Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia

Last updated November 10, 2023

The following is the order of precedence for Australia:

The King of Australia: King Charles III ^{[ citation needed ]}
The Governor-General of Australia: David Hurley
Governors of states in order of appointment:
1. Governor of New South Wales: Margaret Beazley (2 May 2019)
2. Governor of Tasmania: Barbara Baker (16 June 2021)
3. Governor of South Australia: Frances Adamson (7 October 2021)
4. Governor of Queensland: Jeannette Young (1 November 2021)
5. Governor of Western Australia: Chris Dawson (15 July 2022)
6. Governor of Victoria: Margaret Gardner (9 August 2023)
The Prime Minister: Anthony Albanese
The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of election:
1. President of the Senate Senator: Sue Lines (26 July 2022)
2. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Milton Dick (26 July 2022)
The Chief Justice of Australia: Stephen Gageler
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
Members of the Federal Executive Council:
1. Ministry List
Administrators of Territories in order of appointment:
1. Administrator of Norfolk Island: Eric Hutchinson (1 April 2017)
2. Administrator of the Northern Territory: Hugh Heggie (2 February 2023)
3. Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories: Farzian Zainal (26 May 2023)
The Leader of the Opposition: Peter Dutton
Former holders of high offices:
1. Former Governors-General in order of leaving office:
  1. William Deane (1996–2001)
  2. Peter Hollingworth (2001–2003)
  3. Quentin Bryce (2008–2014)
  4. Peter Cosgrove (2014–2019)
2. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
  1. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
  2. John Howard (1996–2007)
  3. Kevin Rudd (2007–2010, 2013)
  4. Julia Gillard (2010–2013)
  5. Tony Abbott (2013–2015)
  6. Malcolm Turnbull (2015–2018)
  7. Scott Morrison (2018–2022)
3. Former Chief Justices in order of leaving office:
  1. Anthony Mason (1987–1995)
  2. Murray Gleeson (1998–2008)
  3. Robert French (2008–2017)
  4. Susan Kiefel (2017–2023)
Premiers of states in order of state populations, then Chief Ministers of the territories in order of territory populations:
Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
1. Michelle Gordon AC (9 June 2015)
2. James Edelman (30 January 2017)
3. Simon Steward (1 December 2020)
4. Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson (1 March 2021)
5. Jayne Jagot (17 October 2022)
6. Robert Beech-Jones (6 November 2023)
Senior judges:
1. Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia: Debra Mortimer
2. President of the Fair Work Commission: Adam Hatcher
Chief Justices of States in order of appointment:
1. Chief Justice of South Australia (The Hon Chris Kourakis SC) (25 June 2012)
2. Chief Justice of Tasmania (The Hon Alan Blow AO) (8 April 2013)
3. Chief Justice of Victoria (Anne Ferguson) (2 October 2017)
4. Chief Justice of Western Australia (Peter Quinlan SC) (13 August 2018)
5. Chief Justice of New South Wales: (The Hon Andrew Bell SC) (7 March 2022)
6. Chief Justice of Queensland (The Hon Helen Bowskill KC) (19 March 2022)

Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in order of appointment:
1. Ian Sinclair (17 January 1977)
2. The Rt Hon Sir William Heseltine (26 March 1986)
The Chief of the Defence Force (General Angus Campbell)
Chief Judges of Federal and Territory Courts in order of appointment
1. Chief Justice of the Northern Territory (Michael Grant) (5 July 2016)
2. Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia (Will Alstergren) (10 December 2018)
3. Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory (Lucy McCallum) (8 March 2022)
Members of Parliament (see Members of the Australian Senate, 2022–2025 and Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2022–2025)
Judges of the Federal Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia, and Deputy presidents of the Fair Work Commission in order of appointment
Lord Mayors of capital cities in order of city populations:
Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia
Presiding officers of State Legislatures in order of appointment, then Presiding Officer of Territory Legislatures in order of appointment:
1. Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly: Colin Brooks (7 March 2017)
2. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland: Curtis Pitt (13 February 2018)
3. President of the Victorian Legislative Council: Nazih Elasmar (18 June 2020)
4. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly: Jonathan O'Dea (7 May 2019)
5. President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council: Craig Farrell (21 May 2019)
6. President of the South Australian Legislative Council: John Dawkins) (8 September 2020)
7. Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly: Michelle Roberts) (29 April 2021)
8. President of the New South Wales Legislative Council: Matthew Mason-Cox (4 May 2021)
9. President of the Western Australian Legislative Council: Alanna Clohesy (25 May 2021)
10. Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly: Mark Shelton (22 June 2021)
11. Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly: Dan Cregan (12 October 2021)
12. Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly: Joy Burch (31 October 2016)
13. Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly: Ngaree Ah Kit (20 October 2020)
Members of State Executive Councils in order of state populations, and then members of the Northern Territory Executive Council:
Leaders of the Opposition of State Legislatures in order of state populations, then Leaders of the Opposition in Territory Legislatures in order of territory populations:
Judges of State and Territory Supreme Courts in order of appointment:
Members of State and Territory Legislatures in order of population:
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: Vice Admiral David Johnston (6 July 2018)
2. Chief of Air Force: Air Marshal Robert Chipman (1 July 2022)
3. Chief of Army: Lieutenant General Simon Stuart (2 July 2022)
4. Chief of Navy: Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (6 July 2022)
Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted
Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Recipients of Decorations or Honours from the Sovereign
Citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia

Notes

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.
Until 2022, no reference was made to the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition or the Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory. This appeared to be an oversight after the ACT was granted self government.^[1] A new Table of Precedence was gazetted on 1 September 2022 which included the ACT.

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The Monarch of New Zealand.
The Governor-General or, while acting in the place of the Governor-General, the officer administering the Government
The Prime Minister
The Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Chief Justice
The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
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The Public Service Commissioner, Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, and Officers of Parliament .
The Solicitor-General, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Clerk of the Executive Council when attending a function involving the exercise of the position’s specific responsibilities.
Chief executives of public service and non-public service departments.
The Vice Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force, and other statutory office holders.
Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation in New Zealand.
Members of New Zealand and British orders, and holders of decorations and medals in accordance with the Order of Wear in New Zealand.

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The Nova Scotia order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Nova Scotia. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

The British Columbia order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of British Columbia. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

The King of Canada
The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
The Premier of British Columbia
The Chief Justice of British Columbia
Former Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia
1. Hon. Iona Campagnolo PC OC OBC
2. Hon. Steven Point OBC
3. Hon. Judith Guichon OBC
Former Premiers of British Columbia
1. Bill Vander Zalm
2. Rita Johnston
3. Mike Harcourt OC
4. Glen Clark
5. Dan Miller
6. Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh PC
7. Gordon Campbell OC OBC
8. Christy Clark
9. John Horgan
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia by order of precedence
The Leader of the Official Opposition of British Columbia
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada resident in British Columbia, with precedence given to members of the federal cabinet
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Church representatives of faith communities
The Justices of the Court of Appeal of British Columbia with precedence to be governed by the date of appointment
The Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of British Columbia with precedence to be governed by the date of appointment
The Judges of the Supreme Court of British Columbia with precedence to be governed by the date of appointment
The Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia with precedence to be governed by the date of their first election to the legislature
The Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia
The Commander Maritime Forces Pacific
The Heads of Consular Posts with jurisdiction in British Columbia with precedence to be governed by Article 16 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
The Mayor of Victoria
The Mayor of Vancouver
The Chancellors of the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University, respectively.
1. Hon. Steven PointOBC
2. Marion Buller, CM
3. Tamara Vrooman, OBC

The Alberta order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Alberta. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

The King of Canada: His Majesty King Charles III
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta: Her Honour the Honourable Salma Lakhani
Premier of Alberta: The Honourable Danielle Smith
The Chief Justice of The Court of Appeal of Alberta: The Honourable Justice Frans Slatter
Former lieutenant governors of Alberta
1. The Honourable Donald Ethell
2. The Honourable Lois Mitchell
Former premiers of Alberta
1. The Honourable Ed Stelmach
2. The Honourable Alison Redford
3. The Honourable Dave Hancock
4. The Honourable Rachel Notley
5. The Honourable Jason Kenney
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta: Nathan Cooper
Ambassadors and high commissioners accredited to Canada
Members of the Executive Council of Alberta, in relative order of precedence as determined by the premier
Leader of the Official Opposition: Rachel Notley
Current members of the King's Privy Council for Canada resident in Alberta, with precedence given to current members of the federal cabinet
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta with precedence governed by the date of their first election to the Legislature
Members of the Senate of Canada, who represent Alberta by date of appointment
1. The Honourable Douglas Black
2. The Honourable Scott Tannas
3. The Honourable Patti LaBoucane-Benson
4. The Honourable Paula Simons
Members of the House of Commons of Canada who represent Alberta constituencies by date of election
Superior court justices
1. Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta: The Honourable Justice M.T. Moreau
2. Justices of the Court of Appeal of Alberta
3. Justices of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta
Heads of religious denominations
Heads of consular posts: consuls-general; consuls; vice-consuls; consular agents
Judges of the Provincial Court of Alberta
1. Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta
2. Other judges by seniority of appointment
Mayors of Alberta municipalities
Aboriginal Leaders
1. Chiefs of the Treaty First Nations in Alberta, in order of seniority of election to office;
2. President of Métis Settlements General Council
3. President of Métis Nation of Alberta: Audrey Poitras
Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
Ombudsman
Provincial Auditor
Chief Electoral Officer: Glen Resler
Ethics Commissioner: Marguerite Trussler
Information and Privacy Commissioner: Jill Clayton
Deputy Ministers
Senior Alberta government officials with rank of Deputy Minister as determined by the Executive Council
Chief executive officers of Crown corporations
Leadership of Alberta universities
1. Chancellor of the University of Alberta: Ralph B. Young
2. Chancellor of the University of Calgary: Jim Dinning
3. Chancellor of the University of Lethbridge: Shirley McClellan
4. Chairman of the Board, University of Alberta
5. Chairman of the Board, University of Calgary
6. Chairman of the Board, University of Lethbridge
7. Chairman of the Board, Athabasca University
8. Chairman of the Board, Mount Royal University
9. Chairman of the Board, MacEwan University
10. President of the University of Alberta: David H. Turpin
11. President of the University of Calgary: Ed McCauley
12. President of the University of Lethbridge: Michael J. Mahon
13. President of Athabasca University: Frits Pannekoek
14. President of Mount Royal University: David Docherty
15. President of Grant MacEwan University: David W. Atkinson
Police and military
1. Commanding Officer, "K" Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Curtis Zablocki
2. Commander, 3rd Canadian Division: Brigadier-General W.H. Fletcher
3. Commanding Officer, HMCS Nonsuch
4. Commanding Officer, 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group
5. Commanding Officer, 1 Area Support Group
6. Commanding Officer, 41 Canadian Brigade Group
7. Commanding Officer, 4 Wing

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The Yukon order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the territory of Yukon. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a territorial nature.

The King of Canada
The Governor General of Canada
The Commissioner of Yukon
Members of the Canadian Royal Family
The Premier of Yukon
The Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly
The Justices of the Supreme Court of Yukon
Members of the Executive Council of Yukon
The Leader of the Official Opposition
Members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly with precedence governed by the date of their first election to the Legislature
Member of the Senate for the Yukon
Member of Parliament for the Yukon
Yukon First Nation Chiefs and Council of Yukon First Nations
Bishops of Roman Catholic and Anglican faiths with precedence determined by order of appointment
R.C.M.P. Divisional Commanding Officer
Armed Forces Commander
Judges of the Territorial Court of Yukon
The Mayor of Whitehorse
Yukon Government Deputy Ministers and senior Yukon Government officials with the status of Deputy Ministers, with precedence according to the respective dates of their appointments to the position

The New Brunswick order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of New Brunswick. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

The King of Canada
The Lieutenant Governor
The Premier
The Chief Justice of New Brunswick
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Former Lieutenant Governors
Former Premiers
Former Chief Justices of New Brunswick
Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Ministers Plenipotentiary, and Chargé d'Affaires with precedence to their date of appointment
Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick with precedence in accordance with the Executive Council Act
Leader of the Opposition
Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench
Members of the Senate
Members of the House of Commons
Judges of the Court of Appeal with precedence according to their date of appointment
Judges of the Court of King's Bench with precedence according to their date of appointment
Members of the Legislative Assembly in the following order: Deputy Speaker, Government House Leader, Opposition House Leader, Leaders of Unofficial Opposition Parties, other members with precedence according to their date and order of their swearing in as Members of the Legislature
Elders and Chiefs of New Brunswick Indian Bands
Leaders of religious denominations with precedence according to their date of appointment or election to the present office
Chief Judge of the Provincial Court
Judges of the Provincial Court with precedence according to their date of appointment
Members of the Consular Corps in the following order: Consuls General, Consuls, Vice- Consuls, Honorary Consuls and Consular Agents with precedence among themselves according to their date of appointment
Mayors of the Cities of New Brunswick in the following order: Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton, Edmundston, Campbellton, Bathurst, Miramichi and Dieppe
Mayors of the Towns of New Brunswick with precedence among themselves according to the alphabetical order of the place-names
Mayors of the Villages of New Brunswick with precedence according to the alphabetical order of the place-names
Councillors of the Cities, Towns, and Villages of New Brunswick in the same order of precedence among themselves according to the alphabetical order of their surnames
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
Ombudsman
Auditor General
Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick
Clerk of the Executive Council
Deputy Heads of the Civil Service, with precedence according to their date of appointment
Heads of Crown Corporations and Agencies, with precedence according to their date of appointment
Assistant Commissioner of "J" Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Commander of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown
Chancellors of New Brunswick Universities in the following order: University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University, St. Thomas University and Université de Moncton
Presidents of the Universities of New Brunswick in the same order of precedence as the Chancellors

The Prince Edward Island order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Prince Edward Island. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

The King of Canada
The Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, or, in her official absence, the Administrator
The Premier of Prince Edward Island
The mayor or other elected senior official of an incorporated municipality when the ceremony or event is hosted by or particularly involves that municipality
The Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Former lieutenant governors, with relative precedence governed by their date of leaving office
Former premiers, with relative precedence governed by their date of leaving office
Members of the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island
Justices of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, with relative precedence governed by date of appointment
The Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island
Judges of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island, with relative precedence governed by date of appointment
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Members of the Senate of Canada
Members of the House of Commons of Canada
Mayors or other elected senior officials of incorporated municipalities outside their municipality, alphabetically by municipality name
The Bishop of Charlottetown, the Bishop of Nova Scotia and the President of the Queens County Ministerial Association, with relative precedence governed by date of appointment or election
The Senior Officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Prince Edward Island
The President of the University of Prince Edward Island
Deputy heads of departments, agencies, commissions and offices of the Provincial Government, with relative precedence governed by date of initial appointment as a Deputy Head

The Saskatchewan order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.

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References

↑ McIlroy, Tom (26 February 2015). "Canberra's diplomatic mistake – 25 years in the making". The Canberra Times . Retrieved 8 July 2015.

Table of Precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia– as Gazetted in Commonwealth Gazette C2022G00834 on Thursday 1 September 2022.

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[1] McIlroy, Tom (26 February 2015). "Canberra's diplomatic mistake – 25 years in the making". The Canberra Times . Retrieved 8 July 2015.

[1]