Administrator (Australia)

Section 4 of the Australian Constitution provides that:

The provisions of this Constitution relating to the Governor-General extend and apply to the Governor-General for the time being, or such person as the Queen may appoint to administer the Government of the Commonwealth; but no such person shall be entitled to receive any salary from the Commonwealth in respect of any other office during his administration of the Government of the Commonwealth.[1]

Accordingly, an Administrator is appointed when the Governor-General dies, resigns or is absent from Australia. The Administrator is styled either Administrator of the Commonwealth or, less commonly, Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth. By convention, the Administrator is usually the longest serving state governor, who holds a dormant commission from the sovereign (currently Elizabeth II).

There have been four separate occasions during which a governor of one of the states has ascended to the office of Governor-General by dormant commission due to unforeseen circumstances:

• 17 July 1902 – 9 January 1903; Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, Governor of South Australia since April 1899, was appointed by Edward VII to the office after the sudden resignation of the Earl of Hopetoun. After several months acting in the position, Baron Tennyson was appointed to the office of Governor-General permanently, which is to date the only occasion on which this has occurred.
• 2 October 1930 – 21 January 1931; Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, who had been the Governor of Victoria since June 1926, became Governor-General by dormant commission after the term of The Viscount Stonehaven expired and he left Australia. Sir Isaac Isaacs, the Chief Justice of Australia since April 1930, was appointed to the position permanently. Lord Somers retired as Governor of Victoria later that year.
• 3 February 1961 – 3 August 1961; General Sir Dallas Brooks, Governor of Victoria since October 1949, ascended to the position by the power of a dormant commission after the death of The Viscount Dunrossil. Lord De L'Isle was appointed as Governor-General a few months later in August 1961. Brooks retired as Governor of Victoria in May 1963.
• 28 May 2003 – 11 August 2003; After Peter Hollingworth announced his resignation and his commission was withdrawn by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Guy Green, who had been Governor of Tasmania since October 1995, assumed the position by dormant commission. Prime Minister John Howard announced his replacement, Michael Jeffery, in mid-2003, and he took office in August. Green retired as Governor of Tasmania later that year.

On 11 May 2003, the letters patent commissioning the Governor-General were amended to enable Peter Hollingworth to stand aside as Governor-General following a controversy about his past handling of child abuse allegations,[2] and Tasmanian Governor Guy Green was appointed Administrator[3] until Hollingworth's permanent replacement (Major-Gen Michael Jeffery) took office on 8 August 2003.[4]

The present longest serving state governor is Paul de Jersey who has been Governor of Queensland since 29 July 2014 and holds the dormant commission to act as the Administrator of the Commonwealth when the Governor-General is absent from Australia.[5] The second-longest serving state governor is Hieu Van Le who has been Governor of South Australia since 1 September 2014.

In the Australian states, when the governor dies, resigns or is absent, the lieutenant-governor (appointed by the governor on the advice of the state premier) performs the official duties of the governor as administrator until a new governor is appointed. In the absence of both a governor and lieutenant-governor, the chief of the state's supreme court or the next most senior puisne judge, traditionally holding, ex officio, the position of lieutenant-governor, assumes his or her position as head of the executive until a governor is appointed.[6] In 2001, the Constitution of Queensland was amended to restore the office of lieutenant-governor in that state.

Unlike the Australian states, each of which is a possession of the Crown in its own right and which therefore possesses a governor directly representing the Queen, all Australian territories are possessions of the Crown in right of the Commonwealth of Australia and the sole direct representative of the Crown therefore remains the Commonwealth Governor-General. Unlike the states, the territories fall within the exclusive legislative and administrative competence of the Commonwealth. In respect of several territories the Governor-General is represented in the territory by an Administrator appointed to administer the territory on his or her behalf. In those territories with an Administrator, the Administrator can be considered the indirect representative of the Queen in the territory.

In Australia, local government areas are the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, and in cases where the state government has been obliged to dismiss or suspend the operations of local government in an area, an Administrator is appointed to take the place of the elected mayor and councillors. In New South Wales, with 132 local government authorities in 2016, the powers of an Administrator is set out in the Local Government Act 1993. Prominent recent examples of NSW councils being operated by administrators include: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (2008–2012), City of Wollongong (2008–2012), Tweed Shire (2005–2008), Warringah Council (1965–1967, 1985–1987, 2003–2008), and Central Coast Council (2020-present).

• Letters Patent Relating to the Office of Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
• Office of the Administrator of the Northern Territory