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Representation
All members of Parliament are elected. Each one of the 150 members of the House of Representatives (MPs) is elected by about 85,000 voters in each electorate. Senators represent states. Each state is represented by 12 senators while each territory has two senators.
Making Laws
A new Commonwealth (national) law can only be made, or an existing law changed or removed, by or under the authority of the federal Parliament, that is, by or in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
Committees
Parliamentary committees investigate specific matters of policy or government administration or performance.
Parliamentary Privilege
Forming Government
The government consists of members of the political party that wins an election and has the majority of members in the House of Representatives. This party and/or its leader (the Prime Minister) select fellow parliamentarians to be the ministers who run departments. Some ministers are senators.
Accountability
The federal government is held responsible to both the House of Representatives and the Senate, though in different ways.
Budget and Financial Legislation
The Budget is the occasion of the Government’s annual financial report and policy statement to the Parliament and the nation.
Parliament is the body that makes laws for Australia. It has three distinct parts: the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Queen (represented in Australia by the Governor-General).
Parliamentary sitting calendar
Go to the full calendar of events