Federation Project: Australian Political System

Rosy Lattanavong

MAIS 5317: Comparing Government Structure and Political Systems

November 30th, 2021

1

Introduction

The purpose of this research paper is to examine and analyze the Australian political

system. To analyze the country’s government system, the paper will explore the following

topics: federal structure, population, electoral process, federal process, state and local process,

the history of the federal system, and how the constitutional power gets distributed. The paper

will also make comparative analysis of the federal structure and the degree of decentralization.

Structure

Governing Structure

Australia is known to have three levels of government.1 The first level of government is

the federal parliament. The prime minister is the leader of the federal parliament. The federal

parliament is the one who makes all the laws for the whole country.2 The second level of

government is the State and Territory government. “The leader of the state government is called

the Premier.”3 There is a total of six state and two territory parliaments, and they are responsible

for making the laws for their own state or territory.4 The third level of government is the local

government. The mayor is the head of the local government, or the Council. The country has

about 537 local governments, and each are responsible for looking after the needs of their local

community. In addition, local governments make local laws that are known as by-laws.5

1
“Three Levels of Australian Government Poster,” Teach Starter, accessed December 5, 2016,
https://www.teachstarter.com/au/teaching-resource/three-levels-of-australian-government-poster/.

2
Teach Starter, “Three Levels of Australian Government Poster.”
3
Teach Starter, “Three Levels of Australian Government Poster.”
4
Teach Starter, “Three Levels of Australian Government Poster.”
5
Teach Starter, “Three Levels of Australian Government Poster.”
2

The federal parliament is the first level of government with its own structure. The

parliament consists of 227 members who are responsible for making federal laws.6 Within the

227 members, 76 members are in the Senate and 151 is part of the House of Representatives.7

According to section 51 of the Constitution, the federal parliament has both exclusive and

concurrent powers. Concurrent powers are defined as “powers shared by the federal parliament,

and the territory parliaments.8 Examples of the parliament’s exclusive powers is defense,

pensions and Medicare, foreign policy, national census, copyright issues, citizenship, federal

public services, collection of customs taxes on imported goods, and the parliament can also make

laws for territories.9 The powers they share with the state and territory government is the power

over education, environment, health, marriage and divorce, overseas trade, and taxation.10

The state and territory parliament also has their own structure. Each of the state, except

Queensland, has a parliament that has two houses.11 Queensland is the only state that has a

parliament with only one house, the Legislative Assembly. The two territory parliaments are

known as the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.12 Similar to the

Queensland parliament, these two territory parliaments also have a Legislative Assembly.13 “The

6
“Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia,” Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary
Education Office, accessed November 27, 2021, https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-
works/three-levels-of- government/three-levels-of-government-governing-australia/.
7
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
8
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
9
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
10
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
11
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
12
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
13
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
3

territory executive governments are made up of a chief minister and territory ministers.”14 Both

territory parliaments used to be managed by the federal government. However, the Federal

Parliament implemented the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act in 1978 and

the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act in 1988. As a result, both territory

parliaments gained the rights to self-rule. Any powers not listed on section 51 and 52 of the

Constitution, which are called residual powers, is an area of state responsibility. The types of

matters the state and territory parliament are responsible for are matters such as schools,

hospitals, roads and railways, mining, agriculture, community services, police, prisons,

ambulance services, electricity and water supply, and many more areas.

The third group is the local government level. The structure of a local government

consists of two groups who serve the needs of the local communities.15 The two groups are

known as the nine elected members called the councilors, who have 4-year terms and staff who

work for the council. The local government are responsible for local issues such as local roads,

footpaths, cycle ways, and street signs, rubbish collection, parking, cultural facilities, childcare

and aged care, town planning, sewerage, pet control and inspection.

Federal structure (presidential v parliamentary, legislative structure, etc.)

Australia has a parliamentary government system. They are known to practice

constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.16 Australia follows the Westminster

System which derives from the British parliament.17 Australia is known to be an independent

14
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”
15
Parliamentary Education Office, “Three Levels of Government: Governing Australia.”

16
“Prime Facts Australian Prime Ministers Centre,” Museum of Australian Democracy, accessed
November 14, 2021, http://moad-web.s3.amazonaws.com/heracles
production/054/a90/437/054a904372eb7953f0c545270fe9a77e94e5983013f86bfc16561a05ee55/61-System-of-
government-75e046216.pdf.
17
Museum of Australian Democracy, “Prime Facts Australian Prime Ministers Centre.”
4

nation; however, they share their monarchy with the United Kingdom. Since the Queen is not

within the country, she is being represented by the Governor-General who was appointed by the

Queen with the advice of the Head of Government, The Prime Minister. In other words, the

governance within the country is carried out in the name of the Governor-General; however, they

are being held accountable and overseen by the Head of Government and the Parliament.18

The Australian legislative structure comprises of three groups: the legislative branch, the

executive branch, and the judicial branch. The legislature branch in Australia is known as the

Parliament. The Parliament consists of two houses: the Senate, and the House of representatives.

The Parliament includes the Queen who holds the official title of Head of State.19 While the

Parliament oversee making laws, the executive branch is responsible for implementing and

enforcing the laws.20 The executive branch is made up of the Cabinet and the Ministry that is led

by the Prime Minister.21 The third arm of the legislature structure is the Judicial Branch. This

third branch has the power to interpret and judge laws. Their role is to make sure that the laws

being passed are consistent with the nation’s constitution. According to the Constitution, this

power is vested in the High Court and other federal courts that are formed by the Federal

Parliament such as the Federal Court of Australia, Family Court of Australia, and the Federal

Circuit Court of Australia.

Subnational structure including subunits for each level

18
Christopher Muscato, “Australian Government System: Type & Role,” Study, Accessed November 27,
2021, https://study.com/academy/lesson/australian-government-system-type-role.html.  
19
Muscato, “Australian Government System: Type & Role.”
20
Muscato, “Australian Government System: Type & Role.”

21
“Executive Government – Overview,” Australian Politics, accessed November 24, 2021,
https://australianpolitics.com/executive/overview.  
5

Australia’s subnational structures include the six states and the two territories, and the

local governments at the local level. The six federated states are known as New South Wales,

Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The terms of local

governments differ across states and territories.22 The states are responsible for the roads,

railways, public transportation, education, environment, agriculture, community services, sports

and recreation, consumer affairs, and police and emergency services.23 The local governments

does not have as much power as the state and their responsibilities include matters that are not

cost-intensive; for example, their responsibilities include handling the community’s needs and

providing waste-collection, road maintenance, community cleaning, sewage and flood control,

and cultural facilities.24

Population

The Australian population steadily increase each year and the country continues to

become more diverse. The current population of Australia is 25,902,983.25 The growth rate of

Australia is 1.18%. New South Wales is the largest city, second is Victoria, and third is

Queensland.26 According to statistics, “30% of Australians were born in another country and over

46% had at least one overseas-born parent.”27 The Australian population is mainly made up of

22
“Australia Federal Country,” World Observatory on Subnational Government
Finance and Investment, accessed November 25, 2021, https://www.sng-wofi.org/country-profiles/Fiche
%20AUSTRALIA.pdf. 

23
“Multi-level Governance Framework – OECD,” OECD, accessed November 27, 2021,
https://www.oecd.org/regional/regional-policy/MLG-Framework-Australia%20.pdf. 
24
OECD, “Multi-level Governance Framework – OECD.”

25
“Australia Population 2021 (Live),” World Population Review, accessed, November 25, 2021,
https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/australia-population. 

26
World Population Review, “Australia Population 2021 (Live).”
27
World Population Review, “Australia Population 2021 (Live).”
6

people who are from China, India, Vietnam, New Zealand, and United Kingdom. The population

is also made up of many of the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders whose population was

uncounted for many years. In 2016, Australian residents had the option to identify their religion

through the census period. As a result, “30.1% do not have a religious practice or belief.”28 The

rest of the population are either Catholic, Anglican Christian, Islam, Buddhist, Presbyterian,

Eastern Orthodox, Hindu, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Sikh, Protestant, Jehovah’s Witnesses,

Seventh Day Adventists, Latter Day Saints, or Oriental Orthodox.29

Electoral process

Australia uses the proportional electoral system. There are three types of proportional

representation electoral system: list systems, mixed-member proportional systems, and the single

transferable vote systems. The Australian government utilizes the single transferable vote

systems, a form of preferential voting that allows voters to express a list of their preferences

instead of casting a single vote. The proportional electoral system is utilized to elect the

country’s members for the Senate, the upper houses of New South Wales, South Australia,

Victoria, Western Australia, the Lower House of Tasmania, the Legislative Assembly, and the

local government councils. 

Federal Process

There is a specific process on how officials are elected to the Australian Government.

First, there is the Queen who overlooks the country. However, the powers of the monarch are

limited by the constitution.30 Although the Queen holds the title of being the Head of State, she
28
World Population Review, “Australia Population 2021 (Live).”
29
World Population Review, “Australia Population 2021 (Live).”

30
“Infosheet 20 - the Australian System of Government,” Parliament of
Australia, Accessed November 27, 2021,https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_
Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/00_-_Infosheets/Infosheet_20_ _The_
Australian_system_of_government. 
7

only holds a “formal, symbolic, and ceremonial position.”31 In other words, the power of the

Queen is delegated by the Constitution. The Queen’s representative, the Governor-General, is

selected by the Queen. When it comes to electing the officials to represent the Senate and the

House of Representatives, the Australian citizens are the ones who choose the members.

Australian citizens are given the rights to choose the members who represent their views and

interests. The purpose of this election process is to ensure that the Australian Parliament truly

serves the population’s needs and are accountable to them.32 The Prime Minister has most of the

support from the House of the Representatives.33 The Prime Minister of Australia gets elected

through an internal party process.34 The Ministers are designated by the Prime Minister. There is

also the Parliamentary Secretaries who are also known as Assistant Ministers, and the executive

councilors and members of each group are selected by the Ministers.35

State & local Process

According to the way the government structure works, the election for state and territory

varies. There are fixed terms between elections and the election dates are set by the legislation.

Different states have different times between elections, number of members, and number of

electorates. “The lower houses and single house parliaments are elected every three or four

years.”36 On the other hand, the upper house representatives are elected on a “rotating basis.”37

The upper house representatives in Victoria and Western Australia does not get elected on a
31
Parliament of Australia, “Infosheet 20 - the Australian System of Government.”

32
“Federal Elections,” Parliamentary Education Office, Accessed November 27, 2021,
https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/having-your-say/elections-and-voting/federal-elections/#:~:text=At
%20federal%20elections%2C%20Australians%20choose,and%20is%20accountable%20to%20them.
33
Parliament of Australia, “Infosheet 20 - the Australian System of Government.”
34
Parliament of Australia, “Infosheet 20 - the Australian System of Government.”
35
Parliament of Australia, “Infosheet 20 - the Australian System of Government.”
8

rotating basis. In Tasmania, their lower house members are the only representatives of their

voters. Also, the upper house electorate in New South Wales and South Australia is the whole

state.38 All the officials elected during the state and territory elections are chosen through the

elections that are run by the State Electoral bodies.

For the local process, the country uses a range of electoral systems to choose their local

officials. The style of electoral systems is based on the state or territory. One example of a local

process is that when voters vote for a council representative, they also must directly vote for a

mayor to lead the council. Local government elections happen every two years. The elections are

conducted by using the “first past the post system.”39 This system allows the voter to classify the

candidate, or candidates of their choice by placing a check in the box opposite the names of the

chosen persons.40 Each local governments also have a choice on whether they want to conduct an

in-person election, or a postal voting election.41

How federal representation determined

The way election results are counted for the House of Representative differs from the

way the votes are counted for the Senate election. Federal representation for the House of

Representatives is determined by the results of the first-past-the-past voting system. Each of the

36
“Elections in Australia,” State Library of NSW, accessed November 27, 2021,
https://legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/hot-topics-voting-and-elections
37
State Library of NSW, “Elections in Australia.”
38
State Library of NSW, “Elections in Australia.”

39
“Conduct of Local Government Elections,” DLGSC, assessed November 26, 202,
https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/local-government/local-governments/council-elections/conduct-of-local-government-
elections
40
DLGSC, “Conduct of Local Government Elections.”
41
DLGSC, “Conduct of Local Government Elections.”
9

persons who gets elected represents one geographic area of Australia. Also, they are elected for a

three-year term. The counting of the votes starts at 6 pm at the polling places where election took

place.42 “All the ballots are sorted by first preference votes. “All the ‘1’ votes are counted for

each candidate in an electorate.”43 During the count, the polling officials are responsible for

identifying and removing all the informal votes from the count. Informal votes are any ballots

that are incomplete. The ballots that are counted in are called formal votes. A candidate

immediately gets elected if they received “more than 50% of these formal first preference

votes.”44 If no one has more than 50% of the formal first preference votes, candidates with the

fewest votes gets removed from the count. The vote then gets transferred to the second

preference votes on the ballot papers. This process continues until one candidate has an absolute

majority vote.

On the other hand, federal representatives in the Senate are elected for a six-year term on

a rotational basis. There is no special senate election method. Each state has 12 Senators, and

each territory has two. Only half of the Senators will go through re-election during the federal

election.45 The federal representation for the Senate is determined by the proportional

representation style of counting votes.46 For one to be elected, they must have “obtained a certain

proportion of the votes, called a ‘quota.’”47 “A quota is determined by dividing the total number
42
Jonathan Nicholl, Voting in Australia (Canberra, A.C.T: Australian Electoral Commission, 2019), 16

43
Jonathan Nicholl, Voting in Australia (Canberra, A.C.T: Australian Electoral Commission, 2019), 16

44
Jonathan Nicholl, Voting in Australia (Canberra, A.C.T: Australian Electoral Commission, 2019), 16

45
Lyn Morgain, “How Governments Are Formed,” Oxfam Australia, accessed November 27, 2021,
https://www.oxfam.org.au/get-involved/campaign-with-us/get-passionate-about-politics/how-politicians-are-elected-
and-how-governments-are-formed/
46
Lyn Morgain, “How Governments Are Formed.”
47
Lyn Morgain, “How Governments Are Formed.”
10

of votes by one more than the number of candidates, then adding one.”48 Any candidates that are

eliminated, their votes get distributed according to the preferences of these who voted for the

candidate. The process continues until they can fill all the Senate positions. Overall, these are

how the federal representation gets determined by the country.

II. History

The history of how Australia adopted the federal system is complicated with many

processes of discussions, consultations, and reflection. January 1 of 1901 was when Australia

became a nation. On this day, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western

Australia and Tasmania all came together to form the Commonwealth of Australia.49 This

process is called Federation. Before 1901, the six states were living like six separate countries

with their own government and laws.

There were several reasons why the federal system was developed. First, the six states

had their own defense force, had their own stamps and collected all the goods that crossed their

borders.50 They each build their own railways which complicated the transportation of their

citizens and goods across the country.51 The inefficiency of the transportation system increased

the support for Federation because everyone believed that a federal system is needed to regulate

issues related to defense, immigration, and trade.52 Another reason why the federal system was

developed was that trade and traveling between the colonies were restricted due to the tariffs.53
48
Lyn Morgain, “How Governments Are Formed.”

49
“The Federation of Australia,” Parliamentary Education Office, accessed September 13, 2021,
https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/history-of-parliament/federation/the-federation-of-australia/
50
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
51
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
52
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
53
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
11

Although taxes provided each colonies high revenues, the increase of taxes also made the cost of

product goods more expensive, making it harder for products outside of the colony to compete

with the local products.54 The third reason for federation is that each of the six colonies were “ill-

equipped to defend themselves.”55 With the fear that they will be an easy target for other nations

to attack, all six colonies pushed for each colonies to unite so that they could join forces.56

Another reason for federation was the conflict of racial conflict. People did not support

immigration and the idea of having people from other countries take over their jobs. This fear

developed the belief that a federal system is needed to control immigration.57

III.  Constitutional Powers and Distribution

The Constitution distributes power and authority based on the principle of separation of

powers. According to this principle, powers and authority are distributed between the Parliament,

the Executive, and the Judiciary.58 This principle is followed to prevent any group from getting

all the powers in the government system. The Constitution says that the executive power of the

Commonwealth is vested in the Queen which can be exercised by the Governor-General.59 Power

that was distributed to the Governor-General is defined by the Constitution, and as well as the

custom and tradition. All the power exercised by the Governor-General is advised by the Prime

54
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
55
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
56
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”
57
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Federation of Australia.”

58
“Separation of Powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary,” Parliamentary Education Office, accessed
November 27, 2021, https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-
government/separation-of-powers/
59
Parliamentary Education Office, “Separation of Powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary.”
12

Minister and ministers.60 The three separate groups work together by following the principle of

‘responsible government.’61

There are exceptions to the principle of separation of powers; therefore, political practice

somewhat adheres to the legal standard. Even if they have the principle of separation of powers,

Australia is not able to have a complete separation of powers because some of the roles of the

three separate groups overlap each other. For example, the “High Court judges, the Prime

Minister, and the ministers are all appointed by the Governor-General, who is also part of the

Parliament and the Executive.”62

IV. Comparative analysis of federal structure

Party Systems

Although Australia has three political parties, the Australian government is known to

operate as a two-party system. The two-party systems are known as the Liberal Party, and the

National Party. The third party is known as the Australian Labor Party.63 Due to the three

political parties, Australia is believed to have a mild two-party system. The Liberal and National

Party are commonly known as the Coalition. Both parties maintain their separate organizational

wings and separate their parliamentary parties. Despite their differences, the Coalition works

together in different ways through a mixture of formal agreements and informal conventions. For

60
Parliamentary Education Office, “Separation of Powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary.”
61
Parliamentary Education Office, “Separation of Powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary.”

62
Parliamentary Education Office, “Separation of Powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary.”

63
“Infosheet 22 - Political Parties,” Parliament of Australia, accessed November 16, 2021,
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/00_-
_Infosheets/Infosheet_22_-_Political_parties
13

example, the two parties co-operate on their federal election campaigns by running joint Senate

tickets in a lot of the states. 

Local Government Recognition

The constitution recognizes the government at the Commonwealth and state levels, but

the constitution made no mention of local government. The local governments are subdivisions

of the states and the Northern territory. The local governments are described as being mere

creatures of the states, existing at their will and they have no independent relations with the

federal government.64 Council representatives attended conventions before Federations; however,

they are unquestionably deemed as outside the Constitutional realm. The local governments are

finally being recognized in the constitution; however, they are recognized in a “somewhat weak

form.”65 Though they have their own laws, the local councils can be “dissolved, suspended, or

amalgamated with other councils” by their state, or territory government.66 At the end of the day,

the councils’ decisions can easily get rejected by their state, or territory government.

Symmetrical v. Asymmetrical treatment of subnational units

Australia is known as a symmetric federation. All six states and the two territories are

given equal levels of power and representation in the Parliament.67 In other words, they were all

assigned symmetrical constitutional status and as well as authority. No one has more power over

64
Lyndon Megarrity, “Local Government and the Commonwealth: An Evolving Relationship,” Parliament
of Australia, accessed November 26, 2021,
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp
1011/11RP10

65
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, The Place and Role of Local Government in Federal Systems (Johannesburg: Konrad-
Adenauer-Stiftung, 2005), 47.
66
Lydon Megarrity, Local Government and the Commonwealth: An Evolving Relationship, 47.

67
Ronald L. Watts, A Comparative Perspective on Asymmetry in Federations, (Kingston, Ontario: Queens
University, 2005), 1.
14

anyone. Such symmetry is believed to be a norm within the federation.68 However, though a

symmetric federation is emphasized, the cultural, economic, social, and political factors in each

state produces asymmetrical variations in the power of the different subunits.69 These factors are

affecting the “degree of harmony within the federal systems.”70

Fiscal Federalism-Balanced (Pursuing equality) v. Formula

Although Australia does not have any formal constitutional requirement for equalization,

Australia pursues an equalization-style of fiscal federalism. According to Section 96 of the

Constitution, the federal government can “grant financial assistance to any State on terms and

conditions the federal Parliament thinks fit.”71 Their principle of fiscal equalization is that “each

State should be given the capacity to provide the same standard of State-type public services as

the other states, if it makes the same effort to raise revenues from its own sources and conducts

its affairs with an average level of operational efficiency.”72 All payments to the States are based

on assessed fiscal capacity on the revenue and expenditure side of the State’s budget. There are

many factors that determine the country’s equalization grants; for example, the factors include

“population size, age, and structure, per-capita income, the impact of geography, population of

indigenous people, and English fluency.”73

68
Ronald L. Watts, A Comparative Perspective on Asymmetry in Federations, 1.
69
Ronald L. Watts, A Comparative Perspective on Asymmetry in Federations, 1.
70
Ronald L. Watts, A Comparative Perspective on Asymmetry in Federations, 2.

71
Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis, Federalism and Fiscal Transfers Essays on Australia, Germany,
Switzerland, and the United States, (Vancouver, Canada: Fraser Institute, 2013), 4.
72
Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis, Federalism and Fiscal Transfers Essays on Australia, Germany,
Switzerland, and the United States, 4.
73
Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis, Federalism and Fiscal Transfers Essays on Australia, Germany,
Switzerland, and the United States, 5.
15

Degree of Decentralization

Ever since the country became a Federation in 1901, the country has undergone a

persistent degree of centralization. Although the country’s intention was to create a federation

that was decentralized, there were issues with division of powers which caused the country to

lean towards more to having a centralized government.74

Fiscal

The state governments are known for providing the infrastructure for education, health,

public utilities, public transport, and many more; however, they do not possess taxing

authority.75According to the Constitution, the central government is the one who possesses the

taxing authority. Although the States does have the rights to set their own tax rates for the taxes

they control, the major sources of public funds through taxation revenue are controlled by the

federal government. Also, the federal government are the ones who transfers all the money to the

states.76 There is a high degree of vertical fiscal imbalance which makes the states become more

reliant on the transfers from the Commonwealth to fund for their activities.77 Also, “the only tax

for local governments is the land property tax, which is shared with the States.”78

Policy

74
Alan Fenna, “The Centralization of Australian Federalism 1901–2010: Measurement and Interpretation,”
Publius: The Journal of Federalism 49, no. 1 (November 2018): 31, https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjy042

75
Richard H. Leach, Studies in Comparative Federalism, Australia, Canada, the United States, and West
Germany, (Washington, D.C.: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental
Relations, 1982), 29.
76
Richard H. Leach, Studies in Comparative Federalism, Australia, Canada, the United States, and West
Germany, 29.

77
“Australia Federal Country,” OECD, accessed November 28, 2021,
https://www.oecd.org/regional/regional-policy/profile-Australia.pdf.  

78
OECD, “Australia Federal Country.”
16

The Australian centralized government system is evident through some of the policies

implemented by the Constitution. First, The Constitution does not make it difficult for the

national government to veto the decisions made by the subnational government. According to

Section 109 of the Constitution, if the subnational governments and the federal Parliament pass

conflicting laws on the same subject, the federal law then overrides the state law.79 Also, Section

112 of the Constitution have the federal Parliament the power to override a law made by the

territories at any time.80 The Constitution made it clear that the national government can easily

reject the subnational decisions. Second, the local units do provide education, infrastructure, and

police service; however, they do not have much autonomy. While the local units provide all the

services and carry out their responsibilities, their use of financial towards the services are highly

influenced by the Commonwealth.

Political/Electoral

The country’s intention to have a federation that is decentralized is evident through their

local elections. The citizens do elect the subnational officials in local elections. The voters must

be at least 18 years old by the election day and they must be enrolled on the voters’ roll.81 To be

enrolled on the voters’ roll, voters must be a resident or a ratepayer.82 According to the law, the

local citizens can choose nominees via primary elections. Australia has a list that specifies who

can or cannot be chosen as nominees. For example, a person cannot be chosen as a nominee if

they are a member of “a council staff, a counselor in another Australian council, a member of the

79
“The Roles and Responsibilities of the Three Levels of Government,” Parliamentary Education Office,
accessed November 26, 2021, https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/three-levels-of-
government/the-roles-and-responsibilities-of-the-three-levels-of-government/

80
Parliamentary Education Office, “The Roles and Responsibilities of the Three Levels of Government.”

81
“Voting in a Council Election,” Know Your Council, accessed November 26, 2021,
https://knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au/guide-to-councils/council-elections/voting-in-an-election
82
Know Your Council, “Voting in a Council Election.”
17

Parliament of a State or Territory, or if they have not completed a prescribed candidate training

in the last four years.”83 To become a nominee, one must complete a nomination form and have it

delivered to the Election Manager during the nomination period, sign the declaration on the form

in front of the Election Manager, and pay a $250 nomination fee.84 According to the process, it is

clear that the national government does not provide the nominees. Lastly, the federal election

does not drive the subnational results. The subnational elections allow officials to get voted

directly by the people.

Conclusion

Overall, the Australian political system has its complexity. Although there is an official

Constitution, the separation of powers is unclear, and the local government is not recognized in

the Constitution. Research reveals that though there is a set rule for certain things to happen

within the Australian political system, it is not as easy for the government officials to stay within

the guidelines. Factors such as the cultural, social, and economic aspects of the country adds to

the complexity of the political system.

83
Know Your Council, “Voting in a Council Election.”
84
Know Your Council, “Voting in a Council Election.”
18

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