Governor-General of Australia - Method of Appointment

Method of Appointment

In practice, the selection of a governor-general is a matter for the Prime Minister of Australia, who may consult privately with staff or colleagues, or with the monarch. The person would also be approached privately to see if he or she is willing to accept the appointment.

The Prime Minister then provides the nomination to the monarch. The monarch may, in theory, decline the Prime Minister's advice and ask for another nomination or even appoint a person of his or her own choice, but no such cases have been recorded since November 1930, when James Scullin's proposed appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs was fiercely opposed by the British government. This was not because of any lack of regard for Isaacs personally, but because the British government considered that the choice of Governors-General was (since the 1926 Imperial Conference) a matter for the monarch's decision alone. (However, it became very clear in a conversation between Scullin and King George V's Private Secretary, Lord Stamfordham, on 11 November 1930, that this was merely the official reason for the objection, the real reason being that an Australian, no matter how highly regarded personally, was not considered appropriate to be Governor-General.) Scullin was equally insistent that the monarch must act on the relevant Prime Minister's direct advice (the practice until 1926 was that Dominion prime ministers advised the monarch indirectly, through the British government, which effectively had a veto over any proposal it did not agree with). Scullin cited the precedents of the Prime Minister of South Africa, J. B. M. Hertzog, who had recently insisted on his choice of Lord Clarendon as Governor-General of that country, and the selection of an Irishman as Governor-General of the Irish Free State – both of these appointments were agreed to despite royal disfavour.

Despite these precedents, George V was still very reluctant to accept Scullin's recommendation of Sir Isaac Isaacs, and asked him to consider Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood. However, Scullin stood firm, and on 29 November the King agreed to Isaacs's appointment, but made it clear that he did so only because he felt he had no option. This right to not only advise the monarch directly, but also to expect that advice to be accepted, was soon taken up by all the other Dominion Prime Ministers. This, among other things, led to the Statute of Westminster 1931 and to the formal separation of the crowns of the Dominions. Now, the Queen of Australia is generally bound by constitutional convention to accept the advice of the Australian Prime Minister and state Premiers about Australian and state constitutional matters respectively, however the practice of Premiers advising the monarch has only become the convention since the passage of the Australia Acts (1986).

Having agreed to the appointment, the monarch then permits it to be publicly announced in advance, usually several months before the end of the current Governor-General's term. During these months, the person is referred to as the "Governor-General-designate". The actual appointment is made by the monarch. After receiving his or her commission, the Governor-General makes an Oath of Allegiance and an Oath of Office to the monarch, and issues a proclamation assuming office. The oaths are usually made in a ceremony on the floor of the Senate, and are administered by the Chief Justice of Australia.