Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives


The Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia is responsible for managing the Parliamentary Department of the House of Representatives. The Clerk is a non-elected administrative officer under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999. The term of the Clerk of the House of Representatives is now limited by law to 10 years. On 12 August 2019, Claressa Surtees became the first female Clerk of the House.
The Department of the House of Representatives provides services to support the efficient conduct of the House of Representatives, its committees and certain joint committees as well as a range of services and facilities for House Members in the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The Department also undertakes activities to promote the work of the House in the community and is responsible for the conduct of the Parliament's international and regional relations. As at 30 June 2014, the Department had a staff of 176. The Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives conducts the election for Speaker.
The Department of the House of Representatives is not part of the Executive Government of Australia, being instead responsible to the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, who has accountability obligations for the department to the House of Representatives.

Clerks of the House

There have been 16 Clerks of the House. The longest-serving was Frank Green, who held the position for over 18 years. The shortest-serving was John McGregor, who held the position for 27 days. He collapsed while the House was speaking on a condolence motion for his predecessor Walter Gale, who had died in office a month earlier. McGregor was taken to Canberra Hospital where he died.
George Jenkins, the clerk of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, was seconded to the Federal Parliament for its first few months and acted as Clerk of the House during that time before the position was filled permanently.
#ClerkTerm startTerm endDuration
–Sir George Henry Jenkins CMG '1 May 19016 July 1901
1Charles Cashel Gavan Duffy8 July 190131 January 1917
2Walter Augustus Gale CMG1 February 191727 July 1927
3John Robert McGregor1 September 192728 September 1927
4Ernest William Parkes CMG27 October 192722 March 1937
5Frank Clifton Green CBE MC23 March 193725 June 1955
6Albert Allan Tregear CBE27 June 195531 December 1958
7Sir Alan George Turner CBE1 January 195910 December 1971
8Norman James Parkes CBE11 December 197131 December 1976
9John Athol Pettifer CBE1 January 197715 July 1982
10Douglas Maurice Blake AM VRD16 July 198230 July 1985
11Alan Robert Browning31 July 198522 March 1991
12Lyndal McAlpin Barlin AM23 March 199126 July 1997
13Ian Charles Harris AO27 July 19974 December 2009
14Bernard Clive Wright AO4 December 200931 December 2013
15David Russell Elder1 January 20149 August 2019
16Claressa Anne Surtees12 August 2019Incumbent'''