The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executive Council is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia, and serves at the Governor-General's pleasure. The Vice-President is usually a senior minister in Cabinet, who may summon executive councillors and preside at council meetings when the Governor-General is not present. However, the Vice-President cannot sign Executive Council documents on behalf of the Governor-General.

The Federal Executive Council is a statutory body established by section 62 of the Australian Constitution to advise the Governor-General of Australia, on the matters of the federal government. The council comprises, at least notionally, all current and former Commonwealth ministers and assistant ministers. As the Governor-General is bound by convention to follow the advice of the Executive Council on almost all occasions, the Executive Council has de jure executive power. In practice, this power is used to legally enact the decisions already made by Federal Cabinet, due to the practices of the Westminster system making the cabinet a de jure authority in its own right.