What does the Speaker of the House of Representatives do?

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the federal Parliament. The Speaker chairs the House during sittings, enforces the Standing Orders, calls members to speak, maintains order, rules on points of procedure, and represents the House as an institution to external bodies. The current Speaker is Milton Dick (Labor, Oxley), elected at the start of the 47th Parliament in July 2022 and continuing in the 48th Parliament from 2025.

The Speaker is elected by the House at the start of each Parliament. Members vote by secret ballot from candidates nominated by other members. The convention is that the governing party's nominee wins, although the Speaker is expected to act impartially in chair from that point on. The Speaker continues to vote on House divisions like other members but does not exercise a casting vote (under the Constitution the Speaker has 'a vote', not a casting vote, and votes on the merits like everyone else).

The Speaker's duties include calling the House to order, presiding over debate, recognising members who wish to speak, ruling on points of order, maintaining discipline, naming or suspending disorderly members, and putting motions to the vote. During Question Time, the Speaker manages the questioning of ministers, rules on relevance of answers, and disciplines members who interject inappropriately. The Speaker also represents the House to other bodies, signs documents on behalf of the House, and engages in ceremonial roles including international parliamentary delegations.

The Speaker holds the symbolic mace of the House, which is carried in procession at the start of each sitting day. The Speaker's office is supported by the Clerk of the House, the Deputy Speaker (who presides when the Speaker is absent), and second deputies. Notable Speakers include Sir Frederick Holder (the first Speaker, 1901 to 1909, who died in office), Sir Billy Snedden (1976 to 1983, later Liberal leader), Joan Child (1986 to 1989, the first woman Speaker), Bronwyn Bishop (2013 to 2015, who resigned over the 'choppergate' expenses scandal), Tony Smith (2015 to 2022, widely praised for impartial chairing), and Milton Dick (from 2022). The Speaker earns an additional salary of about 95,000 dollars on top of the base parliamentary salary.