Incumbents

• Monarch of Australia
• — Queen Victoria (until 22 January), then Edward VII
• Governor General — John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun
• Prime Minister — Edmund Barton

Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales — William Lyne (until 28 March), then John See
• Premier of South Australia — Frederick Holder (until 15 May), then John Jenkins
• Premier of Queensland — Robert Philp
• Premier of Tasmania — Elliott Lewis
• Premier of Western Australia — Sir John Forrest (until 15 February), George Throssell (until 27 May), George Leake (until 21 November), Alf Morgans (until 23 December), then George Leake
• Premier of Victoria — Sir George Turner (until 12 February), then Alexander Peacock

Governors

• Governor of New South Wales — William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (until 30 April)
• Governor of Victoria — George Clarke (from 10 December)
• Governor of Queensland — Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington (until 19 December)
• Governor of South Australia — Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
• Governor of Western Australia — Arthur Lawley
• Governor of Tasmania — Arthur Havelock (from 8 November)