| Post: | Administrator |
| Body: | the Northern Territory |
| Insignia: | Badge of the Administrator of the Northern Territory.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 80px |
| Insigniacaption: | Badge of the Administrator |
| Incumbent: | Hugh Heggie |
| Incumbentsince: | 2 February 2023 |
| Department: | Office of the Administrator |
| Style: | His Honour the Honourable |
| Residence: | Government House, Darwin, |
| Seat: | Darwin |
| Appointer: | Governor-General |
| Appointer Qualified: | on the advice of the Commonwealth Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, following consultation with the Northern Territory Chief Minister |
| Termlength: | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Termlength Qualified: | (usually 5 years by convention) |
| Formation: | 12 June 1931 |
| First: | John A. Gilruth |
The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory.[1] They perform functions similar to those of a state governor.
Strictly speaking, the appointment of an administrator is made by the governor-general in Council, that is, the governor-general acting on the advice of the Australian government, rather than the advice of the government of the Northern Territory.[2] However, ministers have described the process as being based on "advice from the Australian and Northern Territory governments".[3]
Unlike an Australian state governor, the administrator is not the direct representative of the King in the Territory but is instead appointed by the King's representative in Australia, the governor-general, to administer the Territory in accordance with the Act. In practice, however, the administrator performs a similar constitutional role to that of a state governor.
The administrator formally appoints the chief minister of the Northern Territory and the members of the Cabinet after every election. In all but a few cases, they are required by convention to act on the Cabinet's advice. The Administrator gives royal assent to all bills passed by the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. Although the Governor-General (in practice, the Commonwealth Government) has the power to veto any territorial bill, in practice this right is almost never exercised.
The office of the deputy of the administrator was created in 1997.
In 2014, the governor-general granted current, future and living former administrators the title of The Honourable for life,[4] following the lead of Governors-General and Governors of New South Wales in granting the title.
The present administrator is Hugh Heggie.
The crest of Administrator of the Northern Territory which is similar to the one used by the Governor-General of Australia except that the flower below the Crown is the Sturt Desert Rose, the floral emblem of the Northern Territory.
On 6 July 1863, land now known as the Northern Territory was annexed to the Colony of South Australia. Legislation regulating the sale of land in the Northern Territory which was given assent on 12 November 1863 included provision for both the appointment of a Government Resident and a description of the powers of this office.[5]
| No. | Government Resident | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hon. Boyle Travers Finniss | 3 March 1864[6] | 4 November 1865[7] | |
| (acting) | James Stokes Millner MD | January 1870 | April 1870 | |
| 2 | William Bloomfield Douglas | 27 April 1870 | June 1873[8] | |
| (acting) | James Stokes Millner MD | June 1873[9] | October 1873 | |
| 3 | George Byng Scott | 6 October 1873 | 30 June 1876[10] | |
| 4 | Edward William Price | 1 July 1876 | 6 March 1883[11] | |
| (acting) | Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn | March 1883[12] | March 1884 | |
| 5 | John Parsons | 19 March 1884 | 14 February 1890[13] | |
| 6 | John Knight FRIBA | 16 July 1890 | 10 January 1892[14] | |
| 7 | Charles James Dashwood | 24 February 1892 | 31 January 1905[15] | |
| 8 | Charles Edward Herbert | 1 February 1905 | 8 February 1910[16] | |
| 9 | The Hon. Samuel Mitchell | 1 April 1910 | 25 March 1912 |
Administrators and Government Residents of the Northern Territory after transfer of control to the Commonwealth Government:
From 1926 to 1931, the Northern Territory was divided into the territories of Central Australia and North Australia, with the border at the 20th parallel south. Each territory was administered by a Government Resident located respectively in Alice Springs (then known as Stuart) and in Darwin. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory in 1931.[17] [18]
| No. | Government Resident (Central Australia) | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Cawood | 1 March 1927 | 11 December 1929 | |
| 2 | Victor Carrington MBE | 11 December 1929 | 12 June 1931 |
| No. | Administrator | Post- Nominal | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Weddell | 12 June 1931 | 29 March 1937 | ||
| 2 | The Hon. Aubrey Abbott | 29 March 1937 | 1 July 1946 | ||
| 3 | Arthur Driver | BEM | 1 July 1946 | 1 July 1951 | |
| 4 | The Hon. Frank Wise | 1 July 1951 | 1 July 1956 | ||
| 5 | James Archer | OBE | 1 July 1956 | 1 April 1961 | |
| 6 | Roger Nott | 1 April 1961 | 1 October 1964 | ||
| 7 | Roger Dean | CBE | 1 October 1964 | 4 March 1970 | |
| 8 | The Hon. Frederick Chaney | CBE AFC | 4 March 1970 | 10 December 1973 | |
| 9 | Jock Nelson | 10 December 1973 | 12 November 1975 | ||
| 10 | John England | CMG | 1 June 1978 | 1 January 1981 | |
| 11 | Commodore Eric Johnston | AO OBE RAN | 1 January 1981 | 1 July 1989 | |
| 12 | The Hon. James Muirhead | AC QC | 1 July 1989 | 1 March 1993 | |
| 13 | The Hon. Austin Asche | AC QC | 1 March 1993 | 17 February 1997 | |
| 14 | The Hon. Dr. Neil Conn | AO | 17 February 1997 | 28 November 2000 | |
| 15 | The Hon. John Anictomatis | AO | 28 November 2000 | 30 October 2003 | |
| 16 | The Hon. Ted Egan | AO | 31 October 2003 | 31 October 2007 | |
| 17 | The Hon. Tom Pauling | AO QC | 31 October 2007 | 31 October 2011 | |
| 18 | The Hon. Sally Thomas | AC | 31 October 2011 | 10 November 2014 | |
| 19 | The Hon. John Hardy | AO | 10 November 2014 | 30 October 2017 | |
| 20 | The Hon. Vicki O'Halloran | AO, CVO | 31 October 2017 | 30 January 2023 | |
| 21 | The Hon. Hugh Heggie | AO, PSM | 2 February 2023 | Present |
The office of the Deputy of the Administrator was established in 1997.
| No. | Deputy of the Administrator | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minna Sitzler AM[19] | 17 February 1997 | 30 November 2001 | |
| 2 | Pat Miller AO[20] | 20 September 2002 | present |