Attorney-General of Australia
The attorney-general of Australia (AG) is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia and chief law officer of state, charged with overseeing the national legal affairs and public security as the head of the Attorney-General’s Department. The current attorney-general is Mark Dreyfus, who was appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election. By convention, the attorney-general is a lawyer by profession, being either a barrister or solicitor.
| Attorney-General of Australia | |
|---|---|
| Attorney-General's Department | |
| Style | The Honourable (formal) Attorney-General (spoken) |
| Member of | Cabinet of Australia Federal Executive Council National Security Committee Indigenous Policy Committee Governance Committee |
| Reports to | Prime Minister |
| Seat | Canberra, ACT |
| Nominator | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | Governor-General on the advice of the prime minister |
| Term length | At the Governor-General's pleasure |
| Constituting instrument | Section 64, Constitution of Australia |
| Formation | 1 January 1901 |
| First holder | Alfred Deakin |
| Salary | $336,599.25 (AUD) |
| Website | ministers |
The Attorney-General is one of only four positions in the commonwealth government to have continuously been held since federation, along with the prime minister, the minister for Defence and the treasurer.
The current attorney-general is assisted in his portfolio by the Assistant Minister for the Republic held by Matt Thistlethwaite.