Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia
Coat of arms of Australia
Flag of Australia
Incumbent Anthony Albanese since 23 May 2022
Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Style	Prime Minister (informal) The Honourable[1] (formal) His Excellency[2] (diplomatic)
Status	Head of government
Member of	House of Representatives Cabinet
Reports to	Governor-General Parliament
Residence	The Lodge (primary) Kirribilli House (secondary)
Seat	Office of the Prime Minister, Parliament House
Appointer	Governor-General[3] (according to the wishes of the House of Representatives)
Formation	1 January 1901; 123 years ago (1901-01-01)[3]
First holder	Edmund Barton[3]
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister
Salary	$586,930 (2023)[4]
Website	pm.gov.au

The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet and thus heads the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both a member and responsible to Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.^[5][6]

Formally appointed by the governor-general, the role and duties of the prime minister are not described by the Australian constitution but rather defined by constitutional convention deriving from the Westminster system and responsible government. Prime ministers do not have a set duration or number of terms, but an individual's term generally ends when their political party loses a federal election, or they lose or relinquish the leadership of their party.

The office of prime minister comes with various privileges, including the use of two official residences: The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney, as well as an office at Parliament House.

Thirty-one people (thirty men and one woman) have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Edmund Barton taking office on 1 January 1901 following federation of the British colonies in Australia. The longest-serving prime minister was Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the shortest-serving was Frank Forde, who served one week.