Australian Parliament

Australian Parliament
Sodacan · Public domain · source
Name	Parliament of Australia
Legislature	Parliament
House type	Bicameral
Established	1901
Preceded by	Colonial Australia
Leader1 type	Monarch
Leader1	Elizabeth II
Leader2 type	Governor‑General
Leader2	Governor-General of Australia
Leader3 type	President of the Senate
Leader3	President of the Senate (Australia)
Leader4 type	Speaker of the House
Leader4	Speaker of the House of Representatives (Australia)
Members	226 (76 Senate, 150 House)
Structure1	Australian Parliament composition
Voting system	Instant-runoff voting, Single transferable vote
Last election	2022 Australian federal election
Meeting place	Parliament House, Canberra

Australian Parliament

The Parliament is the federal legislature established by the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, located at Parliament House, Canberra. It is a bicameral body modelled on the Westminster system and influenced by the United States Senate federal design; its membership, procedures and powers derive from the Constitution of Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and statutes such as the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Key institutions interacting with it include the High Court of Australia, the Governor‑General of Australia and major parties such as the Liberal Party of Australia, the Australian Labor Party and the National Party of Australia.

History

Federation debates at the Federation of Australia conventions and the drafts of the Constitution Bill (Australia) led to the inauguration of the Commonwealth Parliament at Queen Victoria Building? (sic) and first sitting in 1901 in Melbourne‬; the capital moved to Canberra and the new Parliament House, Canberra opened in 1988. Early legislative milestones included the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, the establishment of the High Court of Australia in 1903 and disputes resolved through decisions such as R v Barger and Engineers' Case. Wartime and constitutional crises—exemplified by the 1914–18 War, the Great Depression, the 1975 constitutional crisis involving Gough Whitlam and Sir John Kerr—shaped parliamentary conventions. Electoral reforms including the adoption of full preferential voting and proportional representation for the Senate of Australia transformed party representation alongside the rise of minor parties like the Australian Greens and movements such as One Nation.

Structure and composition

The Parliament consists of two chambers: the Senate of Australia (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house), plus the Monarch of Australia represented by the Governor‑General of Australia. The Senate has 76 senators elected via single transferable vote with state and territory representation inspired by the United States Senate; the House has 150 members elected by instant‑runoff voting from single‑member districts established under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and redistributed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Leadership roles include the Prime Minister of Australia who commands a majority in the House, the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), the President of the Senate (Australia), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Australia), and party whips such as those from the Liberal Party of Australia, Australian Labor Party, National Party of Australia and smaller groups including the Australian Greens. Parliamentary staffing and services are provided by administrative bodies like the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives.

Functions and powers

Constitutional powers flow from sections of the Constitution of Australia including legislative powers in section 51 and financial powers in section 53; the Parliament enacts laws across matters such as trade, taxation and defence, often interacting with instruments like appropriation bills and statutes including the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Oversight functions are performed through committees such as the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Senate Estimates process; accountability mechanisms involve question time, privilege procedures and the potential for no-confidence motions that can precipitate dissolution under the Governor‑General of Australia's reserve powers. Judicial review by the High Court of Australia can invalidate parliamentary enactments for constitutional inconsistency, as in cases like the Engineers' Case and Cole v Whitfield.

Parliamentary procedure and sitting practices

Procedure is governed by standing orders of the Senate of Australia and the House of Representatives and informed by Westminster tradition and precedents from parliaments like the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Typical practices include daily Question Time, televised sittings from Parliament House, Canberra, committee hearings by bodies such as the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and the passage of legislation through readings, committee consideration and votes. Special procedures address supply through supply bills, double dissolution provisions in section 57 of the Constitution of Australia and joint sittings following deadlocks; parliamentary privileges trace to precedents in the Bill of Rights 1689 and cases considered by the High Court of Australia.

Parliamentary parties and leadership

Party politics is dominated by the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia often in coalition with the National Party of Australia; smaller parties and independents include the Australian Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, and crossbenchers such as Bob Katter. Leadership positions include the Prime Minister of Australia, the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), and party conformity is maintained by whips and by internal mechanisms like leadership spills exemplified in contests involving figures such as Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. Parliamentary party dynamics shape committee memberships, control of the legislative agenda, and confidence arrangements during episodes like the 2010 Australian federal election hung parliament and subsequent agreements with independents.

Relationship with the Executive and Judiciary

The Executive branch, led by the Prime Minister of Australia and the Cabinet of Australia, is drawn from Parliament under the Westminster system and remains accountable to it through question time, supply control and confidence conventions; the Governor‑General of Australia exercises reserve powers in exceptional circumstances such as the 1975 constitutional crisis. Judicial oversight by the High Court of Australia enforces constitutional limits on parliamentary legislation, while administrative law developed through cases like Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh and doctrines such as judicial review mediate disputes between statutory action and rights protected by the Constitution. Interactions with state parliaments—including the Parliament of New South Wales, Parliament of Victoria and Parliament of Queensland—occur through federalism structures, referrals under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of Australia and institutions like the Council of Australian Governments.

Category:Parliaments