Australian system of government

What is the Australian system of government?

A system of government is the structure by which a country is run. Australia is a representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy. It is also a federation of states. Many features of Australia’s system of government are based on the Westminster system.

Some examples of other systems of government are communism, dictatorship and republic.

Features

The key components of Australia’s system of government are:

• democracy
• representative democracy
• constitutional monarchy
• a federation of states
• an Australian Constitution which distributes the power to make and manage laws between the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary – this is known as the separation of powers.

The Australian system of government.

Parliamentary Education Office (PEO.GOV.AU)

The Australian system of government.

Parliamentary Education Office (PEO.GOV.AU)

Description

This graphic illustrates the 5 components of the Australian system of government:

• democracy
• representative democracy
• consitution
• constitutional monarchy
• federation of states

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Democracy

Democracy means rule by the people. The word comes from the ancient Greek words ‘demos’ (the people) and ‘kratos’ (to rule). A democratic country has a system of government where people have the power to participate in decision-making.

Representative democracy

In a representative democracy, citizens choose people to represent them in a parliament. In Australia, federal elections are held approximately every 3 years to select members of parliament who will represent Australians and make laws on their behalf.

Examples of other representative democracies include the United States, the United Kingdom and Argentina.

Constitutional monarchy

In a constitutional monarchy a king or queen is the head of state but has limited power. They must follow the country’s constitution and follow accepted practices known as conventions. Australia's head of state is His Majesty King Charles III. The Governor-General is appointed to act on behalf of the King in Australia.   

Examples of other constitutional monarchies include Belgium, Tonga and Sweden.

Federation of states

A federation is a group of states that have joined together to form a single country. In 1901, 6 British colonies agreed to form the country of Australia. The colonies became Australian states and a federal – Australian – Parliament was created. The Australian Parliament has the power to make laws about national matters such as defence, immigration, trade and foreign affairs. The Australian Constitution – the set of rules by which Australia is run – sets out how the Australian and state parliaments share the power to make laws.

Three levels of government work together to make laws that provide Australians with the services they need. The three levels are:

• Australian Parliament, in Canberra 
• state and territory parliaments, in each state and territory capital city
• local councils – also called shires – across Australia.

Examples of other federations include Canada, India and Germany. 

Separation of powers in the Australian Constitution

The Constitution defines 3 groups—the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary—and describes how they share power. The separation of powers helps to make sure that no group has all the power. Each group has their own area of responsibility:

• Parliament (the legislature) makes and changes the law,
• the Executive puts the law into action,
• the Judiciary settles disputes about the law.

Examples of other countries that separate the Parliament, Executive and Judiciary include New Zealand, the Philippines and South Africa.