Leader of the Opposition (Australia) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leader of the Opposition
Flag of Australia
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Incumbent Sussan Ley since 13 May 2025
Opposition of Australia Shadow Cabinet of Australia
Member of	Shadow Cabinet Parliament
Reports to	Parliament
Term length	While leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government
Inaugural holder	George Reid
Formation	1901
Salary	$390,000

In Australian federal politics, the Leader of the Opposition is an elected member of parliament (MP) in the Australian House of Representatives who leads the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition, by convention, is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.

When in parliament, the opposition leader sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the opposition and opposite the prime minister. The opposition leader is elected by his or her party according to its rules. A new leader of the opposition may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and is based on the Westminster model. The term "opposition" has a specific meaning in the parliamentary sense. It is an important component of the Westminster system, with the opposition directing criticism at the government and attempts to defeat and replace the Government. The opposition is therefore known as the "government in waiting" and it is a formal part of the parliamentary system. It is in opposition to the government, but not to the Crown; hence the term "His Majesty's Loyal Opposition".

To date there have been 35 opposition leaders, 19 of whom also have served terms as prime minister.

Since 13 May 2025, the Leader of the Opposition role is Sussan Ley, the first woman to hold the role. The current Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Ted O'Brien, who was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party on the same date.

Role

The opposition leader is the opposition's counterpart to the prime minister. The opposition leader is expected to be ready to form a new government if the incumbent government is unable to continue in office. This typically occurs when the opposition wins a federal election, after which the opposition leader is appointed prime minister. However, the opposition leader may also be called upon to form government if the incumbent government loses the confidence of the House (most recently in 1941) or if they are otherwise removed by the governor-general (most recently in 1975).

The opposition leader is the head of the shadow ministry, allocating portfolios and, in the case of the Coalition, determining its membership. The opposition leader is assisted by a deputy leader of the opposition, who is also recognised in the standing orders and entitled to an additional salary. Both the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader are entitled to a degree of special preference from the Speaker of the House.

The position of opposition leader has no constitutional basis but exists as a matter of convention in the Westminster system. A 1960 inquiry into parliamentary salaries and allowances observed:

The Leader of the Opposition has to make himself master of all the business which comes before the House (not merely that of one or two departments); he has to do this at times at short notice and under constant pressure; and he gets no help from permanent officials. At all times he is the spokesman for those who are critical of or opposed to the Government, and he must be unceasingly vigilant and active. He and the Prime Minister should be the most powerful agents in guiding and forming public opinion on issues of policy.

Whereas according to the Coalition agreement the Leader of the National Party serves as Deputy Prime Minister when the Coalition is in government, no such agreement exists when the Coalition is in Opposition, and no National Party politician has ever served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

History

Billy Snedden and Andrew Peacock on 12 October 1973. Both served as Opposition Leader, but never became Prime Minister.

George Reid became the de facto leader of the opposition in the lead-up to the inaugural 1901 federal election, following the appointment of Edmund Barton to lead a caretaker government as Australia's first prime minister. His status was confirmed when the House of Representatives met for the first time after the election. The opposition leader was initially not entitled to any salary or entitlements beyond those of an ordinary member of parliament. As a result, Reid had to maintain his legal practice in Sydney to support himself and was able to attend just over one-third of the sitting days in the first session of parliament.

Although the role was firmly established, the House did not formally recognise the position of opposition leader in its records until 1920. It was recognised by statute for the first time with the passage of the Parliamentary Allowances Act 1920, which granted its holder an additional allowance. Prime Minister Andrew Fisher had previously offered Opposition Leader Alfred Deakin an allowance in 1910. Deakin declined, but did accept a paid secretary. In 1931, the office was incorporated into the House's standing orders for the first time, with the opposition leader granted the right to exceed the time limit for speeches in certain instances.

Salary

The opposition leader's salary is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent statutory body. As of 1 July 2019, the incumbent is entitled to a parliamentarian's base salary of A$211,250 plus an additional 85% loading, equating to a salary of around $390,000.

List of leaders of the opposition

No.	Leader		Party		Constituency	Took office	Left office	Prime Minister		Ref
1	George Reid			Free Trade	East Sydney (NSW)	19 May 1901	17 August 1904		Barton 1901–03
									Deakin 1903–04
									Watson 1904
2	Chris Watson			Labor	Bland (NSW)	18 August 1904	5 July 1905		Reid 1904–05
(1)	George Reid			Free Trade / Anti-Socialist	East Sydney (NSW)	7 July 1905	16 November 1908		Deakin 1905–08
									Fisher 1908–09
3	Joseph Cook			Anti-Socialist	Parramatta (NSW)	17 November 1908	26 May 1909
4	Alfred Deakin			Liberal	Ballaarat (Vic)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909
5	Andrew Fisher			Labor	Wide Bay (Qld)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910		Deakin 1909
(4)	Alfred Deakin			Liberal	Ballaarat (Vic)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913		Fisher 1910–13
(3)	Joseph Cook				Parramatta (NSW)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913
(5)	Andrew Fisher			Labor	Wide Bay (Qld)	8 July 1913	17 September 1914		Cook 1913–14
(3)	Joseph Cook			Liberal	Parramatta (NSW)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917		Fisher 1914–15
									Hughes 1915–23
6	Frank Tudor			Labor	Yarra (Vic)	17 February 1917	10 January 1922
7	Matthew Charlton				Hunter (NSW)	25 January 1922	29 March 1928
									Bruce 1923–29
8	James Scullin				Yarra (Vic)	29 March 1928	22 October 1929
9	John Latham			Nationalist	Kooyong (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931		Scullin 1929–32
10	Joseph Lyons			United Australia	Wilmot (Tas)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932
(8)	James Scullin			Labor	Yarra (Vic)	6 January 1932	1 October 1935		Lyons 1932–39
11	John Curtin				Fremantle (WA)	1 October 1935	7 October 1941
									Page 1939
									Menzies 1939–41
									Fadden 1941
12	Arthur Fadden			Country	Darling Downs (Qld)	7 October 1941	23 September 1943		Curtin 1941–45
13	Robert Menzies			United Australia	Kooyong (Vic)	23 September 1943	19 December 1949
				Liberal					Forde 1945
									Chifley 1945–49
14	Ben Chifley			Labor	Macquarie (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951		Menzies 1949–66
15	H. V. Evatt				Barton (NSW) 1940–58 Hunter (NSW) 1958–60	20 June 1951	9 February 1960
16	Arthur Calwell				Melbourne (Vic)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967
									Holt 1966–67
17	Gough Whitlam				Werriwa (NSW)	8 February 1967	2 December 1972
									McEwen 1967–68
									Gorton 1968–71
									McMahon 1971–72
18	Billy Snedden			Liberal	Bruce (Vic)	20 December 1972	21 March 1975		Whitlam 1972–75
19	Malcolm Fraser				Wannon (Vic)	21 March 1975	11 November 1975
(17)	Gough Whitlam			Labor	Werriwa (NSW)	11 November 1975	22 December 1977		Fraser 1975–83
20	Bill Hayden				Oxley (Qld)	22 December 1977	8 February 1983
21	Bob Hawke				Wills (Vic)	8 February 1983	11 March 1983
22	Andrew Peacock			Liberal	Kooyong (Vic)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985		Hawke 1983–91
23	John Howard				Bennelong (NSW)	5 September 1985	9 May 1989
(22)	Andrew Peacock				Kooyong (Vic)	9 May 1989	3 April 1990
24	John Hewson				Wentworth (NSW)	3 April 1990	23 May 1994
									Keating 1991–96
25	Alexander Downer				Mayo (SA)	23 May 1994	30 January 1995
(23)	John Howard				Bennelong (NSW)	30 January 1995	11 March 1996
26	Kim Beazley			Labor	Brand (WA)	19 March 1996	22 November 2001		Howard 1996–07
27	Simon Crean				Hotham (Vic)	22 November 2001	2 December 2003
28	Mark Latham				Werriwa (NSW)	2 December 2003	18 January 2005
(26)	Kim Beazley				Brand (WA)	28 January 2005	4 December 2006
29	Kevin Rudd				Griffith (Qld)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007
30	Brendan Nelson			Liberal	Bradfield (NSW)	3 December 2007	16 September 2008		Rudd 2007–10
31	Malcolm Turnbull				Wentworth (NSW)	16 September 2008	1 December 2009
32	Tony Abbott				Warringah (NSW)	1 December 2009	18 September 2013
									Gillard 2010–13
									Rudd 2013
33	Bill Shorten			Labor	Maribyrnong (Vic)	13 October 2013	30 May 2019		Abbott 2013–15
									Turnbull 2015–18
									Morrison 2018–22
34	Anthony Albanese				Grayndler (NSW)	30 May 2019	23 May 2022
35	Peter Dutton			Liberal	Dickson (Qld)	30 May 2022	3 May 2025		Albanese 2022–
36	Sussan Ley				Farrer (NSW)	13 May 2025	Incumbent

Timeline

List of deputy leaders of the opposition

Deputy Leader		Party		Constituency	Took office	Left office	Leader		Ref
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909		Deakin 1909
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910		Fisher 1909–10
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913		Deakin 1910–13
Sir John Forrest				Swan (WA)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913		Cook 1913
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	8 July 1913	7 September 1914		Fisher 1913–14
Sir John Forrest			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Swan (WA)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917		Cook 1914–17
Albert Gardiner			Labor Party	Senator for New South Wales (NSW)	17 February 1917	March 1927		Tudor 1917–22
								Charlton 1922–28
James Scullin				Yarra (Vic)	17 March 1927	29 March 1928
Arthur Blakeley				Darling (NSW)	29 March 1928	1929		Scullin 1928–29
Ted Theodore				Dalley (NSW)	1929	22 October 1929
Henry Gullett			Nationalist Party	Henty (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931		Latham 1929–31
John Latham			United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932		Lyons 1931–32
Frank Forde			Labor Party	Capricornia (Qld)	7 January 1932	7 October 1941		Scullin 1932–35
								Curtin 1935–41
Billy Hughes			United Australia Party	North Sydney (NSW)	9 October 1941	14 April 1944		Fadden 1941–43
								Menzies 1943–49
Eric Harrison				Wentworth (NSW)	14 April 1944	19 December 1949
			Liberal Party
H. V. Evatt			Labor Party	Barton (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951		Chifley 1949–51
Arthur Calwell				Melbourne (Vic)	13 June 1951	9 February 1960		Evatt 1951–60
Gough Whitlam				Werriwa (NSW)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967		Calwell 1960–67
Lance Barnard				Bass (Tas)	8 February 1967	5 December 1972		Whitlam 1967–72
Phillip Lynch			Liberal Party	Flinders (Vic)	20 December 1972	11 November 1975		Snedden 1972–75
								Fraser 1975
Frank Crean			Labor Party	Melbourne Ports (Vic)	11 November 1975	22 December 1975		Whitlam 1975–77
Tom Uren				Reid (NSW)	22 December 1975	22 December 1977
Lionel Bowen				Kingsford Smith (NSW)	22 December 1977	11 March 1983		Hayden 1977–83
								Hawke 1983
John Howard			Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985		Peacock 1983–85
Neil Brown				Menzies (Vic)	5 September 1985	17 July 1987		Howard 1985–89
Andrew Peacock				Kooyong (Vic)	17 July 1987	9 May 1989
Fred Chaney				Senator for Western Australia (WA) 1989–90 Pearce (WA) 1990	9 May 1989	24 March 1990		Peacock 1989–90
Peter Reith				Flinders (Vic)	24 March 1990	13 March 1993		Hewson 1990–94
Michael Wooldridge				Chisholm (Vic)	13 March 1993	23 May 1994
Peter Costello				Higgins (Vic)	23 May 1994	19 March 1996		Downer 1994–95
								Howard 1995–96
Gareth Evans			Labor Party	Holt (Vic)	19 March 1996	19 October 1998		Beazley 1996–2001
Simon Crean				Hotham (Vic)	19 October 1998	22 November 2001
Jenny Macklin				Jagajaga (Vic)	22 November 2001	18 September 2006		Crean 2001–03
								Latham 2003–05
								Beazley 2005–06
Julia Gillard				Lalor (Vic)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007		Rudd 2006–07
Julie Bishop			Liberal Party	Curtin (WA)	3 December 2007	18 September 2013		Nelson 2007–08
								Turnbull 2008–09
								Abbott 2009–13
Tanya Plibersek			Labor Party	Sydney (NSW)	14 October 2013	30 May 2019		Shorten 2013–19
Richard Marles				Corio (Vic)	30 May 2019	23 May 2022		Albanese 2019–22
Sussan Ley			Liberal Party	Farrer (NSW)	30 May 2022	13 May 2025		Dutton 2022–25
Ted O'Brien				Fairfax (Qld.)	13 May 2025	Incumbent		Ley 2025–

See also

In Spanish: Líder de la oposición (Australia) para niños

In the Australian House of Representatives, the Leader of the Opposition sits at the front table to the left of the Speaker's Chair (on the right-hand side in this photo).

• Prime Minister of Australia
• List of prime ministers of Australia
• Shadow Cabinet of Australia
• Politics of Australia