Australian Labor Party National Executive


The Australian Labor Party National Executive, often referred to as the National Executive, is the executive governing body of the Australian Labor Party, charged with directly overseeing the general organisation and strategy of the party. Twenty members of the National Executive are elected by the party's National Conference, which is the highest representative body of the party's state and territory branches. The other eight members are party ex-officio members.
Members on the Executive may be officials of trade unions affiliated to the party, members of federal or state Parliaments, or rank-and-file ALP members. The ex-officio members are the National President, the National Secretary and two National Vice-Presidents, and the Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, but of these only the party Leader has a vote.
The National Executive is concerned mainly with organisational matters. It does not decide party policy, which is determined by the National Conference. The National Executive does not elect the party's parliamentary leaders, which is done by a ballot of both the Parliamentary Caucus and by the Labor Party's rank-and-file members. The National President or Vice-President are elected by party members. Its most public role is to act as the final arbiter of disputes about parliamentary candidacies. On these matters the National Executive usually votes on factional lines. The Labor Right faction holds a majority on the National Executive, though it did not hold a majority at the 2015 National Conference.
The power of the National Executive extends to the reorganisation of a State Branch. For example, in 1970 to improve the party's chances of electoral success, the National Executive intervened in the Socialist Left controlled Victorian Branch, involving the sacking of State officers and dissolution of the Branch. Less drastic forms of intervention are more common, such as the final arbiter of preselection disputes. The executive has authority over policy as it can interpret the party’s constitution, platform and conference decisions.

Members of the National Executive

, the current members of the National Executive are:
Member typeMember namePositionFactionState/territoryVoting member
Ex-officio membersWayne SwanNational PresidentRightQueensland
Ex-officio membersPaul EricksonNational SecretaryLeftVictoria
Ex-officio membersSusan Close MPVice-PresidentLeftSouth Australia
Ex-officio membersMich-Elle MyersVice-PresidentLeftNew South Wales
Ex-officio membersManu RisoldiNational President of Young LaborRightNew South Wales
Ex-officio membersNational Labor Women's Network Co-Convenor
Ex-officio membersNational Labor Women's Network Co-Convenor
Ex-officio membersAnthony Albanese MPLeader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor PartyLeftNew South Wales
Elected membersSenator Tim AyresSenator for NSWLeftNew South Wales
Elected membersGary BullockQueensland State Secretary, National Director of Politics and Vice President, National Executive Committee for United Workers UnionLeftQueensland
Elected membersSenator Raff CicconeSenator for VictoriaRightVictoria
Elected membersMelissa DonnellyNational Secretary of the Community and Public Sector UnionLeftAustralian Capital Territory
Elected membersSandra DoumitNational Vice-president at The Australian Workers' UnionRightNew South Wales
Elected membersKate Doust MLCMember of the Legislative Council of Western AustraliaRightWestern Australia
Elected membersGerard DwyerNational Secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees AssociationRightNew South Wales
Elected membersSenator Karen GroganSenator for SALeftSouth Australia
Elected membersGerard HayesNational President of the HSURightNew South Wales
Elected membersJulian Hill MPMember of the Australian House of Representatives for BruceLeftVictoria
Elected membersGraeme KellyGeneral Secretary USURightNew South Wales
Elected membersMichelle O'ByrneMember of Tasmanian House of AssemblyLeftTasmania
Elected membersJosh PeakSecretary of the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association South Australian BranchRightSouth Australia
Elected membersSam Rae MPMember of the Australian House of Representatives for HawkeRightVictoria
Elected membersZach SmithNational Secretary & ACT Branch Secretary at CFMEULeftAustralian Capital Territory
Elected membersStacey SchinnerlQLD Branch Secretary of the AWURightQueensland
Elected membersCarolyn SmithFormer WA Branch Secretary of the United Workers UnionLeftWestern Australia
Elected membersWendy StreetsQueensland State Secretary of the Finance Sector UnionLeftQueensland
Elected membersShannon Threlfall-ClarkeVictorian State Vice President of the Australian Workers UnionRightVictoria
Elected membersDylan WightMember of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for TarneitLeftVictoria

Executive leaders

National Presidents

National Secretaries

  • Cyril Wyndam was the first full time Secretary. Prior to 1963 the position was not full time