Governor of Western Australia

The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:

• presiding over the Executive Council
• proroguing and dissolving the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council
• issuing writs for elections
• appointing Ministers, Judges, Magistrates and Justices of the Peace

Furthermore, all bills passed by the Parliament of Western Australia require the governor's signature before they become acts and pass into law. However, since convention almost always requires the governor to act on the advice of the premier and the cabinet, such approval is almost always a formality.

Until the appointment of Sir James Mitchell in 1948, all governors of Western Australia had been British officials. After Mitchell's appointment, a further three Britons served as governor: Mitchell's two immediate successors, and then, from 1980 to 1983, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge who was the last non-Australian governor of any Australian state.

Although not a responsibility of the office of Governor of Western Australia, governors of Western Australia are – like all governors of the Australian states – normally given a dormant commission to administer the government of the Commonwealth of Australia in the absence from Australia, or the death, incapacity or removal from office of the Governor-General by the Sovereign.