The Attorney-GeneralThe title is officially "Attorney-General". For the purposes of distinguishing the office from other attorneys-general, and in accordance with usual practice in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other common law jurisdictions, the Australian Attorney-General uses the term "Attorney-General for Australia" or the "Commonwealth Attorney-General": se
Attorney-General website
Historically, "Attorney-General of Australia" was also used. for Australia is the First Law Officer of the Crown in right of the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a

minister of state Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

. The attorney-general is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but need not be. Under the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, they are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, and serve at the Governor-General's pleasure. In practice, the attorney-general is a party politician and their tenure is determined by political factors. By convention, but not constitutional requirement, the attorney-general is a lawyer by training (either a barrister or solicitor). It is one of only four ministerial positions (along with Prime Minister,

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

) that has existed since

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

. The current attorney-general is

Mark Dreyfus Mark Alfred Dreyfus (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. ...

MP, who was sworn in on 1 June 2022 as part of his cabinet following the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth cons ...

. Dreyfus is assisted in his portfolio by the Assistant Minister for the Republic held by

Matt Thistlethwaite Matthew James Thistlethwaite (born 6 September 1972) is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2013, representing the electorate of Kingsford Smith. He was formerl ...

History

The attorney-general is nearly always a person with legal training, and eleven former attorneys-general have received senior judicial appointments after their ministerial service. Billy Hughes was the longest-serving attorney-general of Australia, serving for thirteen and a half years over four non-consecutive terms; this included six years during his own prime ministership. Historically, the attorney-generalship was seen as a stepping stone to higher office – Alfred Deakin, Billy Hughes, and Robert Menzies all became prime minister, while John Latham,

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

, and Billy Snedden were leaders of the opposition.

Lionel Bowen Lionel Frost Bowen, AC (28 December 1922 – 1 April 2012) was an Australian politician and senior Labor Party figure, serving in the ministries of Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 199 ...

was

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

under Bob Hawke in the 1980s. Additionally, four former attorneys-general have won appointment to the High Court –

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of Au ...

, H. B. Higgins, John Latham,

Garfield Barwick Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, (22 June 190313 July 1997) was an Australian judge who was the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1964 to 1981. He had earlier been a Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Part ...

, and

Lionel Murphy Lionel Keith Murphy QC (30 August 1922 – 21 October 1986) was an Australian politician, barrister, and judge. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1975, serving as Attorney-General in the Whitlam Government, and then sat on the ...

. Isaacs later became governor-general.

Role and functions

Role

The attorney-general is the minister responsible for legal affairs, national and public security. The attorney-general also serves as a general legal adviser to the Cabinet, and has carriage of legislation dealing with copyright, human rights and a range of other subjects. They are responsible for the

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

Functions

Functions of the state and federal attorneys-general include the administration of the selection of persons for nomination to judicial posts and the authorizing of prosecutions. In normal circumstances, the prosecutorial powers of the attorney-general are exercised by the Director of Public Prosecutions and staff; however, the attorney-general maintains formal control—including the power to initiate and terminate public prosecutions and take over private prosecutions. Statutory criminal law provides that prosecutions for certain offences require the individual consent of the attorney-general. This is generally for offences whose illegality is of a somewhat controversial nature or where there is perceived to be a significant risk that prosecutions of a political nature may be embarked upon. The attorney-general also generally has the power to issue certificates legally conclusive of certain facts (e.g., that the revelation of certain matters in court proceedings might constitute a risk to national security); the facts stated in such certificates must be accepted by the courts and cannot legally be disputed by any parties. The attorney-general also has the power to issue a '' nolle prosequi'' with respect to a case, which authoritatively determines that the state (in whose name prosecutions are brought) does not wish to prosecute the case, so preventing any person from doing so.

Relationship with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

''See:

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vi ...

List of attorneys-general

The following individuals have been appointed as attorney-general for Australia: Notes : A member of the Protectionist Party, Higgins served in the Labor ministry of Chris Watson, because Labor had no suitably qualified lawyer in Parliament. : Hughes took silk in 1909, and became a King's Counsel. : Whitlam served as part of a two-man ministry together with

Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...

for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned. : Prime Minister Paul Keating's original choice for Attorney-General in 1993 had been

Michael Lavarch Michael Hugh Lavarch AO (born 8 June 1961) is an Australian lawyer, educator and former politician. He was the Attorney-General for Australia between 1993 and 1996, and from 2004 to 2012 was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Queensland U ...

, but Lavarch's re-election was delayed by the death of an opposing candidate for the seat of Dickson;

Duncan Kerr Duncan James Colquhoun Kerr, SC (born 26 February 1952) is a barrister. He is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He also served as President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 2012 to 2017. Kerr was previously a pol ...

held the portfolio in the interim until Lavarch won the resulting supplementary election. Kerr served as Attorney-General for 26 days. There was no Attorney-General for the eight days between Duffy's commission ending on 24 March 1993 and Kerr's commission commencing on 1 April 1993. : Gallagher served as part of an interim five-person ministry for nine days, until the full ministry was commissioned.

List of assistant ministers for the republic

The position is responsible for the Albanese government's policy of establishing a republic and is the first Commonwealth portfolio for republic policy.

Attorneys-general of the states and territories

The Australian states each have separate attorneys-general, who are state ministers with similar responsibilities to the federal minister with respect to state law. For attorneys-general of the various states and territories of Australia, see: *

Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory The Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for the Australian Capital Territory, is the primary Law Officer of the Crown in the Australian Capital Territory. The Attorn ...

Attorney-General of New South Wales The Attorney General of New South Wales, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales and usually known simply as the Attorney General, is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibili ...

Attorney-General of the Northern Territory The Attorney-General of the Northern Territory, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for the Northern Territory, is the primary Law Officers of the Crown, Law Officer of the Crown in the Northern Territory. The Attorney ...

Attorney-General of Queensland The Attorney-General of Queensland is a ministry of the Government of Queensland with responsibility for the state's legal and justice system. The current Attorney-General of Queensland is Shannon Fentiman Shannon Maree Fentiman is an Aust ...

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

Attorney-General of Tasmania The Attorney-General of Tasmania is a ministry of the Government of Tasmania with responsibility for the state's courts and tribunals. The Attorney General is a senior minister in the state government and the First Law Officer of the State. T ...

Attorney-General of Victoria The Attorney-General of Victoria, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for Victoria, is a minister in the Government of Victoria, Australia. The Attorney-General is a senior minister in the state government and the Firs ...

Attorney-General of Western Australia The Attorney-General of Western Australia is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of law and justice. Before the advent of representative government in 1870 ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...