Administrator of the Northern Territory

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. 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. However, ministers have described the process as being based on "advice from the Australian and Northern Territory governments".

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, following the lead of Governors-General and Governors of New South Wales in granting the title.

The present administrator is Hugh Heggie.

Crest of administrator
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.

South Australia (1863 to 1912)
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.

Commonwealth of Australia (1912 to present)
Administrators and Government Residents of the Northern Territory after transfer of control to the Commonwealth Government:

Government Resident (1927 to 1931)
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.

Deputy of the Administrator (1997 to present)
The office of the Deputy of the Administrator was established in 1997.