How to address a letter to an MP in Australia

Getting the name right on a letter to a politician is a small courtesy that signals you've taken care. The rules are simpler than they look: a title before the name on the envelope, a short greeting inside, and a few letters after the name that tell you which house they sit in. This guide sets out each case, with examples generated from the current members of every Australian parliament.

Quick reference: envelope and salutation

Each example below is a real, current office holder, drawn live from each parliament's own member list, so it stays right after elections and reshuffles. The envelope column is exactly what goes on the first lines of the address; the office address follows underneath.

The forms follow the Australian Government Style Manual and the Parliament of Australia's guidance on contacting senators and members. Where a member is listed without Mr or Ms on the envelope, you can add it if you prefer. Both are correct.

When to use “The Hon”

“The Honourable” is a title that comes with certain offices, not with being elected. According to the Style Manual:

• Federal: ministers (including the Prime Minister) and parliamentary secretaries use it, and keep it for life. So a backbencher who used to be a minister is still “The Hon”. The Speaker and the President of the Senate also use it.
• States and the NT: premiers, the NT Chief Minister, ministers and former ministers use it. So do speakers and legislative council presidents, and members of every state legislative council except Victoria's. That's why most NSW, SA, WA and Tasmanian MLCs are “The Hon” even if they have never been a minister.
• ACT: office holders in the ACT Legislative Assembly don't use the title, including the Chief Minister.

Some members don't use a title they're entitled to, and a few use one for reasons the rules above don't cover. The safest approach is to follow how their own parliament lists them, which is what our address blocks do. Here's how many current members are listed with “Hon” in each parliament:

“The Honourable” vs “The Hon” vs “Hon”

All three mean the same thing. On an envelope or address block, “The Hon” is the usual form, written without a full stop (the Style Manual dropped the full stop in its digital edition). “The Honourable” in full is fine for very formal letters. In running text, use a lower-case “the”: “I wrote to the Hon Jane Smith MP”.

Do you use “The Hon” in the greeting?

No. The title belongs on the envelope and in the address block only. Inside the letter, write “Dear Minister”, “Dear Premier”, “Dear Senator Smith” or “Dear Ms Smith”. “Dear Hon Smith” is a common mistake.

Post-nominals: MP, MLA and MLC

The letters after a member's name tell you which house they sit in:

• MP: members of the federal House of Representatives, and of the lower houses in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.
• MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly): the lower house in Western Australia, and the single house in the ACT and the NT.
• MLC (Member of the Legislative Council): the upper house in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. Queensland has no upper house.
• Senators don't use a post-nominal. “Senator” goes before the name instead.

Some members also list degrees or honours (such as AM or OAM) after their name. Including them is polite but optional. If you're unsure, copy the address block from the member's page.

How to address a senator

Put “Senator” before the full name: “Senator Jane Smith”. If the senator is, or was, a minister, it becomes “Senator the Hon Jane Smith”, with “Senator” first. Open with “Dear Senator Smith”.

More on choosing which senators to write to, and a full list by state, is in our guide on addressing a senator.

How to address a minister

On the envelope, give their title, name and post-nominal, then their portfolio on the next line: “The Hon Jane Smith MP, Minister for Health”. If they hold several portfolios, use the one your letter is about.

For the greeting, the Style Manual recommends “Dear Minister” in formal letters, and “Dear Mr” or “Dear Ms” with their surname in less formal ones. If you're writing to a minister as your own local member, about a local matter, “Dear Ms Smith” is natural. Our address blocks use the salutation each parliament publishes for the member, which is why some ministers appear as “Dear Minister” and others by name.

Portfolio letters to federal ministers are usually best sent to Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600. Letters from constituents go to the electorate office.

How to address a Premier or Chief Minister

Premiers are addressed by office: “Dear Premier”. On the envelope, write “The Hon [Name] MP, Premier of [State]” (MLA instead of MP in Western Australia). Territory leaders are Chief Ministers: “Dear Chief Minister”. The ACT Chief Minister doesn't use “The Hon”, while the NT Chief Minister does. NSW's own forms of address guide follows the same pattern for the Premier and ministers.

For the Prime Minister, the pattern is the same: “The Hon [Name] MP, Prime Minister” on the envelope and “Dear Prime Minister” inside. That currently means The Hon Anthony Albanese MP. Our guide on writing to the Prime Minister has the full postal address and what to include.

What about “Right Honourable”?

You'll see “The Right Honourable” in British guides, where it's used for the Prime Minister and privy counsellors. It isn't used for current Australian MPs, ministers or prime ministers, who are “The Honourable”. In Australia today, the Style Manual gives “The Right Honourable” (or “Rt Hon”) to the office of Lord Mayor in the six state capitals: “The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney”, for example. If you're writing to a politician, “The Hon” is the highest title you'll need.

Addressing an email vs a letter

The greeting is the same in both: “Dear Minister”, “Dear Senator Smith” and so on. The difference is the address block.

• Letter: put the full address block at the top left, with title, name, post-nominal, office (if any) and postal address. Put your own name and address on the letter so they can reply.
• Email: you can skip the postal address, but it's still worth putting the formal name and office on the first line of a formal email to a minister. Always include your postal address in the signature. Offices use it to confirm you're a constituent.

Once it's addressed, the content matters most. Our guide on how to write to your MP covers structure, tone and three templates.

Look up the exact address block for any politician

Every one of the 846 current members in our directory has a page with a copy-ready address block and salutation, like the examples above. Search by name, electorate or postcode, then write to them from the same page.

Names, roles and addresses on this page come from each parliament's official member lists. Data checked 20 October 2026.