was previously the vice-chancellor of Monash University ...
who was sworn in on 9 August 2023; New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria will have had two each whilst Western Australia has only one so far. The
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
, the only mainland territory to have an administrator, has had two female administrators (
Sally Thomas and
Vicki O'Halloran
Vicki Susan O'Halloran (born 20 June 1964) is an Australian businesswoman and community worker, who was CEO of Somerville Community Services in the Northern Territory from 1998 to 2017. On 31 October 2017, she was sworn in as the 22nd administrat ...
). Since 2021, every state Governor apart from that of Western Australia has been a woman.
John Landy
John Michael Landy (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre run ...
, a former governor of Victoria, and
Marjorie Jackson-Nelson
Marjorie Jackson-Nelson (born 13 September 1931) is an Australian former athlete and politician. She was the Governor of South Australia between 2001 and 2007. She finished her sporting career with two Olympic and seven Commonwealth Games Gold ...
, a former governor of South Australia, are former Australian Olympic medallists.
Contemporary changes and prospects
The
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
received self-government on 1 July 1978 under its own
administrator
Administrator or admin may refer to:
Job roles Computing and internet
* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
* Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum
* N ...
appointed by the governor-general. The Commonwealth
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, not the
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier.
When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...
, advises the governor-general on the appointment of the administrator.
In the lead up to the
1999 republican referendum, state governments were required to consider state links to the Crown and thus the validity of appointing the governor through the Queen. At a constitutional convention in
Gladstone, Queensland
Gladstone () is a coastal city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the Gladstone urban area had a population of 45,185 people.
It is by road north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, and south-east of Rockhampton, Queensl ...
, the states indicated that, if the referendum was successful, governors should be appointed by the parliament, although agreement on the exact method of appointment was not reached. As the referendum failed, no state altered the appointment method.
Current state and territory governors
Current state governors
Current administrators of the territories
See also
*
Governor-General of Australia
*
Lieutenant governor (Canada)
In Canada, a lieutenant governor (; French language, French asculine , or eminine ) is the representative of the King of Canada in the government of each Canadian provinces and territories, province. The governor general of Canada appoi ...
References
{{Convicts in Australia
Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
Monarchy of Australia
Political history of Australia
Lists of current office-holders in Australia