9.1.1. Form of Government

One of the oldest continuous democracies in the world, the Commonwealth of Australia was created in 1901, when the former British colonies—now the six states—agreed to federate. The democratic practices and principles that shaped the pre-federation colonial Parliaments (such as ‘one man, one vote’ and women’s suffrage) were adopted by Australia’s first federal government.

The Australian Constitution sets out the powers of government in three separate chapters—the legislature, the executive and the judiciary—but insists that members of the legislature must also be members of the executive. In practice, Parliament delegates wide regulatory powers to the executive.

The popularly elected Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ministers appointed from these Chambers conduct executive government, and policy decisions are made in Cabinet meetings. Apart from the announcement of decisions, Cabinet discussions are not disclosed. Ministers are bound by the principle of Cabinet solidarity, which closely mirrors the British model of Cabinet government responsible to the Parliament.

Although, Australia is an independent nation, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is also formally the Queen of Australia. The Queen appoints a Governor-General (on the advice of the elected Australian Government) to represent her. The Governor-General has wide powers, but by convention acts only on the advice of the ministers on virtually all matters.