The Manager of Opposition Business in the House, sometimes called Opposition Leader of the House, is the member of the Australian Official Opposition Shadow Ministry responsible for negotiating with the Leader of the House regarding proceedings in the Australian House of Representatives. Among other things, the topics of negotiation are the order in which Government bills and other items of business are taken, the time allotted for debate, and the timing of Opposition business."The House, Government, and Opposition" , House of Representatives Infosheet No. 19, October 2010.
The Manager of Opposition Business in the House and the Deputy Manager are appointed by the Opposition leader. The duties of the Deputy Manager of Opposition Business are largely contingent, coming into play only when the Manager of Opposition Business is absent from the House or is on leave. When this happens, the deputy is referred to as Acting Manager of Opposition Business.
Three managers of Opposition Business in the House, John Howard, Julia Gillard, and Anthony Albanese, went on to become Prime Ministers.
Another future Prime Minister and former leader of the house, Tony Abbott stepped in as Acting Manager in 2009 in the absence of Christopher Pyne.
List The Managers of Opposition Business since 1974 are as follows: Order Manager Party Leader of the Opposition Term start Term end Term in office 1 Ian Sinclair National Country Billy Snedden 14 June 1974 21 March 1975 Malcolm Fraser 21 March 1975 11 November 1975 2 Gordon Scholes Labor Gough Whitlam 27 January 1976 22 December 1977 Bill Hayden 22 December 1977 29 December 1977 3 Mick Young 29 December 1977 11 February 1980 4 Chris Hurford 11 February 1980 7 November 1980 days 5 Lionel Bowen 10 November 1980 3 February 1983 Bob Hawke 3 February 1983 11 March 1983 (1) Ian Sinclair National Andrew Peacock 16 March 1983 5 September 1985 John Howard 5 September 1985 28 April 1987 6 John Spender Liberal 29 April 1987 14 August 1987 7 Wal Fife 14 August 1987 9 May 1989 Andrew Peacock 9 May 1989 3 April 1990 John Hewson 3 April 1990 23 May 1992 8 Warwick Smith 23 May 1992 8 February 1993 9 John Howard 7 April 1993 23 May 1994 Alexander Downer 23 May 1994 30 January 1995 10 Peter Reith John Howard 31 January 1995 11 March 1996 11 Simon Crean Labor Kim Beazley 20 March 1996 20 October 1998 12 Bob McMullan 20 October 1998 25 November 2001 13 Wayne Swan Simon Crean 25 November 2001 16 June 2003 14 Mark Latham 16 June 2003 8 December 2003 days 15 Julia Gillard Mark Latham 8 December 2003 18 January 2005 Kim Beazley 18 January 2005 10 December 2006 16 Anthony Albanese Kevin Rudd 10 December 2006 3 December 2007 358 days 17 Joe Hockey Liberal Brendan Nelson 2 December 2007 16 September 2008 Malcolm Turnbull 16 September 2008 16 February 2009 18 Christopher Pyne 16 February 2009 1 December 2009 Tony Abbott 1 December 2009 18 September 2013 19 Tony Burke Labor Bill Shorten 18 October 2013 30 May 2019 Anthony Albanese 30 May 2019 23 May 2022 20 Paul Fletcher Liberal Peter Dutton 5 June 2022 25 January 2025 21 Michael Sukkar 25 January 2025 3 May 2025 22 Alex Hawke Sussan Ley 28 May 2025 17 February 2026 23 Dan Tehan Angus Taylor 17 February 2026 present
Deputy Manager of Opposition Business Deputy Managers of Opposition Business are as follows: Order Manager Party Leader of the Opposition Term start Term end Term in office 1 Julia Gillard Labor Simon Crean 2 July 2003 8 December 2003 2 Simon Crean Mark Latham 8 December 2003 26 October 2004 3 Anthony Albanese 26 October 2004 18 January 2005 Kim Beazley 18 January 2005 10 December 2006 4 Kelvin Thomson Kevin Rudd 10 December 2006 9 March 2007 5 Bob McMullan 9 March 2007 3 December 2007 6 Luke Hartsuyker National Brendan Nelson 6 December 2007 16 September 2008 Malcolm Turnbull 16 September 2008 1 December 2009 Tony Abbott 1 December 2009 18 September 2013 7 Mark Dreyfus Labor Bill Shorten 18 October 2013 2 June 2019 8 Mark Butler Anthony Albanese 2 June 2019 23 May 2022 9 Kevin Hogan National Sussan Ley 5 June 2022 21 January 2026 (9) Kevin Hogan National Angus Taylor 17 February 2026 Incumbent
See also Leader of the House (Australia) Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate Manager of Government Business in the Senate
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