Prime Minister of Australia

The prime minister of Australia is the head of government and chief executive of Australia. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the Parliament of Australia and directs the executive of the Cabinet of Australia. The incumbent prime minister is Scott Morrison, who took office in August 2018 as leader of the Liberal Party.

This article is about the office of the Prime Minister of Australia. For the current prime minister, see Scott Morrison. For a list of Australian prime ministers, see List of prime ministers of Australia.

Prime Minister of Australia
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Incumbent Scott Morrison since 24 August 2018
Australian Government
Style	The Honourable[1]
Member of	Parliament of Australia National Cabinet Cabinet
Reports to	Parliament of Australia
Residence	The Lodge, Canberra[2] Kirribilli House, Sydney[2]
Seat	Canberra, Australia
Appointer	Governor-General of Australia[3]
Term length	At the Governor-General's pleasure The holder is required to have the support of a majority in the House of Representatives[4]
Formation	1 January 1901 (1901-01-01) (Federation)[3]
First holder	Edmund Barton[3]
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Salary	A$549,250[5]
Website	pm.gov.au

The prime minister is appointed by the governor-general. The position is not specifically identified in the Australian constitution, but its creation was assumed by the constitution's authors based on the conventions of the Westminster system. The appointment of the prime minister is governed by political convention and custom, most importantly that he or she must hold the confidence of the House of Representatives. As such, the prime minister is typically the leader of the political party or coalition with the largest number of seats in the House. Prime ministers do not have a set duration or number of terms for which they can hold the office. An individual's term usually comes to end when their political party loses a federal election (held at maximum intervals of three years), or when they lose or relinquish the leadership of their party.

Executive power is formally vested in the governor-general but exercised only on the advice of government ministers, who are nominated by the prime minister and form the Federal Executive Council. The most senior ministers form the federal cabinet, which the prime minister chairs. The role of the prime minister has evolved over time, as the powers and responsibilities of the federal government have changed. He or she plays a key role in determining government policy. In addition to cabinet meetings, the prime minister also chairs the National Security Committee, and the National Cabinet. Administrative support is provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The prime minister has two official residences – The Lodge in the national capital Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney – as well as an office at Parliament House.

Thirty people have served as prime minister, including four who served non-consecutive terms. The first prime minister was Edmund Barton, who took office on 1 January 1901 following the federation of the Australian colonies. The longest-serving prime minister was Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the short-serving was Frank Forde, who served one week. There is no line of succession, but the position of deputy prime minister is well established.

Constitutional basis and appointment

Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton at the central table in the House of Representatives in 1901.

The prime minister of Australia is appointed by the governor-general of Australia under Section 64 of the Australian Constitution, which empowers the governor-general, as the official representative of the Crown, to appoint government ministers of state on the advice of the prime minister and requires them to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. The prime minister and treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement.[6] Before being sworn in as a Minister of State, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable (usually abbreviated to The Hon) for life, barring exceptional circumstances. The senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia.

The prime minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the governor-general and then presented with the commission (letters patent) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the prime minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the governor-general. In the event of a prime minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, or for other reasons, the governor-general can terminate the commission. Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the governor-general" (s. 64 of the Constitution of Australia), so theoretically, the governor-general can dismiss a minister at any time, by notifying them in writing of the termination of their commission; however, their power to do so except on the advice of the prime minister is heavily circumscribed by convention.

According to convention, the prime minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives which holds the confidence of the House. Some commentators argue that the governor-general may also dismiss a prime minister who is unable to pass the government's supply bill through both houses of parliament, including the Australian Senate, where the government doesn't normally command the majority, as happened in the 1975 constitutional crisis.[7] Other commentators argue that the governor-general acted improperly in 1975 as Whitlam still retained the confidence of the House of Representatives, and there are no generally accepted conventions to guide the use of the governor-general's reserve powers in this circumstance.[8] However, there is no constitutional requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives, or even be a member of the federal parliament (subject to a constitutionally prescribed limit of three months), though by convention this is always the case. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed Prime Minister was John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

Despite the importance of the office of Prime Minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail these. Indeed, prior to Federation in 1901 the terms "premier" and "prime minister" were used interchangeably for the head of government in a colony.[9]

If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to immediately advise the governor-general to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a fresh election.

Following a resignation in other circumstances or the death of a prime minister, the governor-general generally appoints the deputy prime minister as the new prime minister, until or if such time as the governing party or senior coalition party elects an alternative party leader. This has resulted in the party leaders from the Country Party (now named National Party) being appointed as Prime Minister, despite being the smaller party of their coalition. This occurred when Earle Page became caretaker prime minister following the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939, and when John McEwen became caretaker prime minister following the disappearance of Harold Holt in 1967. However, in 1941, Arthur Fadden became the leader of the Coalition and subsequently Prime Minister by the agreement of both coalition parties, despite being the leader of the smaller party in coalition, following the resignation of UAP leader Robert Menzies.

Excluding the brief transition periods during changes of government or leadership elections, there have only been a handful of cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was Prime Minister:

• Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, an unelected caretaker government was necessary. In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder, the governor-general, Lord Hopetoun, invited Sir William Lyne, the premier of the most populous state, New South Wales, to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton, who became the first prime minister and led the inaugural government into and beyond the election.
• During the second parliament, three parties (Free Trade, Protectionist and Labor) had roughly equal representation in the House of Representatives. The leaders of the three parties, Alfred Deakin, George Reid and Chris Watson each served as Prime Minister before losing a vote of confidence.
• As a result of the Labor Party's split over conscription, Billy Hughes and his supporters were expelled from the Labor Party in November 1916. He subsequently continued on as prime minister at the head of the new National Labor Party, which had only 14 members out of a total of 75 in the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth Liberal Party – despite still forming the official Opposition – provided confidence and supply until February 1917, when the two parties agree to merge and form the Nationalist Party.
• During the 1975 constitutional crisis, on 11 November 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the Labor Party's Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister. Despite Labor holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Kerr appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister, conditional on the passage of the Whitlam government's Supply bills through the Senate and the calling of an election for both houses of parliament. Fraser accepted these terms and immediately advised a double dissolution. An election was called for 13 December, which the Liberal Party won in its own right (although the Liberals governed in a coalition with the Country Party).

Powers and role

The first prime minister of Australia, Edmund Barton (sitting second from left), with his Cabinet, 1901.

Most of the prime minister's power derives from being the head of government.[10] In practice, the Federal Executive Council acts to ratify all executive decisions made by the government and requires the support of the prime minister. The powers of the prime minister are to direct the governor-general through advice to grant Royal Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue parliament, to call elections and to make government appointments, which the governor-general follows.

The Constitution divides power between the federal government and the states, and the prime minister is constrained by this.[11]

The formal power to appoint the governor-general lies with the queen of Australia, on the advice of the prime minister, whereby convention holds that the queen is bound to follow the advice. The prime minister can also advise the monarch to dismiss the governor-general, though it remains unclear how quickly the monarch would act on such advice in a constitutional crisis. This uncertainty, and the possibility of a "race" between the governor-general and prime minister to dismiss the other, was a key question in the 1975 constitutional crisis. Prime ministers whose government loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, are expected to advise the governor-general to dissolve parliament and hold an election, if an alternative government cannot be formed. If they fail to do this, the governor-general may by convention dissolve parliament or appoint an alternative government.[7]

The prime minister is also the responsible minister for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is tasked with supporting the policy agendas of the prime minister and Cabinet through policy advice and the coordination of the implementation of key government programs, to manage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy and programs and to promote reconciliation, to provide leadership for the Australian Public Service alongside the Australian Public Service Commission, to oversee the honours and symbols of the Commonwealth, to provide support to ceremonies and official visits, to set whole of government service delivery policy, and to coordinate national security, cyber, counterterrorism, regulatory reform, cities, population, data, and women's policy.[12] Since 1992, the prime minister also acts as the chair of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), an intergovernmental forum between the federal government and the state governments in which the prime minister, the state premiers and chief ministers, and a representative of local governments meet annually.[13]

Privileges of office

Salary

Prime ministerial salary history

Effective date	Salary
2 June 1999	$289,270
6 September 2006	$309,270
1 July 2007	$330,356
1 October 2009	$340,704[14]
1 August 2010	$354,671[15]
1 July 2011	$366,366
1 December 2011	$440,000
15 March 2012	$481,000[16]
1 July 2012	$495,430[17]
1 July 2013	$507,338[18]
1 January 2016	$517,504[19]
1 July 2017	$527,852[20]
1 July 2018	$538,460[21]
1 July 2019	$549,250[21]

As of 1 July 2019, Australia's prime minister is paid a total salary of $549,250. This is made up of the 'base salary' received by all Members of Parliament ($211,250) plus a 160 percent 'additional salary' for the role of Prime Minister.[22] Increases in the base salary of MPs and senators are determined annually by the Australian Government's Remuneration Tribunal.[21]

Allowances

Prime ministers Curtin, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies and Governor-General The Duke of Gloucester 2nd from left, in 1945.

While in office, the prime minister has two official residences. The primary official residence is The Lodge in Canberra. Most prime ministers have chosen The Lodge as their primary residence because of its security facilities and close proximity to Parliament House. There have been some exceptions, however. James Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel) and Ben Chifley lived in the Hotel Kurrajong. More recently, John Howard used the Sydney Prime Ministerial residence, Kirribilli House, as his primary accommodation. On her appointment on 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard said she would not be living in The Lodge until such time as she was returned to office by popular vote at the next general election, as she became Prime Minister by replacing an incumbent during a parliamentary term. Tony Abbott was never able to occupy The Lodge during his term (2013–15) as it was undergoing extensive renovations, which continued into the early part of his successor Malcolm Turnbull's term.[23] Instead, Abbott resided in dedicated rooms at the Australian Federal Police College when in Canberra.

During his first term, Rudd had a staff at The Lodge consisting of a senior chef and an assistant chef, a child carer, one senior house attendant, and two junior house attendants. At Kirribilli House in Sydney, there is one full-time chef and one full-time house attendant.[24] The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the prime minister and their family. In addition, both have extensive security facilities. These residences are regularly used for official entertaining, such as receptions for Australian of the Year finalists.

The prime minister receives a number of transport amenities for official business. The Royal Australian Air Force's No. 34 Squadron transports the prime minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as an office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft is "Envoy". For ground travel, the prime minister is transported in an armoured BMW 7 Series model. It is referred to as "C-1", or Commonwealth One, because of its number plate. It is escorted by police vehicles from state and federal authorities.[25]

• Privileges of office
• 
  The Lodge
• 
  Kirribilli House
• 
  Prime Ministerial Limousine
• 
  Official aircraft

After office

Politicians, including prime ministers, are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office, such as office accommodation, staff assistance, and a Life Gold Pass, which entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. In 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the pass should be available only to former prime ministers, though he would not use it when he was no longer PM.[26]

Only one prime minister who had left the Federal Parliament ever returned. Stanley Bruce was defeated in his own seat in 1929 while Prime Minister but was re-elected to parliament in 1931. Other prime ministers were elected to parliaments other than the Australian federal parliament: Sir George Reid was elected to the UK House of Commons (after his term as High Commissioner to the UK), and Frank Forde was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament (after his term as High Commissioner to Canada, and a failed attempt to re-enter the Federal Parliament).

Acting prime minister

It is a convention for the deputy prime minister to serve as acting prime minister when the prime minister is travelling outside Australia or absent due to illness. If the deputy prime minister is also unavailable, another senior member of the government is appointed as acting prime minister.[27]

The Acts Interpretation Act 1901 confers upon acting ministers "the same power and authority with respect to the absent Minister's statutory responsibilities".[28]

In the early 20th century, overseas travel generally required long journeys by ship. As a result, some held the position of acting prime minister for significant periods of time, including William Watt (16 months, 1918–1919),[29] George Pearce (7 months, 1916),[30] Alfred Deakin (6 months, 1902),[31] Joseph Cook (5 months, 1921),[32] James Fenton (19 weeks, 1930–1931),[33] John Forrest (4 months, 1907),[34] and Arthur Fadden (4 months, 1941). Fadden was acting prime minister for a cumulative total of 676 days (over 22 months) between 1941 and 1958.[35]

Former prime ministers

As of August 2020, there are six living former Australian prime ministers.[36]

Paul Keating In office: 1991–1996 Age: 76

John Howard In office: 1996–2007 Age: 81

Kevin Rudd In office: 2007–2010; 2013 Age: 62

Julia Gillard In office: 2010–2013 Age: 58

Tony Abbott, In office: 2013–2015 Age: 62

Malcolm Turnbull, In office: 2015–2018 Age: 65

The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice:

• Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson.
• Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin.

Ben Chifley lived the least of all former prime ministers, as he died one year and six months after his term as prime minister.[37] All other deceased former prime ministers have lived at least another 10 years, with the longest surviving former prime minister being Gough Whitlam, who lived 38 years and 11 months after office, surpassing Stanley Bruce's previous record of 37 years and 10 months.[38]

Ages

Six Australian prime ministers – Forde, Curtin, Menzies, Hughes, Fadden and Holt – at a meeting of the Advisory War Council in 1940. Percy Spender (Minister for the Army) seated third from the right.

The youngest person to become prime minister was Chris Watson – 37,[39] who was also 37 when he ceased being prime minister. The oldest person to become prime minister was John McEwen – 67 as an interim prime minister,[40] otherwise William McMahon – 63.[41] Robert Menzies was the oldest person to ever be prime minister, leaving office at 71 years old.[42]

Honours

Prime Ministers have been granted numerous honours, typically after their period as Prime Minister has concluded, with a few exceptions. Prime Ministers were awarded honours within the British honours system before 1975, when appointment to the Order of Australia began. Only one former Prime Minister, John Howard, has been awarded a British Honour since 1975, being the Order of Merit (within the Queen's personal gift) in 2012.[43]

Nine former Prime Ministers were awarded knighthoods: Barton (GCMG, 1902),[44] Reid (GCMG, 1911),[45] Cook (GCMG, 1918),[46] Page (GCMG, 1938),[47] Menzies (KT, 1963),[48] Fadden (KCMG, 1951),[49] McEwen (GCMG, 1971),[50] Gorton (GCMG, 1977),[51] and McMahon (GCMG, 1977).[52] Of those awarded, Barton and Menzies were knighted whilst still serving as Prime Minister, with Page awarded his before becoming Prime Minister, and the remainder awarded after leaving office. Reid (GCB, 1916)[53], Menzies (AK, 1976))[54] and Fadden (GCMG, 1958)[55] were awarded a second knighthood sometime later after leaving office.

Non-titular honours were also bestowed on former Prime Ministers, usually the Order of the Companions of Honour. This honour was awarded to Bruce (1927),[56] Lyons (1936),[57] Hughes (1941),[58] Page (1942),[59] Menzies (1951),[60] Holt (1967),[61] McEwen (1969),[62] Gorton (1971),[63] McMahon (1972),[64], and Fraser (1977)[65], mostly during office as Prime Minister. The aforementioned John Howard was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2012.

In almost all occasions these honours were only accepted by non-Labor/conservative Prime Ministers. However, appointment to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom was accepted by all Prime Ministers until 1983 (with the exception of Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson and Gough Whitlam), with Malcolm Fraser being the last Prime Ministerial appointee.

Since its introduction in 1975, former Prime Ministers of Australia have been appointed to the Order of Australia and to its highest level – Companion: Whitlam (1978),[66] Fraser (1988),[67] Gorton (1988),[68] Howard (2008),[69] Gillard (2017),[70] Rudd (2019),[71] and Abbott (2020)[72]. Keating refused appointment in 1997[73]. Bob Hawke was appointed a Companion in 1979, for service to trade unionism and industrial relations, before becoming Prime Minister in 1983[74]. Menzies was appointed to the higher grade of Knight of the Order, which is no longer awarded, in 1976.

In addition to these honours, all deceased former Prime Ministers of Australia currently have federal electorates named after them, with the exceptions of Joseph Cook (a Division of Cook does exist, but it is only named after explorer James Cook) and the recently late Bob Hawke.

List

Further information: List of Prime Ministers of Australia (graphical), List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, and List of Prime Ministers of Australia by age

The longest-serving prime minister was Sir Robert Menzies, who served in office twice: from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941, and again from 19 December 1949 to 26 January 1966. In total Robert Menzies spent 18 years, 5 months and 12 days in office. He served under the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party respectively.

The shortest-serving prime minister was Frank Forde, who was appointed to the position on 6 July 1945 after the death of John Curtin, and served until 13 July 1945 when Ben Chifley was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party.

The last prime minister to serve out a full government term in the office was John Howard, who won the 2004 election and led his party to the 2007 election, but lost. Since then, the five subsequent prime ministers have been either voted out of the office mid-term by the caucuses of their own parties, assumed the office mid-term under such circumstances, or both.

No.	Name (birth–death)	Portrait	Party	Term of office		Elections won	Ministry
1	Sir Edmund Barton (1849–1920)		Protectionist	1 January 1901	24 September 1903	1901	Barton
2	Alfred Deakin (1856–1919)		Protectionist	24 September 1903	27 April 1904	1903	1st Deakin
3	Chris Watson (1867–1941)		Labor	27 April 1904	18 August 1904	—	Watson
4	George Reid (1845–1918)		Free Trade	18 August 1904	5 July 1905	—	Reid
(2)	Alfred Deakin (1856–1919)		Protectionist	5 July 1905	13 November 1908	1906	2nd Deakin
5	Andrew Fisher (1862–1928)		Labor	13 November 1908	2 June 1909	—	1st Fisher
(2)	Alfred Deakin (1856–1919)		Liberal	2 June 1909	29 April 1910	—	3rd Deakin
(5)	Andrew Fisher (1862–1928)		Labor	29 April 1910	24 June 1913	1910	2nd Fisher
6	Joseph Cook (1860–1947)		Liberal	24 June 1913	17 September 1914	1913	Cook
(5)	Andrew Fisher (1862–1928)		Labor	17 September 1914	27 October 1915	1914	3rd Fisher
	Billy Hughes (1862–1952)		Labor	27 October 1915	14 November 1916	—	1st Hughes
7			National Labor	14 November 1916	17 February 1917	–	2nd Hughes
			Nationalist	17 February 1917	9 February 1923	–	3rd Hughes
						1917	4th Hughes
						1919	5th Hughes
8	Stanley Bruce (1883–1967)		Nationalist (Coalition)	9 February 1923	22 October 1929	1922	1st Bruce
						1925	2nd Bruce
						1928	3rd Bruce
9	James Scullin (1876–1953)		Labor	22 October 1929	6 January 1932	1929	Scullin
10	Joseph Lyons (1879–1939)		United Australia (Coalition after Nov. 1934)	6 January 1932	7 April 1939†	1931	1st Lyons
						1934	2nd Lyons
						—	3rd Lyons
						1937	4th Lyons
11	Sir Earle Page (1880–1961)		Country (Coalition)	7 April 1939	26 April 1939	—	Page
12	Robert Menzies (1894–1978)		United Australia (Coalition after Mar. 1940)	26 April 1939	29 August 1941	—	1st Menzies
							2nd Menzies
						1940	3rd Menzies
13	Arthur Fadden (1894–1973)		Country (Coalition)	29 August 1941	7 October 1941	—	Fadden
14	John Curtin (1885–1945)		Labor	7 October 1941	5 July 1945†	—	1st Curtin
						1943	2nd Curtin
15	Frank Forde (1890–1983)		Labor	6 July 1945	13 July 1945	—	Forde
16	Ben Chifley (1885–1951)		Labor	13 July 1945	19 December 1949	—	1st Chifley
						1946	2nd Chifley
(12)	Sir Robert Menzies (1894–1978)		Liberal (Coalition)	19 December 1949	26 January 1966	1949	4th Menzies
						1951	5th Menzies
						1954	6th Menzies
						1955	7th Menzies
						1958	8th Menzies
						1961	9th Menzies
						1963	10th Menzies
17	Harold Holt (1908–1967)		Liberal (Coalition)	26 January 1966	19 December 1967†	—	1st Holt
						1966	2nd Holt
18	John McEwen (1900–1980)		Country (Coalition)	19 December 1967	10 January 1968	—	McEwen
19	John Gorton (1911–2002)		Liberal (Coalition)	10 January 1968	10 March 1971	—	1st Gorton
						1969	2nd Gorton
20	William McMahon (1908–1988)		Liberal (Coalition)	10 March 1971	5 December 1972	—	McMahon
21	Gough Whitlam (1916–2014)		Labor	5 December 1972	11 November 1975	1972	1st Whitlam
						—	2nd Whitlam
						1974	3rd Whitlam
22	Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015)		Liberal (Coalition)	11 November 1975	11 March 1983	—	1st Fraser
						1975	2nd Fraser
						1977	3rd Fraser
						1980	4th Fraser
23	Bob Hawke (1929–2019)		Labor	11 March 1983	20 December 1991	1983	1st Hawke
						1984	2nd Hawke
						1987	3rd Hawke
						1990	4th Hawke
24	Paul Keating (1944–)		Labor	20 December 1991	11 March 1996	—	1st Keating
						1993	2nd Keating
25	John Howard (1939–)		Liberal (Coalition)	11 March 1996	3 December 2007	1996	1st Howard
						1998	2nd Howard
						2001	3rd Howard
						2004	4th Howard
26	Kevin Rudd (1957–)		Labor	3 December 2007	24 June 2010	2007	1st Rudd
27	Julia Gillard (1961–)		Labor	24 June 2010	27 June 2013	—	1st Gillard
						2010	2nd Gillard
(26)	Kevin Rudd (1957–)		Labor	27 June 2013	18 September 2013	—	2nd Rudd
28	Tony Abbott (1957–)		Liberal (Coalition)	18 September 2013	15 September 2015	2013	Abbott
29	Malcolm Turnbull (1954–)		Liberal (Coalition)	15 September 2015	24 August 2018	—	1st Turnbull
						2016	2nd Turnbull
30	Scott Morrison (1968–)		Liberal (Coalition)	24 August 2018	Incumbent	—	1st Morrison
						2019	2nd Morrison

See also

• Historical rankings of Prime Ministers of Australia
• List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition
• List of Commonwealth heads of government
• List of Prime Ministers of Australia
• List of Prime Ministers of Australia (graphical)
• List of Prime Ministers of Australia by age
• List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II
• Prime Ministers Avenue in Horse Chestnut Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens contains a collection of bronze busts of former Australian prime ministers.
• Prime Minister's XI
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia

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Further reading

• Abjorensen, Norman (2015). The Manner of Their Going: Prime Ministerial Exits from Lyne to Abbott. Australian Scholarly. ISBN 9781925333213.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Grattan, Michelle (2016). Australian Prime Ministers. New Holland. ISBN 9781742579337.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hughes, Colin (1976). Mr Prime Minister: Australian Prime Ministers 1901–1972. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195504712.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Strangio, Paul (2013). "Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience". In Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (eds.). Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666423.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (2016). Settling the Office: The Australian Prime Ministership from Federation to Reconstruction. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522868722.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (2017). The Pivot of Power: Australian Prime Ministers and Political Leadership, 1949-2016. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522868746.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Whitington, Don (1972). Twelfth Man?. Jacaranda Press. ISBN 0701605855.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Official website of the prime minister of Australia
• Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Australia's Prime Ministers – National Archives of Australia reference site and research portal
• Biographies of Australia's Prime Ministers / National Museum of Australia
• Classroom resources on Australian Prime Ministers