List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition

In the Australian House of Representatives, the Leader of the Opposition sits at the front table to the left of the Speaker's Chair (on the right-hand side in this photo).

This is a list of Australian Leaders of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition in Australian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives. The position is held by the leader of the party not in government that has the most seats in the House. When in parliament, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the Opposition and opposite the Prime Minister. The Opposition Leader is elected by his or her party according to its rules. A new Opposition Leader may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and is based on the Westminster model. The term Opposition has a specific meaning in the parliamentary sense, with a formal title of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. It is an important component of the Westminster system, with the Opposition directing criticism at the Government and attempts to defeat and replace the Government. The Opposition is therefore known as the 'Government in waiting' and it is a formal part of the parliamentary system. It is in opposition to the Government, but not to the Crown; hence the term 'Loyal Opposition'.

To date there have been 33 Opposition Leaders, 18 of whom have served terms as Prime Minister. The current Leader of the Opposition is Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor Party, following an election of the new Parliamentary Labor Leader by caucus and ALP members on 13 October 2013. The current Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Tanya Plibersek of the Australian Labor Party, following her election on 14 October 2013 by the Labor Caucus. Tanya Plibersek is the fourth woman to hold the position of Deputy Opposition Leader.

Leaders of the Opposition

Leader		Party		Electorate	Took office	Left office	Prime Minister
George Reid			Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	19 May 1901	17 August 1904		Barton 1901–03
								Deakin 1903–04
								Watson 1904
Chris Watson			Labour Party	Bland (NSW)	18 August 1904	5 July 1905		Reid 1904–05
George Reid			Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	7 July 1905	16 November 1908		Deakin 1905–08
			Anti-Socialist Party
								Fisher 1908–09
Joseph Cook			Anti-Socialist Party	Parramatta (NSW)	17 November 1908	26 May 1909
Alfred Deakin			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballaarat (Vic)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909
Andrew Fisher			Labour Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910		Deakin 1909
Alfred Deakin			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballaarat (Vic)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913		Fisher 1910–13
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913
Andrew Fisher			Labor Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	8 July 1913	17 September 1914		Cook 1913–14
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917		Fisher 1914–15
								Hughes 1915–23
Frank Tudor			Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	17 February 1917	10 January 1922
Matthew Charlton			Labor Party	Hunter (NSW)	10 January 1922	29 March 1928
								Bruce 1923–29
James Scullin			Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	29 March 1928	22 October 1929
John Latham			Nationalist Party	Kooyong (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931		Scullin 1929–32
Joseph Lyons			United Australia Party	Wilmot (Tas)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932
James Scullin			Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	7 January 1932	1 October 1935		Lyons 1932–39
John Curtin			Labor Party	Fremantle (WA)	1 October 1935	7 October 1941
								Page 1939
								Menzies 1939–41
								Fadden 1941
Arthur Fadden			Country Party	Darling Downs (Qld)	7 October 1941	23 September 1943		Curtin 1941–45
Robert Menzies			United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	23 September 1943	19 December 1949
			Liberal Party					Forde 1945
								Chifley 1945–49
Ben Chifley			Labor Party	Macquarie (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951		Menzies 1949–66
H. V. Evatt			Labor Party	Barton (NSW) 1940–58 Hunter (NSW) 1958–60	20 June 1951	9 February 1960
Arthur Calwell			Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967
								Holt 1966–67
Gough Whitlam			Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	8 February 1967	2 December 1972
								McEwen 1967–68
								Gorton 1968–71
								McMahon 1971–72
William McMahon			Liberal Party	Lowe (NSW)	5 December 1972	20 December 1972		Whitlam 1972–75
Billy Snedden			Liberal Party	Bruce (Vic)	20 December 1972	21 March 1975
Malcolm Fraser			Liberal Party	Wannon (Vic)	21 March 1975	11 November 1975
Gough Whitlam			Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	11 November 1975	22 December 1977		Fraser 1975–83
Bill Hayden			Labor Party	Oxley (Qld)	22 December 1977	3 February 1983
Bob Hawke			Labor Party	Wills (Vic)	3 February 1983	11 March 1983
Andrew Peacock			Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985		Hawke 1983–91
John Howard			Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	5 September 1985	9 May 1989
Andrew Peacock			Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	9 May 1989	3 April 1990
John Hewson			Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	3 April 1990	23 May 1994
								Keating 1991–96
Alexander Downer			Liberal Party	Mayo (SA)	23 May 1994	30 January 1995
John Howard			Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	30 January 1995	11 March 1996
Kim Beazley			Labor Party	Brand (WA)	19 March 1996	11 November 2001		Howard 1996–2007
Simon Crean			Labor Party	Hotham (Vic)	11 November 2001	2 December 2003
Mark Latham			Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	2 December 2003	18 January 2005
Kim Beazley			Labor Party	Brand (WA)	28 January 2005	4 December 2006
Kevin Rudd			Labor Party	Griffith (Qld)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007
Brendan Nelson			Liberal Party	Bradfield (NSW)	3 December 2007	16 September 2008		Rudd 2007–10
Malcolm Turnbull			Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	16 September 2008	1 December 2009
Tony Abbott			Liberal Party	Warringah (NSW)	1 December 2009	18 September 2013
								Gillard 2010–13
								Rudd 2013
Chris Bowen			Labor Party	McMahon (NSW)	18 September 2013	13 October 2013		Abbott 2013–2015
Bill Shorten			Labor Party	Maribyrnong (Vic)	13 October 2013	Incumbent
								Turnbull 2015–Incumbent

Deputy leaders of the Opposition

Leader		Party		Constituency	Took office	Left office	Leader
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909		Deakin 1909
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910		Fisher 1909–10
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913		Deakin 1910–13
Sir John Forrest			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Swan (WA)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913		Cook 1913
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	8 July 1913	7 September 1914		Fisher 1913–14
Sir John Forrest			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Swan (WA)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917		Cook 1914–17
Albert Gardiner			Labor Party	Senator for New South Wales (NSW)	17 February 1917	March 1927		Tudor 1917–22
								Charlton 1922–28
James Scullin			Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	March 1927	29 March 1928
Arthur Blakeley			Labor Party	Darling (NSW)	29 March 1928	1929		Scullin 1928–29
Ted Theodore			Labor Party	Dalley (NSW)	1929	22 October 1929
Earle Page			Country Party	Cowper (NSW)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931		Latham 1929–31
John Latham			United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932		Lyons 1931–32
Frank Forde			Labor Party	Capricornia (Qld)	7 January 1932	7 October 1941		Scullin 1932–35
								Curtin 1935–41
Billy Hughes			United Australia Party	North Sydney (NSW)	7 October 1941	23 September 1943		Fadden 1941–43
Arthur Fadden			Country Party	Darling Downs (Qld)	23 September 1943	19 December 1949		Menzies 1943–49
H. V. Evatt			Labor Party	Barton (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951		Chifley 1949–51
Arthur Calwell			Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	13 June 1951	9 February 1960		Evatt 1960–67
Gough Whitlam			Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967		Calwell 1960–67
Lance Barnard			Labor Party	Bass (Tas)	9 February 1967	5 December 1972		Whitlam 1967–72
Phillip Lynch			Liberal Party	Flinders (Vic)	20 December 1972	11 November 1975		Snedden 1972–75
								Fraser 1975
Frank Crean			Labor Party	Melbourne Ports (Vic)	11 November 1975	1975		Whitlam 1975–77
Tom Uren			Labor Party	Reid (NSW)	1975	22 December 1977
Lionel Bowen			Labor Party	Kingsford Smith (NSW)	22 December 1977	11 March 1983		Hayden 1977–183
								Hawke 1983
John Howard			Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985		Peacock 1983–85
Neil Brown			Liberal Party	Menzies (Vic)	5 September 1985	17 July 1987		Howard 1985–89
Andrew Peacock			Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	17 July 1987	9 May 1989
Fred Chaney			Liberal Party	Senator for Western Australia (WA) 1989–90 Pearce (WA) 1990	9 May 1989	24 March 1990		Peacock 1989–90
Peter Reith			Liberal Party	Flinders (Vic)	24 March 1990	13 March 1993		Hewson 1990–94
Michael Wooldridge			Liberal Party	Chisholm (Vic)	13 March 1993	23 May 1994
Peter Costello			Liberal Party	Higgins (Vic)	23 May 1994	19 March 1996		Downer 1994–95
								Howard 1995–96
Gareth Evans			Labor Party	Holt (Vic)	19 March 1996	19 October 1998		Beazley 1996–2001
Simon Crean			Labor Party	Hotham (Vic)	19 October 1998	11 November 2001
Jenny Macklin			Labor Party	Jagajaga (Vic)	11 November 2001	18 September 2006		Crean 2001–03
								Latham 2003–05
								Beazley 2005–06
Julia Gillard			Labor Party	Lalor (Vic)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007		Rudd 2006–07
Julie Bishop			Liberal Party	Curtin (WA)	3 December 2007	18 September 2013		Nelson 2007–08
								Turnbull 2008–09
								Abbott 2009–13
Anthony Albanese			Labor Party	Grayndler (NSW)	18 September 2013	14 October 2013		Bowen (interim) 2013
								Shorten 2013–Incumbent
Tanya Plibersek			Labor Party	Sydney (NSW)	14 October 2013	Incumbent

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Australia
• Politics of Australia

Notes

1. ^{^} Denotes an Opposition Leader who had previously been Prime Minister.
2. ^{^} Denotes an Opposition Leader who later became Prime Minister.
3. ^{^} Gough Whitlam refused to use the title Leader of the Opposition between the dismissal of his government in November 1975 and the first meeting of the new parliament in February 1976. During the election campaign in December 1975 he styled himself as the Leader of the Majority in the House of Representatives.