Kirribilli House has been official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister since 1956. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the suburb of Kirribilli.

In 1854, Adolphus Frederic Feez purchased land at Kirribilli Point for £200.0.0 from J L Travers who at that time owned Admiralty House, then known as 'Wotonga'and in 1855. built the picturesque Gothic revival style residence, now known as Kirribilli House, a twin gabled residence featuring steeply pitched roofs, fretwork, bargeboards and bay windows. From 1860 the property passed through Terry, Taylor Lawry and McCrae families until it was purchased in 1919 for £10,000.0.0 by Arthur Wigram Allen. Allen planned to subdivide the land and after much public agitation the Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, approved the compulsory resumpotion of the property in 1920.

It was used by the staff of the Governor-General until 1930 when it was leased to tenants. In 1956 Kirribilli House was set aside as a residence for the official use of Prime Ministers, when they need to perform official duties and extend official hospitality when in Sydney. The official Prime Ministerial residence is The Lodge, Canberra.
Kirribilli House has impressive views across to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and to the Opera House. The adjacent Admiralty House, is the Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

In 1930 the Commonwealth Government decided to discontinue Admiralty House as the residence of the Governor-General when in Sydney (a decision reversed some six years later.), and subsequently Kirribilli House was leased to tenants until 1953.

In 1956-57 the Commonwealth Government restored Kirribilli House for use as a residence for overseas guests of the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister of the day and his family. The restoration was undertaken by Mr J L S Mansfield of the firm of Fowell, Mansfield and Maclurcan. Since then, Kirribilli House has welcomed royalty, heads of state and heads of government. The first guest of the Commonwealth after the renovation was His Excellency Mr Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan.

A redecoration was carried out in the 1980s, with the assistance of decorator Mr David Spode.

In the late 1990s further restoration and refurbishment work was undertaken. The doorway between the drawing and dining rooms was widened and the two rooms were refurbished. In consultation with the then Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), the main staircase was reconstructed to its 1880s position in the central hallway and the hallway refurbished. In supporting this work the AHC stated it 'believes that the move will enhance national estate values'. These works were undertaken with the assistance of heritage architect Mr Clive Lucas OBE and interior designer Ms Rosemary Lucas, under the guidance of the Official Establishments Trust.

Kirribilli was most prominent recently during the Prime Ministership of John Howard (1996-2007), who departed with tradition and used Kirribilli House as his primary residence. The current Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, chooses to base himself in Canberra at 'The Lodge' and uses Kirribilli House only when visiting Sydney.

The cost of running and maintaining Kirribilli House is met by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from monies appropriated to it for this purpose by parliament in the annual budget.