President of the Australian Senate facts for kids

Quick facts for kids President of the Senate
Flag of Australia
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Incumbent Sue Lines since 26 July 2022
Australian Senate
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Elected by the Senate
Inaugural holder	Sir Richard Baker
Formation	9 May 1901
Deputy	Senator Slade Brockman
Salary	A$369,674
Website	aph.gov.au

The president of the Senate is the person in charge of the Australian Senate. The Senate is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia, known as the upper house. The other house, called the House of Representatives, has a similar leader called the speaker.

The job of the president of the Senate was created in 1901 by the Constitution of Australia. The president's main jobs are to lead the meetings, or debates, in the Senate. They decide which senators get to speak and make sure everyone follows the rules of conduct. The current president is Sue Lines, who started her role on July 26, 2022.

At the beginning of a new term of Parliament, or if the job becomes empty, the senators vote to choose one of their own members to be the new president. Usually, the person chosen is from the same political party that forms the government.

The president's most important task is to keep the Senate's meetings orderly. Unlike the speaker in the other house, the president of the Senate gets to vote on laws just like any other senator. However, if there is a tie in the votes, the president does not get an extra "casting vote" to break the tie. In this case, the law or motion does not pass.

How the President is Chosen

Rules from the Constitution

Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia explains how the president is chosen. It says:

The Senate shall, before proceeding to the despatch of any other business, choose a senator to be the President of the Senate; and as often as the office of President becomes vacant the Senate shall again choose a senator to be the President. The President shall cease to hold his office if he ceases to be a senator. He may be removed from office by a vote of the Senate, or he may resign his office or his seat by writing addressed to the Governor-General.

This means the very first thing the Senate must do is elect a president. If the president stops being a senator, they also stop being the president. Senators can also vote to remove a president or the president can choose to resign.

The Election Process

The president is elected using a secret ballot, which means no one knows who each senator voted for. The Clerk of the Senate, a senior official, runs the election.

The job of president is a political one. The party that forms the government usually nominates one of its senators, and that person is almost always elected. The main opposition party then usually nominates a senator to be the deputy president. If no one else is nominated, an election isn't needed.

What the President Does

Duties in Parliament

The president's main job is to run the Senate meetings. They make sure the rules, called Standing Orders, are followed. They also protect the rights of all senators, especially those who are not in leadership positions (known as backbenchers).

The president has help from the deputy president and other acting deputies. These helpers often take over during normal debates. The Senate is usually calmer than other government chambers in Australia, so the president rarely needs to use their powers to discipline senators.

When it's time to vote, the president votes just like any other senator. They don't get a special tie-breaking vote. This is because the Senate is designed to represent the states equally. Giving the president an extra vote would give their state more power than the others.

Administrative Duties

The president is also in charge of the Department of the Senate, which is one of the four departments that help the Parliament run smoothly. The president helps manage the budget and staff for this department. They also work with the speaker of the House of Representatives to manage Parliament House and its services.

Ceremonial Duties

The president of the Senate is a very important person and has a high rank in official government events. They take part in the state opening of parliament and represent Australia when they visit other countries or when leaders from other nations visit Australia.

Salary

Like all members of parliament, the president's salary is set by an independent group called the Remuneration Tribunal. As of 2019, a senator's basic salary was A$211,242 per year. The president gets an extra 75% of this amount for their leadership role. This brings their total salary to about A$369,674 per year. They also receive other allowances to help with their work.

List of Presidents of the Senate

Since 1901, there have been 27 presidents of the Senate. Interestingly, more presidents have come from Australia's smaller states (Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania) and the Australian Capital Territory than from the larger states.

No.	Image	Name	Party		State	Term start	Term end
1		Sir Richard Baker		Free Trade	South Australia	9 May 1901	31 December 1906
2		(Sir) Albert Gould		Free Trade / Anti-Socialist	New South Wales	20 February 1907	30 June 1910
				Liberal
3		Harry Turley		Labor	Queensland	1 July 1910	8 July 1913
4		Thomas Givens		Labor	Queensland	9 July 1913	30 June 1926
				National Labor
				Nationalist
5		Sir John Newlands		Nationalist	South Australia	1 July 1926	13 August 1929
6		Walter Kingsmill		Nationalist	Western Australia	14 August 1929	30 August 1932
				United Australia
7		Patrick Lynch		United Australia	Western Australia	31 August 1932	30 June 1938
8		John Hayes		United Australia	Tasmania	1 July 1938	30 June 1941
9		James Cunningham		Labor	Western Australia	1 July 1941	4 July 1943
10		Gordon Brown		Labor	Queensland	23 September 1943	19 March 1951
11		Ted Mattner		Liberal	South Australia	12 June 1951	7 September 1953
12		(Sir) Alister McMullin		Liberal	New South Wales	8 September 1953	30 June 1971
13		Sir Magnus Cormack		Liberal	Victoria	17 August 1971	11 April 1974
14		Justin O'Byrne		Labor	Tasmania	9 July 1974	11 November 1975
15		(Sir) Condor Laucke		Liberal	South Australia	17 February 1976	30 June 1981
16		(Sir) Harold Young		Liberal	South Australia	18 August 1981	4 February 1983
17		Doug McClelland		Labor	New South Wales	21 April 1983	23 January 1987
18		Kerry Sibraa		Labor	New South Wales	17 February 1987	31 January 1994
19		Michael Beahan		Labor	Western Australia	1 February 1994	30 June 1996
20		Margaret Reid		Liberal	ACT	20 August 1996	18 August 2002
21		Paul Calvert		Liberal	Tasmania	19 August 2002	14 August 2007
22		Alan Ferguson		Liberal	South Australia	14 August 2007	25 August 2008
23		John Hogg		Labor	Queensland	26 August 2008	30 June 2014
24		Stephen Parry		Liberal	Tasmania	7 July 2014	2 November 2017
25		Scott Ryan		Liberal	Victoria	13 November 2017	13 October 2021
26		Slade Brockman		Liberal	Western Australia	18 October 2021	26 July 2022
27		Sue Lines		Labor	Western Australia	26 July 2022	Incumbent

Deputy President

Slade Brockman (Lib), deputy president of the Senate since July 2025

The Senate also elects a Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. This person helps the president and takes over when the president is absent. They also lead meetings when the whole Senate acts as one big committee to discuss the details of a bill.

This role is not in the Constitution but is part of the Senate's own rules. The title used to be just "Chairman of Committees" but was changed in 1981 to better describe what the job involves.

List of Deputy Presidents

There have been 38 deputy presidents of the Senate. Some have served more than once.

See also

In Spanish: Presidente del Senado de Australia para niños

• Clerk of the Australian Senate