Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia

The following is the Australian Table of Precedence.

1. The Queen of Australia (Elizabeth II)
2. The Governor-General of Australia (Quentin Bryce)
3. Governors of states in order of appointment:
   1. Governor of New South Wales (Professor Marie Bashir)
   2. Governor of South Australia (Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce)
   3. Governor of Tasmania (Peter Underwood)
   4. Governor of Queensland (Penelope Wensley)
   5. Governor of Victoria (Alex Chernov)
   6. Governor of Western Australia (Malcolm McCusker)
4. The Prime Minister (Julia Gillard)
5. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of appointment:
   1. President of the Senate (John Hogg)
   2. Speaker of the House of Representatives (Peter Slipper)
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. Vice-President of the Executive Council and Attorney-General (Robert McClelland)
   2. Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer (Wayne Swan)
   3. Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations (Chris Evans)
   4. Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth (Peter Garrett)
   5. Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy (Stephen Conroy)
   6. Minister for Trade (Craig Emerson)
   7. Minister for Defence (Stephen Smith)
   8. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Chris Bowen)
   9. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (Anthony Albanese)
   10. Minister for Health and Ageing (Nicola Roxon)
   11. Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Jenny Macklin)
   12. Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Tony Burke)
   13. Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Penny Wong)
   14. Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Kim Carr)
   15. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Joe Ludwig)
   16. Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism (Martin Ferguson)
   17. Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (Greg Combet)
   18. Minister for Human Services (Tanya Plibersek)
9. Administrators of Territories in order of appointment:
   1. Administrator of Norfolk Island (Owen Walsh)
   2. Administrator of Christmas Island (Brian Lacy)
   3. Administrator of the Northern Territory (Sally Thomas)
10. The Leader of the Opposition (Tony Abbott)
11. 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)
12. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
    1. Gough Whitlam (1972–1975)
    2. Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983)
    3. Bob Hawke (1983–1991)
    4. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
    5. John Howard (1996–2007)
    6. Kevin Rudd (2007–2010)
13. Former Chief Justices of Australia in order of leaving office:
    1. Sir Anthony Mason (1987–1995)
    2. Sir Gerard Brennan (1995–1998)
    3. Murray Gleeson (1998–2008)
14. Premiers of states in order of state populations:
    1. Premier of New South Wales (Barry O'Farrell)
    2. Premier of Victoria (Ted Baillieu)
    3. Premier of Queensland (Anna Bligh)
    4. Premier of Western Australia (Colin Barnett)
    5. Premier of South Australia (Jay Weatherill)
    6. Premier of Tasmania (Lara Giddings)
15. The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (Paul Henderson)
16. The Chief Minister of Norfolk Island (David Buffett)
17. The Lord Mayor "within his City" (only applicable in a city with a Lord Mayor)
18. Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
    1. William Gummow
    2. Kenneth Hayne
    3. Dyson Heydon
    4. Susan Crennan
    5. Susan Kiefel
    6. Virginia Bell
19. The Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia (Patrick Keane)
20. The President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (Geoffrey Giudice)
21. Chief Justices of States in order of appointment:
    1. Chief Justice of South Australia (John Doyle)
    2. Chief Justice of Queensland (Paul de Jersey)
    3. Chief Justice of Victoria (Marilyn Warren)
    4. Chief Justice of Western Australia (Wayne Martin)
    5. Chief Justice of Tasmania (Ewan Crawford)
    6. Chief Justice of New South Wales (Tom Bathurst)
22. The Chief of the Defence Force (General David Hurley)
23. Chief Judges of Federal Courts in order of appointment
24. Members of Parliament (see list of Australian Senators and list of members of the Australian House of Representatives)
25. Judges of Federal Courts and Deputy Presidents of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in order of appointment
26. Lord Mayors of capital cities in order of city populations:
    1. Lord Mayor of Sydney (Clover Moore)
    2. Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Robert Doyle)
    3. Lord Mayor of Brisbane (Graham Quirk)
    4. Lord Mayor of Perth (Lisa Scaffidi)
    5. Lord Mayor of Adelaide (Stephen Yarwood)
    6. Lord Mayor of Hobart (Rob Valentine)
    7. Lord Mayor of Darwin (Graeme Sawyer)
27. Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia
28. Presiding officers of State Legislatures in order of appointment
29. Presiding officer of the Northern Territory Legislature
30. Presiding officer of the Norfolk Island Legislature
31. Members of State Executive Councils in order of appointment
32. Members of the Northern Territory Executive Council in order of appointment
33. Leaders of the Opposition of State Legislatures in order of state populations
    1. New South Wales (John Robertson)
    2. Victoria (Daniel Andrews)
    3. Queensland (Jeff Seeney)
    4. Western Australia (Mark McGowan)
    5. South Australia (Isobel Redmond)
    6. Tasmania (Will Hodgman)
34. Leader of the Opposition of the Northern Territory Legislature
35. Judges of State Supreme Courts in order of appointment
36. Members of State Legislatures in order of state populations
37. Members of the Northern Territory Legislature
38. Members of the Norfolk Island Legislature
39. 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 (Air Marshal Mark Binskin)
    2. Chief of the Army (Lieutenant General David Morrison)
    3. Chief of the Navy (Vice Admiral Ray Griggs)
    4. Chief of the Air Force (Air Marshal Geoff Brown)
40. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted
41. Members of the House of Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
42. 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 Precedence.
• No reference is made to ACT Chief Minister or the Leader of the Opposition. This appears to be an oversight after the ACT was granted Self Government. This has been raised with the to Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition

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