The Prime Minister now advises the monarch to appoint their nominee . This has been the procedure since November 1930 , when James Scullin 's proposed appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs was fiercely opposed by the British government . This was not because of any lack of regard for Isaacs personally , but because the British government considered that the choice of Governors-General was , since the 1926 Imperial Conference , a matter for the monarch 's decision alone . ( However , it became very clear in a conversation between Scullin and King George V 's Private Secretary , Lord Stamfordham , on 11 November 1930 , that this was merely the official reason for the objection , with the real reason being that an Australian , no matter how highly regarded personally , was not considered appropriate to be a Governor-General . ) Scullin was equally insistent that the monarch must act on the relevant prime minister 's direct advice ( the practice until 1926 was that Dominion prime ministers advised the monarch indirectly , through the British government , which effectively had a veto over any proposal it did not agree with ) . Scullin cited the precedents of the Prime Minister of South Africa , J. B. M. Hertzog , who had recently insisted on his choice of the Earl of Clarendon as Governor-General of that country , and the selection of an Irishman as Governor-General of the Irish Free State . Both of these appointments had been agreed to despite British government objections
1926 Imperial Conference
1926 Imperial Conference
Governor-General of Australia