# List of female heads of government in Australia

[[File:Women heads of government in Australia since 1989.gif|right|thumb|400px|An animated timeline showing all the women who have been appointed to or elected to the position of head of government in Australian states and territories]] outdated A total of sixteen women have served, or are serving, as the head of an Australian government. Of these, one has served as the prime minister of Australia, eight as the premier of a state and seven as the chief minister of a territory. Twenty women have also served, or are serving, as the deputy head of government in Australian states and territories; one has served as the deputy prime minister of the country, thirteen as the deputy premier of a state, and six as the deputy chief minister of a territory.
The first female head of government in Australia, was Rosemary Follett in 1989, who was the 1st Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. Carmen Lawrence became the first female premier of a state in 1990, by serving as the 25th Premier of Western Australia. In 2010, Julia Gillard became the first, and to date, only female Prime Minister of Australia.
Today, every Australian state and territory has had at least one female head of government, except for South Australia; the Northern Territory has had the most, with four; the Australian Capital Territory has had three; Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria have each had a second female head of government serving in their respective jurisdiction. The most female heads to serve concurrently was four, during the 315 days between 16 May 2011 and 26 March 2012. Annastacia Palaszczuk, who served as the 39th Premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023, had the longest tenure of any female head of government in Australia. The shortest tenure belongs to Eva Lawler, who served as the 13th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from December 2023 to August 2024.
There are currently two serving female heads of government in Australia: Jacinta Allan (49th Premier of Victoria) who was appointed on 27 September 2023, and Lia Finocchiaro (14th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory) who was appointed on 28 August 2024. In addition, four women currently serve as deputy heads of government in Australia; Yvette Berry (Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory) since 31 October 2016; Susan Close (Deputy Premier of South Australia) since 21 March 2022; Prue Car (Deputy Premier of New South Wales) since 28 March 2023; and Rita Saffioti (Deputy Premier of Western Australia) since 8 June 2023.

## Female heads of government
### Heads

| Title | Name (birth–death) | State or territory | Term start | Term end | Elections | Duration | Party |
| Chief Minister | Rosemary Follett (b. 1948) | Australian Capital Territory | 11 May 1989 | 5 December 1989 | 1989 1992 1995 | 4 years, 122 days | Labor |
| Chief Minister | Rosemary Follett (b. 1948) | Australian Capital Territory | 6 June 1991 | 2 March 1995 | 1989 1992 1995 | 4 years, 122 days | Labor |
| Premier | Carmen Lawrence (b. 1948) | Western Australia | 12 February 1990 | 16 February 1993 | 1993 | 3 years, 4 days | Labor |
| Premier | Joan Kirner (1938–2015) | Victoria | 10 August 1990 | 6 October 1992 | 1992 | 2 years, 57 days | Labor |
| Chief Minister | Kate Carnell (b. 1955) | Australian Capital Territory | 2 March 1995 | 18 October 2000 | 1995 1998 | 5 years, 230 days | Liberal |
| Chief Minister | Clare Martin (b. 1952) | Northern Territory | 18 August 2001 | 26 November 2007 | 2001 2005 | 6 years, 100 days | Labor |
| Premier | Anna Bligh (b. 1960) | Queensland | 13 September 2007 | 26 March 2012 | 2009 2012 | 4 years, 195 days | Labor |
| Premier | Kristina Keneally (b. 1968) | New South Wales | 4 December 2009 | 28 March 2011 | 2011 | 1 year, 114 days | Labor |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard (b. 1961) | Australia (Federal) | 24 June 2010 | 27 June 2013 | 2010 | 3 years, 3 days | Labor |
| Premier | Lara Giddings (b. 1972) | Tasmania | 24 January 2011 | 31 March 2014 | 2014 | 3 years, 66 days | Labor |
| Chief Minister | Katy Gallagher (b. 1970) | Australian Capital Territory | 16 May 2011 | 11 December 2014 | 2012 | 3 years, 209 days | Labor |
| Premier | Annastacia Palaszczuk (b. 1969) | Queensland | 14 February 2015 | 15 December 2023 | 2015 2017 2020 | 8 years, 304 days | Labor |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian (b. 1970) | New South Wales | 23 January 2017 | 5 October 2021 | 2019 | 4 years, 255 days | Liberal |
| Chief Minister | Natasha Fyles (b. 1978) | Northern Territory | 13 May 2022 | 21 December 2023 | — | 1 year, 222 days | Labor |
| Premier | Jacinta Allan (b. 1973) | Victoria | 27 September 2023 | Incumbent | — | 1 year, 124 days | Labor |
| Chief Minister | Eva Lawler | Northern Territory | 21 December 2023 | 28 August 2024 | 2024 | 251 days | Labor |
| Chief Minister | Lia Finocchiaro (b. 1984) | Northern Territory | 28 August 2024 | Incumbent | 2024 | 154 days | Country Liberal |

### Deputy heads

| Name | State/ territory | Party | Head of government | Term start | Term end | Duration |
| Joan Kirner | Victoria | Labor | John Cain II | 7 February 1989 | 10 August 1990 | 1 year, 184 days |
| Joan Sheldon | Queensland | Liberal | Rob Borbidge | 19 February 1996 | 26 June 1998 | 2 years, 127 days |
| Sue Napier | Tasmania | Liberal | Tony Rundle | 18 March 1996 | 14 September 1998 | 2 years, 180 days |
| Anna Bligh | Queensland | Labor | Peter Beattie | 28 July 2005 | 13 September 2007 | 2 years, 47 days |
| Katy Gallagher | Australian Capital Territory | Labor | Jon Stanhope | 20 April 2006 | 16 May 2011 | 5 years, 26 days |
| Marion Scrymgour | Northern Territory | Labor | Paul Henderson | 26 November 2007 | 8 February 2009 | 1 year, 74 days |
| Julia Gillard | Australia | Labor | Kevin Rudd | 3 December 2007 | 24 June 2010 | 2 years, 203 days |
| Lara Giddings | Tasmania | Labor | David Bartlett | 26 May 2008 | 24 January 2011 | 2 years, 243 days |
| Carmel Tebbutt | New South Wales | Labor | Nathan Rees Kristina Keneally | 5 September 2008 | 28 March 2011 | 2 years, 204 days |
| Delia Lawrie | Northern Territory | Labor | Paul Henderson | 9 February 2009 | 29 August 2012 | 3 years, 202 days |
| Robyn Lambley | Northern Territory | Country Liberal | Terry Mills | 29 August 2012 | 6 April 2013 | 251 days |
| Jackie Trad | Queensland | Labor | Annastacia Palaszczuk | 14 February 2015 | 10 May 2020 | 5 years, 86 days |
| Liza Harvey | Western Australia | Liberal | Colin Barnett | 16 February 2016 | 17 March 2017 | 1 year, 29 days |
| Nicole Manison | Northern Territory | Labor | Michael Gunner Natasha Fyles | 12 September 2016 | 21 December 2023 | 7 years, 100 days |
| Yvette Berry | Australian Capital Territory | Labor | Andrew Barr | 31 October 2016 | Incumbent | 8 years, 90 days |
| Vickie Chapman | South Australia | Liberal | Steven Marshall | 19 March 2018 | 22 November 2021 | 3 years, 248 days |
| Susan Close | South Australia | Labor | Peter Malinauskas | 21 March 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 314 days |
| Jacinta Allan | Victoria | Labor | Daniel Andrews | 27 June 2022 | 27 September 2023 | 1 year, 92 days |
| Prue Car | New South Wales | Labor | Chris Minns | 28 March 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 307 days |
| Rita Saffioti | Western Australia | Labor | Roger Cook | 8 June 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 235 days |

## Female opposition leaders

| Name (birth–death) | State or territory | Term start | Term end | Elections | Duration | Party |
| Rosemary Follett (b. 1948) | Australian Capital Territory | 5 December 1989 | 6 June 1991 | | 1 year, 183 days | Labor |
| Joan Kirner (1938–2015) | Victoria | 6 October 1992 | 22 March 1993 | | 167 days | Labor |
| Carmen Lawrence (b. 1948) | Western Australia | 16 February 1993 | 7 February 1994 | | 356 days | Labor |
| Kate Carnell (b. 1955) | Australian Capital Territory | 21 April 1993 | 9 March 1995 | 1995 | 1 year, 322 days | Liberal |
| Rosemary Follett (b. 1948) | Australian Capital Territory | 9 March 1995 | 5 March 1996 | | 362 days | Labor |
| Maggie Hickey (b. 1946) | Northern Territory | 16 April 1996 | 2 February 1999 | 1997 | 2 years, 292 days | Labor |
| Kerry Chikarovski (b. 1956) | New South Wales | 8 December 1998 | 28 March 2002 | 1999 | 3 years, 110 days | Liberal |
| Clare Martin (b. 1952) | Northern Territory | 2 February 1999 | 27 August 2001 | 2001 | 2 years, 206 days | Labor |
| Sue Napier (1948–2010) | Tasmania | 2 July 1999 | 20 August 2001 | | 2 years, 49 days | Liberal |
| Jodeen Carney (b. 1965) | Northern Territory | 18 June 2005 | 29 January 2008 | | 2 years, 225 days | Country Liberal |
| Isobel Redmond (b. 1953) | South Australia | 8 July 2009 | 31 January 2013 | 2010 | 3 years, 207 days | Liberal |
| Annastacia Palaszczuk (b. 1969) | Queensland | 28 March 2012 | 14 February 2015 | 2015 | 2 years, 323 days | Labor |
| Delia Lawrie (b. 1966) | Northern Territory | 29 August 2012 | 20 April 2015 | | 2 years, 234 days | Labor |
| Rebecca White (b. 1983) | Tasmania | 17 March 2017 | 15 May 2021 | 2018 2021 | 4 years, 59 days | Labor |
| Rebecca White (b. 1983) | Tasmania | 7 July 2021 | 10 April 2024 | 2024 | 2 years, 278 days | Labor |
| Deb Frecklington (b. 1971) | Queensland | 12 December 2017 | 12 November 2020 | 2020 | 2 years, 336 days | Liberal National |
| Liza Harvey (b. 1966) | Western Australia | 13 June 2019 | 24 November 2020 | | 1 year, 194 days | Liberal |
| Jodi McKay (b. 1969) | New South Wales | 29 June 2019 | 28 May 2021 | | 1 year, 333 days | Labor |
| Lia Finocchiaro (b. 1984) | Northern Territory | 1 February 2020 | 28 August 2024 | 2024 | 4 years, 363 days | Country Liberal |
| Elizabeth Lee (b. 1979) | Australian Capital Territory | 27 October 2020 | Incumbent | | 4 years, 94 days | Liberal |
| Mia Davies (b. 1978) | Western Australia | 14 April 2021 | 30 January 2023 | | 1 year, 291 days | National |

## Timeline
### Heads

Red represents members of the Australian Labor Party, blue represents members of the Liberal Party of Australia.

### Deputy heads

Red represents members of the Australian Labor Party, blue represents members of the Liberal Party of Australia and orange represents the Country Liberal Party.