Australia gets first female governor-general

Australia will get its first female governor-general when Quentin Bryce is sworn in today at Parliament House.

The former Queensland governor will become the country's 25th governor-general when she assumes the post vacated earlier this week by Major General Michael Jeffery.

She comes to the head of state role after serving as governor of Queensland for five years.

Raised in the tiny central Queensland town of Ilfracombe, Ms Bryce became one of the first women admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1965.

She has been a lifelong supporter of women's and human rights and served as federal sex discrimination commissioner and Queensland director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

She also lectured in law, founded the Queensland Women's Information Service and served as chair of the National Breast Cancer Centre Advisory Council and Australian Women's Cricket Board.

For her many achievements, she was made an officer of the Order of Australia in 1998.

This morning's swearing-in ceremony, in the Senate Chamber of Parliament House in Canberra, will be attended by ministers, MPs, members of the judiciary and the diplomatic corps.

Following the official swearing-in, the new governor-general will address the chamber.