Australian Constitution

The Australian Constitution is the set of rules by which Australia is governed. Australians voted for the national constitution in a series of referendums. The Australian Constitution establishes the composition of the Australian Parliament, and describes how Parliament works, what powers it has, how federal and state Parliaments share power, and the roles of the Executive Government and the High Court. It took effect on 1 January 1901.

In addition to the national Constitution, each Australian state has its own constitution. The Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory have self-government Acts which were passed by the Australian Parliament.

Features

The Australian Constitution is divided into eight chapters and 128 sections. It sets out the basis for Australia's federal system of governance, the key features of which include:

• a federal Parliament and government, responsible for national decision-making and law-making
• a bicameral Parliament, including the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives
• six state governments, responsible for state matters
• power-sharing arrangements between the federal and state parliaments
• the High Court of Australia, which is the final court of appeal. The High Court interprets the Constitution and decides its meaning, as well as settling disputes between the federal and state governments.

The Constitution does not cover all aspects of the governance of Australia. For example, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are not mentioned in the Constitution. While central to the way government works, the Prime Minister and Cabinet operate by custom and convention, similar to the British system from which they were derived.

The Constitution does not detail many of the rights of the Australian people. Unlike the United States' Constitution, Australia's does not include a bill of rights, such as the right to free speech. In Australia these rights are protected by common law (made by the decisions of the courts) and laws made by Parliament (statute law).

Changing the Australian Constitution

The Australian Constitution can only be changed with the approval of the Australian people. A proposed change must be approved by the Parliament and then be put to Australians in a referendum. All Australian citizens on the electoral roll vote 'yes' or 'no' to the proposed change. A referendum is only passed if it is approved by a majority of voters in a majority of states, and by a majority of voters across the nation. This is known as a double majority. Territory voters are only counted in the national majority. Since 1901, 19 referendums have proposed 44 changes to the Constitution; only eight changes have been agreed to.