| Parliament name |
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senate
|
| APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE |
| Title |
Speaker of the House of Representatives |
| Term |
- duration: 3 years (term of House)
- reasons for interruption of the term: death, dissolution of the House, loss of mandate as Representative, removal from office by a vote of the House, resignation |
| Appointment |
- elected by all Members present in the House
- election is held at the beginning of the first sitting of the newly elected House
- after the return of the election writs has been announced in the House and after Members have been sworn in |
| Eligibility |
- any Member of the HR present at the moment of election may be candidate
- the Clerk calls orally for nominations of candidates. Each motion must be seconded and each candidate must inform the House whether he/she accepts the nomination
- the former Speaker, if re-elected as a Member, may seek re-election as Speaker. The practice over years when the governing party has been returned to office following a general election has been to renominate as Speaker the former Speaker |
| Voting system |
- if there is more than 1 candidate, a formal vote by secret ballot is held
- a candidate must obtain the majority of the votes of the Members present. Each Member of the House writes the name of the candidate he/she prefers on the ballot
- if there are 2 candidates, only one round of voting is held. If there are more than 2 candidates and if no candidate obtains the majority at the first round, additional rounds are held. No new candidates are admitted between rounds. If no candidate obtains the majority, the candidate with the smallest number of votes is excluded. The process is repeated until one candidate obtains the majority |
| Procedures / results |
- the Clerk presides over the House during the voting
- if there is only one candidate nominated, the Clerk immediately declares that Member elected - if there are more candidates, the Clerk counts the votes
- the Clerk announces the results without any delay
- the result cannot be challenged |
| STATUS |
| Status |
- ranks after the Governor General, Governors of the Australian States, Prime Minister, the Premiers/Chief Ministers of his/her own State/Territory.
- the most senior presiding officer (by date of appointment) has precedence over the presiding officer of the other House. If both are elected on the same date, the President of the Senate has precedence.
- for joint sittings of the Houses, Presidents agree on rules for the conduct of the sittings
- represents the House in its relations with other persons outside the House and organisations
- is ex officio member of the Historic Memorials Committee
- may represent the House in international bodies
- is ex officio President of the House Committee and the Library Committee of the HR, of the joint Committee on the Broadcasting of the Parliamentary Proceedings - together with the President of the Senate, is joint President of the Commonwealth of Australia Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and of the Australian Inter-Parliamentary Group of the IPU
- in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker or the Second Deputy Speaker can assume his/her role and functions as Acting Speaker. If all three are absent, one of the Members present is elected to act as Speaker or the sitting is adjourned. |
| Board |
|
| Material facilities |
- taxable salary (A$ 75,949/year) as a Member of Parliament
- electorate allowance based on the size of the constituency (C) (A$ 24,558/year if C >2000 Square Kilometres (SK) - A$ 29,202 if 2000 SK< C< 5000 SK - A$ 35,611/year if C> 5000 SK
- salary of office of A$ 55,277/year
- three support staff (as a Member of Parliament) plus a Senior Adviser, 2 Advisers, 2 Assistant Advisers, 2 Personal Secretaries
- access to postal and telephone service in connection with his duties
- official car |
| FUNCTIONS |
| Organization of parliamentary business |
- may convene sessions
- examines the admissibility of bills and amendments
- may refer texts to a committee for study |
| Chairing of public sittings |
- opens, adjourns and closes sittings
- interprets and enforces Standing Orders
- makes announcements concerning the House
- takes disciplinary measures in the event of disturbance, and lifts such measures
- gives and withdraws permission to speak
- may establish the order in which amendments are taken up
- calls for a vote, verifies the voting procedure
- checks the quorum at the request of a Member of the House
- interprets the rules or other regulations governing the life of the House, if necessary by referring to precedents
- may give the floor outside the agenda, provided it does not develop into debates |
| Special powers |
- is responsible for establishing the Chamber's budget with the assistance of the Clerk
- can create, abolish, and reclassify all positions
- recommends candidates for the office of Clerk
- organises the services of Parliament
- is responsible for relations with foreign Parliaments, together with the President of the Senate
- is responsible for safety and, in this capacity, can call the police in the event of disturbance in the Chamber |
| Speaking and voting rights, other functions |
- takes the floor in legislative debates in exceptional cases
- provides guidelines for the interpretation or completion of the text under discussion in relation to procedural handling
- takes part in voting only if numbers of votes are equal
- proposes exceptionally bills or amendments
- intervenes in the parliamentary oversight procedure |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Presidency module
