Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia

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The following is the Australian Table of Precedence.

1. The Queen of Australia (Elizabeth II)
2. The Governor-General of Australia (General Sir Peter Cosgrove)
3. Governors of states in order of appointment:
   1. Governor of Queensland (Paul de Jersey) (29 July 2014)
   2. Governor of South Australia (Hieu Van Le) (1 September 2014)
   3. Governor of New South Wales (General David Hurley) (2 October 2014)
   4. Governor of Western Australia (Kerry Sanderson) (20 October 2014)
   5. Governor of Tasmania (Kate Warner) (10 December 2014)
   6. Governor of Victoria (Linda Dessau) (1 July 2015)
4. The Prime Minister (Malcolm Turnbull)
5. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of appointment:
   1. President of the Senate (Stephen Parry) (7 July 2014)
   2. Speaker of the House of Representatives (Tony Smith) (10 August 2015)
6. The Chief Justice of Australia (Robert French)
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. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (Barnaby Joyce)
   2. Minister for Foreign Affairs (Julie Bishop)
   3. Vice-President of the Executive Council and Attorney-General (George Brandis)
   4. Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Local Government and Territories and Minister for Regional Communications (Fiona Nash)
   5. Treasurer (Scott Morrison)
   6. Minister for Defence Industry (Christopher Pyne)
   7. Minister for Finance (Mathias Cormann)
   8. Minister for Indigenous Affairs (Nigel Scullion)
   9. Minister for Communications and Minister for the Arts (Mitch Fifield)
   10. Minister for Defence (Marise Payne)
   11. Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Peter Dutton)
   12. Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science (Greg Hunt)
   13. Minister for Health and Aged Care and Minister for Sport (Sussan Ley)
   14. Minister for Employment and Minister for Women (Michaelia Cash)
   15. Minister for Education and Training (Simon Birmingham)
   16. Cabinet Secretary (Arthur Sinodinos)
   17. Minister for the Environment and Energy (Josh Frydenberg)
   18. Minister for Social Services (Christian Porter)
   19. Minister for Revenue and Financial Services (Kelly O'Dwyer)
   20. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment (Steven Ciobo)
   21. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (Darren Chester)
   22. Minister for Resources and Northern Australia (Matthew Canavan)
   23. Minister for Justice (Michael Keenan)
   24. Minister for Urban Infrastructure (Paul Fletcher)
   25. Minister for International Development and the Pacific (Concetta Fierravanti-Wells)
   26. Special Minister of State (Scott Ryan)
   27. Minister for Human Services (Alan Tudge)
   28. Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel (Dan Tehan)
   29. Minister for Small Business (Michael McCormack)
   30. Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills (Karen Andrews)
   31. Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Alex Hawke)
   32. Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care (Ken Wyatt)
   33. Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (Anne Ruston)
   34. Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister (James McGrath)
   35. Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services (Jane Prentice)
   36. Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation (Angus Taylor)
   37. Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment (Keith Pitt)
   38. Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science (Craig Laundy)
   39. Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister (Luke Hartsuyker)
   40. Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs (Zed Seselja)
   41. Assistant Minister for Rural Health (David Gillespie)
9. Administrators of Territories in order of appointment:
   1. Administrator of Norfolk Island (Gary Hardgrave) (1 July 2014)
   2. Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories (Barry Haase) (5 October 2014)
   3. Administrator of the Northern Territory (John Hardy) (10 November 2014)
10. The Leader of the Opposition (Bill Shorten)
11. Former holders of high offices:
    1. Former Governors-General in order of leaving office:
       1. Sir Ninian Stephen (1982–1989)
       2. Bill Hayden (1989–1996)
       3. Sir William Deane (1996–2001)
       4. Dr Peter Hollingworth (2001–2003)
       5. Major General Michael Jeffery (2003–2008)
       6. Dame Quentin Bryce (2008–2014)
    2. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
       1. Bob Hawke (1983–1991)
       2. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
       3. John Howard (1996–2007)
       4. Kevin Rudd (2007–2010, 2013)
       5. Julia Gillard (2010–2013)
       6. Tony Abbott (2013–2015)
    3. Former Chief Justices in order of leaving office:
       1. Sir Anthony Mason (1987–1995)
       2. Sir Gerard Brennan (1995–1998)
       3. Murray Gleeson (1998–2008)
12. Premiers of states in order of state populations, then the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory:
    1. Premier of New South Wales (Mike Baird)
    2. Premier of Victoria (Daniel Andrews)
    3. Premier of Queensland (Annastacia Palaszczuk)
    4. Premier of Western Australia (Colin Barnett)
    5. Premier of South Australia (Jay Weatherill)
    6. Premier of Tasmania (Will Hodgman)
    7. Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (Michael Gunner)
13. Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
    1. Susan Kiefel (3 September 2007)
    2. Virginia Bell (3 February 2009)
    3. Stephen Gageler (9 October 2012)
    4. Patrick Keane (1 March 2013)
    5. Geoffrey Nettle (3 February 2015)
    6. Michelle Gordon (9 June 2015)
14. Senior judges:
    1. Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia (James Allsop)
    2. President of the Fair Work Commission (Iain Ross)
15. Chief Justices of States in order of appointment:
    1. Chief Justice of Victoria (Marilyn Warren) (25 November 2003)
    2. Chief Justice of Western Australia (Wayne Martin) (1 May 2006)
    3. Chief Justice of New South Wales (Tom Bathurst) (1 June 2011)
    4. Chief Justice of South Australia (Chris Kourakis) (25 June 2012)
    5. Chief Justice of Tasmania (Alan Blow) (8 April 2013)
    6. Chief Justice of Queensland (Catherine Holmes) (11 September 2015)
16. Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in order of appointment:
    1. Doug Anthony (23 June 1971)
    2. Ian Sinclair (17 January 1977)
    3. William Heseltine (26 March 1986)
17. The Chief of the Defence Force (Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin)
18. Chief Judges of Federal and Territory Courts in order of appointment
    1. Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia (Diana Bryant) (5 July 2004)
    2. Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory (Helen Murrell) (28 October 2013)
    3. Chief Justice of the Northern Territory (Michael Grant) (5 July 2016)
19. Members of Parliament (see Members of the Australian Senate, 2016–2019 and Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2016–2019)
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 Brisbane (Graham Quirk)
    2. Lord Mayor of Sydney (Clover Moore)
    3. Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Robert Doyle)
    4. Lord Mayor of Perth (Lisa Scaffidi)
    5. Lord Mayor of Adelaide (Martin Haese)
    6. Lord Mayor of Hobart (Sue Hickey)
    7. Lord Mayor of Darwin (Katrina Fong Lim)
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. President of the Western Australian Legislative Council (Barry House) (22 May 2009)
    2. President of the Victorian Legislative Council (Bruce Atkinson) (21 December 2010)
    3. President of the New South Wales Legislative Council (Don Harwin) (3 May 2011)
    4. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (Shelley Hancock) (3 May 2011)
    5. Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly (Michael Atkinson) (5 February 2013)
    6. Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (Michael Sutherland) (11 April 2013)
    7. President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council (Jim Wilkinson) (21 May 2013)
    8. Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly (Elise Archer) (31 March 2014)
    9. President of the South Australian Legislative Council (Russell Wortley) (6 May 2014)
    10. Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (Telmo Languiller) (23 December 2014)
    11. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland (Peter Wellington) (24 March 2015)
    12. Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly (Kezia Purick) (23 October 2012)
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 (Luke Foley)
    2. Leader of the Opposition of Victoria (Matthew Guy)
    3. Leader of the Opposition of Queensland (Tim Nicholls)
    4. Leader of the Opposition of Western Australia (Mark McGowan)
    5. Leader of the Opposition of South Australia (Steven Marshall)
    6. Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania (Bryan Green)
    7. Leader of the Opposition of the Northern Territory (Gary Higgins)
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 in order of first appointment to this group:
    1. Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Vice Admiral Ray Griggs) (30 June 2014)
    2. Chief of Navy (Vice Admiral Tim Barrett) (30 June 2014)
    3. Chief of Army (Lieutenant General Angus Campbell) (16 May 2015)
    4. Chief of Air Force (Air Marshal Leo Davies) (4 July 2015)
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

Notes

• While the Queen herself is not listed in the order of precedence in the official Gazette, as Queen of Australia she holds the highest precedence in Australia.
• 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 has been raised with the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and is 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