How to address members of parliament in Australia

Write to a member of the House of Representatives as “Ms [Full name] MP” and open “Dear Ms [Surname]”. Write to a senator as “Senator [Full name]” and open “Dear Senator”. A minister is “The Hon [Full name] MP, Minister for [Portfolio]”, or “Senator the Hon [Full name]” in the Senate, and you open “Dear Minister”.

State and territory parliaments follow the same pattern. What changes is the letters after the name (MP, MLA or MLC) and who is “The Honourable”. Both depend on the parliament, and the tables below set them out.

The short version

• Title before the name, post-nominals after it: “The Hon [Full name] MP”. The Australian Government Style Manual uses no full stop after Hon and no comma before MP.
• Senators put “Senator” before their name. They don’t use MP.
• Ministers are “The Hon”, and federal ministers keep it for life. So a former minister on the backbench or in opposition is still “The Hon”.
• Open with the office for office holders: “Dear Prime Minister”, “Dear Minister”, “Dear Premier”. Open with the name for everyone else.
• The letters after the name depend on the chamber. Most lower houses use MP, Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory use MLA, and every Legislative Council uses MLC.
• Check every title before you send. Portfolios and offices change with each reshuffle and election.

Federal parliament

The Parliament of Australia publishes the forms for its members and senators in How to address senators and members. This table follows it, with the punctuation of the Style Manual.

As of October 2026, for example:

• The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia
• Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Senator the Hon Sue Lines, President of the Senate
• The Hon Milton Dick MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives

Writing to a presiding officer as a local representative. The Parliament gives a second form for writing to the President or the Speaker “in their electoral capacity”. Use their name without the office, and open “Dear Senator [Surname]” or “Dear Mr [Surname]”.

Writing to a minister about their electorate. Most ministers are also local members. If your letter is about their electorate rather than their portfolio, address them as “Member for [Electorate]” and open with their name.

Who is “The Honourable”

Federally, the title comes with membership of the Federal Executive Council. Ministers, including the Prime Minister, assistant ministers and parliamentary secretaries are appointed to it, so they use the title.

By custom they keep it for life. A former minister on the backbench or in opposition is still “The Hon”, and a senator is still “Senator the Hon”. Shadow ministers who have never been ministers are not.

The President of the Senate and the Speaker use the title while in office. A Speaker who serves three years or more keeps it for life. Members and senators who were state ministers or state presiding officers also use it.

In the states and the Northern Territory, premiers, the chief minister, ministers and the presiding officers are “The Hon” while in office. So are members of the Legislative Council in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, but not in Victoria. Tasmania’s Leader of the Opposition is “The Hon” too.

No office holder in the ACT Legislative Assembly uses the title, the Chief Minister and Speaker included.

Keeping the title after office is not automatic in the states. In Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, it needs approval and a minimum period in office. That is one year as premier, or three as a minister or presiding officer.

South Australia and Western Australia also let members of the Legislative Council keep it after ten years’ service. Tasmania lets any former minister keep it, and a Speaker or President after three continuous years.

MP, MLA, MLC and MHA

MLC means Member of the Legislative Council, and every state upper house uses it. MLA means Member of the Legislative Assembly, but only Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory use it. In New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, Legislative Assembly members use MP.

Tasmania’s lower house members used to be known as MHAs. A 2007 joint select committee recommended MP, and the House of Assembly’s list of members now uses MP.

Other post-nominals, such as honours and qualifications, go before MP: “Ms [Full name] OAM MP”. Write them as the member does, and check their website or office if you’re unsure.

State and territory office holders

The forms below follow the state guides, such as those of New South Wales, Victoria and the Parliament of Western Australia.

In the ACT, ministers and the Speaker take no “The Hon”: “Ms [Full name] MLA, Minister for [Portfolio]”. ACT ministers hold several portfolios, so use the one your letter is about.

Some office holders state a preferred form: Western Australia’s government guide records its Legislative Council President’s, for example. Follow a stated preference over the general rule.

Salutations and sign-offs

Open with the office for the Prime Minister, a premier, a chief minister, a minister or a presiding officer. Open with the name for everyone else: “Dear Ms [Surname]”, “Dear Dr [Surname]”, “Dear Senator [Surname]”.

Use the honorific the person uses. The Style Manual lists Mx alongside Mr, Ms, Mrs and Dr.

For a formal letter, the Style Manual and the Parliament of Western Australia close “Yours faithfully”. The Style Manual uses “Yours sincerely” for less formal correspondence. Choose one and use it consistently across your organisation’s letters.

In person, use the spoken forms in the tables, and a first name only once you’re invited to.

Setting out the address block

Put the name and title on the first line, the office on the second and the address below. For a minister:

The Hon [Full name] MP

Minister for [Portfolio]

[Address]

Dear Minister

Send portfolio correspondence to the ministerial office, and a local matter to the electorate office. Each federal member and senator chooses their preferred contact method, listed on their page on the Parliament’s website.

Check before you send

A wrong name, an old portfolio or the wrong honorific tells the office your letter is generic before anyone reads the request. Check each detail against a current source every time, as the last step before the letter goes.

The GovConnex directory has each person’s full title, salutation and addresses, and exports them as a mail merge when you’re writing to a whole list. Otherwise use the person’s page on their parliament’s website, or call their office.

Writing to MPs: the essential checklist covers the rest of the letter.

Common questions

Do former ministers keep the title “The Honourable”? Federally, yes: by custom, ministers keep it for life. In Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia it needs approval and at least three years as a minister, or one as premier. Tasmania lets any former minister keep it.

Is it “The Hon” or “The Hon.”? The Australian Government Style Manual writes “The Hon”, with no full stop and no comma before MP. So do the federal parliament’s lists of members and senators. Some official pages still use “The Hon.”: either is understood, so be consistent.

How do you address a senator in a letter? Write “Senator [Full name]”, with “Senator for [State or territory]” below, and open “Dear Senator” or “Dear Senator [Surname]”. Senators don’t use MP. A senator who is or was a minister is “Senator the Hon [Full name]”.

What do MLA and MLC stand for? Member of the Legislative Assembly and Member of the Legislative Council. Every state upper house uses MLC. MLA is used in Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory; Legislative Assembly members in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland use MP.

How do you address the Prime Minister in a letter? Write “The Hon [Full name] MP, Prime Minister of Australia” and open “Dear Prime Minister”. In person, say “Prime Minister”.