Politics of Australia

The politics of Australia take place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system under its Constitution, one of the world's oldest, since Federation in 1901. Australia is the world's sixth oldest continuous democracy and largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory.[1][2] The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Australia a "full democracy" in 2019.[3] Australia is also a federation, where power is divided between the federal government and the states and territories.

Politics of Australia

Polity type	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of Australia
Legislative branch
Name	Parliament
Type	Bicameral
Meeting place	Parliament House
Upper house
Name	Senate
Presiding officer	Scott Ryan, President
Lower house
Name	House of Representatives
Presiding officer	Tony Smith, Speaker
Executive branch
Head of State
Title	Monarch represented by Governor-General
Currently	Elizabeth II represented by David Hurley
Head of Government
Title	Prime Minister
Currently	Scott Morrison
Cabinet
Name	Cabinet of the Federal Executive Council
Current cabinet	Second Morrison Ministry
Leader	Prime Minister
Deputy leader	Deputy Prime Minister
Ministries	30
Judicial branch
Name	Judiciary
Chief Justice	Susan Kiefel
Courts	Courts of Australia
High Court

The federal government is separated into three branches:

• Legislature: the bicameral Parliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as comprising the monarch (represented by the governor-general), the Senate, and the House of Representatives;
• Executive: the Federal Executive Council, which in practice gives legal effect to the decisions of the cabinet, comprising the prime minister and ministers of state who advise the governor-general;[4]
• Judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the governor-general on advice of the Federal Executive Council.

The Australian system of government combines elements derived from the political systems of the United Kingdom (fused executive, constitutional monarchy) and the United States (federalism, written constitution, strong bicameralism), along with distinctive indigenous features, and has therefore been characterised as a "Washminster mutation".[5]

Legislative

Main articles: Parliament of Australia, Australian Senate, and Australian House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra.

The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, and has been influenced both by the Westminster system and United States federalism. Under Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia, Parliament consists of three components: the Monarch, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

The Australian House of Representatives has 151 members, each elected for a flexible term of office not exceeding 3 years,[6] to represent a single electoral division, commonly referred to as an electorate or seat. Voting within each electorate utilises the instant-runoff system of preferential voting, which has its origins in Australia. The party or coalition of parties which commands the confidence of a majority of members of the House of Representatives forms government.[7]

The Australian Senate has 76 members. The six states return twelve senators each, and the two mainland territories return two senators each, elected through the single transferable voting system. Senators are elected for flexible terms not exceeding six years, with half of the senators contesting at each federal election. The Senate is afforded substantial powers by the Australian Constitution, significantly greater than those of Westminster upper houses such as those of the United Kingdom and Canada, and has the power to block legislation originating in the House as well as supply or monetary bills. As such, the Senate has the power to bring down the government, as occurred during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.

Because legislation must pass through both houses to become law, it is possible for disagreements between the House of Representatives and the Senate to hold up the progress of government bills indefinitely. Such deadlocks can be resolved through section 57 of the Constitution, using a procedure called a double dissolution election. Such elections are rare, not because the conditions for holding them are seldom met, but because they can pose a significant political risk to any government that chooses to call one. Of the six double dissolution elections that have been held since federation, half have resulted in the fall of a government. Only once, in 1974, has the full procedure for resolving a deadlock been followed, with a joint sitting of the two houses being held to deliberate upon the bills that had originally led to the deadlock. The most recent double dissolution election took place on 2 July 2016, which returned the Turnbull Government with a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives. The two pieces of legislation that triggered the election did not figure prominently in the eight-week election campaign.

Executive

Main articles: Government of Australia, Monarchy of Australia, Governor-General of Australia, Prime Minister of Australia, Cabinet of Australia, Federal Executive Council (Australia), and Australian head of state dispute

Government House, Canberra, also known as "Yarralumla", is the official residence of the Governor-General.

The role of head of state in Australia is divided between two people: the Monarch of Australia and the Governor-General of Australia. The functions and roles of the Governor-General include appointing ambassadors, ministers, and judges, giving Royal Assent to legislation (also a role of the monarch), issuing writs for elections and bestowing honours.[8] The Governor-General is the President of the Federal Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. These posts are held under the authority of the Australian Constitution. In practice, barring exceptional circumstances, the Governor-General exercises these powers only on the advice of the Prime Minister. As such, the role of Governor-General is often described as a largely ceremonial position.[9]

The Prime Minister of Australia is Scott Morrison, leader of the Cabinet and head of government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia. Despite being at the apex of executive government in the country, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia specifically and exists through an unwritten political convention. Barring exceptional circumstances, the prime minister is always the leader of the political party or coalition with majority support in the House of Representatives. The only case where a senator was appointed prime minister was that of John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas).[10]

The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers responsible to Parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private Cabinet meetings occur once a week to discuss vital issues and formulate policy. Outside of the cabinet there are a number of junior ministers responsible for specific policy areas, who report directly to a senior Cabinet minister. The Constitution of Australia does not recognise the Cabinet as a legal entity, and its decisions have no legal force. All members of the ministry are also members of the Executive Council, a body which is – in theory, though rarely in practice – chaired by the Governor-General, and which meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet. For this reason, there is always a member of the ministry holding the title Vice-President of the Executive Council.

Reflecting the influence of the Westminster system, and in accordance with section 64 of the Constitution, Ministers are selected from the elected members of Parliament.[11] In keeping with the convention of Cabinet solidarity, all ministers are expected to defend the collective decisions of Cabinet regardless of their individual views. Ministers who cannot undertake the public defence of government actions are expected to resign. Such resignations are rare; and the rarity also of public disclosure of splits within cabinet reflects the seriousness with which internal party loyalty is regarded in Australian politics.

Judicial

Main articles: Judiciary of Australia and Australian court hierarchy

High Court building, view from Lake Burley Griffin

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and interprets the Constitution of Australia. The High Court is mandated by section 71 of the Constitution, which vests in it the judicial power of the Commonwealth of Australia. The High Court was constituted by the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth). The High Court is composed of seven Justices: the Chief Justice of Australia, presently The Hon. Susan Kiefel AC, and six other Justices.

The state supreme courts are also considered to be superior courts, those with unlimited jurisdiction to hear disputes and which are the pinnacle of the court hierarchy within their jurisdictions. They were created by means of the constitutions of their respective states or the Self Government Acts for the ACT and the Northern Territory. Appeals may be made from state supreme courts to the High Court of Australia.

Inferior Courts are secondary to Superior Courts. Their existence stems from legislation and they only have the power to decide on matters which Parliament has granted them. Decisions in inferior courts can be appealed to the Superior Court in that area, and then to the High Court of Australia.

Elections

Main articles: Australian electoral system and Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives

Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia from 2010–2013 and the first female Prime Minister of the country.

At a national level, elections are held at least once every three years.[6] The Prime Minister can advise the Governor-General to call an election for the House of Representatives at any time, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the Australian Constitution. Although governments have preferred simultaneous elections of the House and the Senate, the differences in timing and constitutional requirements mean that separate elections have occurred. The most recent Australian federal election took place on 18 May 2019.

The House of Representatives is elected using the Australian instant-runoff voting system, which results in the preference flows from minor party voters to the two major parties being significant in electoral outcomes. The Senate is elected using the single transferable voting system, which has resulted in a greater presence of minor parties in the Senate. For most of the last thirty years a balance of power has existed, whereby neither government nor opposition has had overall control of the Senate. This limitation to its power has required governments to frequently seek the support of minor parties or independent Senators in order to secure their legislative agenda. The ease with which minor parties can secure representation in the Senate compared to the House of Representatives, a result of proportional representation in the Senate, has meant that minor parties have often focused their election efforts on the upper house. This is true also at state level (only the two territories and Queensland are unicameral). Minor parties have only rarely been able to win seats in the House of Representatives, though five minor party members or independents won seats at the 2016 election.

State and local government

Main articles: Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories and Local government in Australia

States and territories of Australia

Australia's six states and two territories are structured within a political framework similar to that of the Commonwealth. Each state has its own bicameral Parliament, with the exception of Queensland and the two territories, whose Parliaments are unicameral. Each state has a Governor, who undertakes a role equivalent to that of the Governor-General at the federal level, and a Premier, who is the head of government and is equivalent to the Prime Minister. Each state also has its own supreme court, from which appeals can be made to the High Court of Australia.

Elections in the six Australian states and two territories are held at least once every four years. In New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, election dates are fixed by legislation. However, the other state premiers and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory have the same discretion in calling elections as the Prime Minister at national level.

Local government in Australia is the third (and lowest) tier of government, administered by the states and territories which in turn are beneath the federal tier. Unlike the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand, there is only one level of local government in all states, with no distinction such as counties and cities. Today, most local governments have equivalent powers within a state, and styles such as "shire" or "city" refer to the nature of the settlements they are based around.

Ideology in Australian politics

Sir Robert Menzies of the Liberal party, Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister

See also: Conservatism in Australia, Liberalism in Australia, and Socialism in Australia

The Australian party system has been described by political scientists as more ideologically driven than other similar Anglophone countries such as the United States and Canada.[12] In early Australian political history, class interests played a significant role in the division between the then-democratic socialist Australian Labor Party and the Coalition, which consisted of the conservative Liberal Party and agrarian conservative Australian Country Party.[13][14]

In contemporary Australian political culture, the Coalition (Liberal and National parties) is considered centre-right and the Australian Labor Party is considered centre-left. Australian conservatism is largely represented by the Coalition, along with Australian liberalism. The Labor Party categorises itself as social democratic,[15] although it has pursued a liberal economic and social policy since the prime ministership of Bob Hawke.[16][17] Parliamentary Labor Party members such as Andrew Leigh have argued that the party should be reclassified as social liberal.[18][19] The Labor Party still maintains its historical Socialist Objective in its constitution, however, it is seen as an ideological anachronism within the party.[20][21]

Queensland and Western Australia are regarded as comparatively conservative.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory are regarded as comparatively left of centre.[27][28][29][30] New South Wales, the largest state by population, has often been regarded as a politically moderate bellwether state.[30][27]

Since the 2007 elections, the voting patterns of the Australian electorate have shifted. There is more volatility in the Australian electorate than ever before. More Australian voters are swinging between the two major parties or are voting for third parties, with 23% of Australians voting for a minor party as of the 2016 federal election.[31]

Political parties

Main articles: List of political parties in Australia and List of historical political parties in Australia

Organised, national political parties have dominated Australia's political landscape since federation. The late 19th century saw the rise of the Australian Labor Party, which represented organised workers. Opposing interests coalesced into two main parties: a centre-right party with a base in business and the middle classes that has been predominantly conservative and moderate, now the Liberal Party of Australia; and a rural or agrarian conservative party, now the National Party of Australia. While there are a small number of other political parties that have achieved parliamentary representation, these main three dominate organised politics everywhere in Australia and only on rare occasions have any other parties or independent members of parliament played any role at all in the formation or maintenance of governments.

Australian politics operates as a two-party system, as a result of the permanent coalition between the Liberal Party and National Party. Internal party discipline has historically been tight, unlike the situation in other countries such as the United States. Australia's political system has not always been a two-party system, but nor has it always been as internally stable as in recent decades.

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a social democratic party. It is a left leaning party with tendency towards social welfare and government assistance programs. It was founded by the Australian labour movement and broadly represents the urban working and middle classes.

The Liberal Party of Australia is a party of the centre-right which broadly represents businesses, the urban middle classes and many rural people. Its permanent coalition partner at national level is the National Party of Australia, formerly known as the Country Party, a conservative party which represents rural interests. These two parties are collectively known as the Coalition. In Queensland, and more recently in NSW, the two parties have officially merged to form the Liberal National Party, and in the Northern Territory, the National Party is known as the Country Liberal Party.

Minor parties in Australian politics include a green party, the Australian Greens, the largest of the minor parties; a centrist party, Centre Alliance; a nationalist party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation; and an anti-privatisation party, Katter's Australian Party. Other significant parties in recent years have included the Palmer United Party, the socially conservative Family First Party, among others. Historically significant parties have included the United Australia Party, the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), the Communist Party of Australia, the socially liberal Australian Democrats among others.

Timeline

Since federation, there have been 30 Prime Ministers of Australia. The longest-serving Prime Minister was Sir Robert Menzies of the Liberal Party, who served for 19 years from 1939–41, and again from 1949–66. The only other Prime Minister to serve for longer than a decade was John Howard, also of the Liberal Party, who led for more than 11 years from 1996–2007. The Coalition and its direct predecessors have governed at the federal level for a large majority of Australia's history since federation: 30,548 days as compared to Labor's 12,252 days.

Prime ministers' parties by time in office

• Liberal Party of Australia – 17866 days as of 15 August 2020.
• Australian Labor Party – 13620 days
• Nationalist Party – 5142 days (Party Deregistered)
• United Australia Party – 3505 days (Party Deregistered)
• Protectionist Party – 2442 days (Party Deregistered)
• Commonwealth Liberal Party – 783 days (Party Deregistered)
• Free Trade Party – 322 days (Party Deregistered)
• Country Party – 84 days (Party Renamed)

House of Representatives primary, two-party and seat results

A two-party system has existed in the Australian House of Representatives since the two non-Labor parties merged in 1909. The 1910 election was the first to elect a majority government, with the Australian Labor Party concurrently winning the first Senate majority. Prior to 1909 a three-party system existed in the chamber. A two-party-preferred vote (2PP) has been calculated since the 1919 change from first-past-the-post to preferential voting and subsequent introduction of the Coalition. ALP = Australian Labor Party, L+NP = grouping of Liberal/National/LNP/CLP Coalition parties (and predecessors), Oth = other parties and independents.

House of Representatives results

Election Year		Labour		Free Trade		Protectionist	Independent	Other parties		Total seats
1st	1901	14		28		31	2			75
Election Year		Labour		Free Trade		Protectionist	Independent	Other parties		Total seats
2nd	1903	23		25		26		1	Revenue Tariff	75
Election Year		Labour		Anti-Socialist		Protectionist	Independent	Other parties		Total seats
3rd	1906	26		26		21	1	1	Western Australian	75

	Primary vote			2PP vote		Seats
	ALP	L+NP	Oth.	ALP	L+NP	ALP	L+NP	Oth.	Total
13 April 1910 election	50.0%	45.1%	4.9%	–	–	42	31	2	75
31 May 1913 election	48.5%	48.9%	2.6%	–	–	37	38	0	75
5 September 1914 election	50.9%	47.2%	1.9%	–	–	42	32	1	75
5 May 1917 election	43.9%	54.2%	1.9%	–	–	22	53	0	75
13 December 1919 election	42.5%	54.3%	3.2%	45.9%	54.1%	25	38	2	75
16 December 1922 election	42.3%	47.8%	9.9%	48.8%	51.2%	29	40	6	75
14 November 1925 election	45.0%	53.2%	1.8%	46.2%	53.8%	23	50	2	75
17 November 1928 election	44.6%	49.6%	5.8%	48.4%	51.6%	31	42	2	75
12 October 1929 election	48.8%	44.2%	7.0%	56.7%	43.3%	46	24	5	75
19 December 1931 election	27.1%	48.4%	24.5%	41.5%	58.5%	14	50	11	75
15 September 1934 election	26.8%	45.6%	27.6%	46.5%	53.5%	18	42	14	74
23 October 1937 election	43.2%	49.3%	7.5%	49.4%	50.6%	29	43	2	74
21 September 1940 election	40.2%	43.9%	15.9%	50.3%	49.7%	32	36	6	74
21 August 1943 election	49.9%	23.0%	27.1%	58.2%	41.8%	49	19	6	74
28 September 1946 election	49.7%	39.3%	11.0%	54.1%	45.9%	43	26	5	74
10 December 1949 election	46.0%	50.3%	3.7%	49.0%	51.0%	47	74	0	121
28 April 1951 election	47.6%	50.3%	2.1%	49.3%	50.7%	52	69	0	121
29 May 1954 election	50.0%	46.8%	3.2%	50.7%	49.3%	57	64	0	121
10 December 1955 election	44.6%	47.6%	7.8%	45.8%	54.2%	47	75	0	122
22 November 1958 election	42.8%	46.6%	10.6%	45.9%	54.1%	45	77	0	122
9 December 1961 election	47.9%	42.1%	10.0%	50.5%	49.5%	60	62	0	122
30 November 1963 election	45.5%	46.0%	8.5%	47.4%	52.6%	50	72	0	122
26 November 1966 election	40.0%	50.0%	10.0%	43.1%	56.9%	41	82	1	124
25 October 1969 election	47.0%	43.3%	9.7%	50.2%	49.8%	59	66	0	125
2 December 1972 election	49.6%	41.5%	8.9%	52.7%	47.3%	67	58	0	125
18 May 1974 election	49.3%	44.9%	5.8%	51.7%	48.3%	66	61	0	127
13 December 1975 election	42.8%	53.1%	4.1%	44.3%	55.7%	36	91	0	127
10 December 1977 election	39.7%	48.1%	12.2%	45.4%	54.6%	38	86	0	124
18 October 1980 election	45.2%	46.3%	8.5%	49.6%	50.4%	51	74	0	125
5 March 1983 election	49.5%	43.6%	6.9%	53.2%	46.8%	75	50	0	125
1 December 1984 election	47.6%	45.0%	7.4%	51.8%	48.2%	82	66	0	148
11 July 1987 election	45.8%	46.1%	8.1%	50.8%	49.2%	86	62	0	148
24 March 1990 election	39.4%	43.5%	17.1%	49.9%	50.1%	78	69	1	148
13 March 1993 election	44.9%	44.3%	10.7%	51.4%	48.6%	80	65	2	147
2 March 1996 election	38.7%	47.3%	14.0%	46.4%	53.6%	49	94	5	148
3 October 1998 election	40.1%	39.5%	20.4%	51.0%	49.0%	67	80	1	148
10 November 2001 election	37.8%	43.0%	19.2%	49.0%	51.0%	65	82	3	150
9 October 2004 election	37.6%	46.7%	15.7%	47.3%	52.7%	60	87	3	150
24 November 2007 election	43.4%	42.1%	14.5%	52.7%	47.3%	83	65	2	150
21 August 2010 election	38.0%	43.3%	18.7%	50.1%	49.9%	72	72	6	150
7 September 2013 election	33.4%	45.6%	21.0%	46.5%	53.5%	55	90	5	150
2 July 2016 election	34.7%	42.0%	23.3%	49.6%	50.4%	69	76	5	150
18 May 2019 election	33.3%	41.4%	25.2%	48.5%	51.5%	68	77	6	151

Historical party composition of the Senate

The Senate has included representatives from a range of political parties, including several parties that have seldom or never had representation in the House of Representatives, but which have consistently secured a small but significant level of electoral support, as the table shows.

Results represent the composition of the Senate after the elections. The full Senate has been contested on eight occasions; the inaugural election and seven double dissolutions. These are underlined and highlighted in puce.[32]

Election Year		Labor	Liberal[lower-alpha 1]		National[lower-alpha 2]	Democratic Labor	Democrats	Greens	CLP	Independent	Other parties		Total seats	Electoral system
1st	1901	8	11[lower-alpha 3]	17									36	Plurality-at-large voting
2nd	1903	8	12[lower-alpha 3]	14						1	1	Revenue Tariff	36	Plurality-at-large voting
3rd	1906	15	6[lower-alpha 3]	13						2			36	Plurality-at-large voting
4th	1910	22	14										36	Plurality-at-large voting
5th	1913	29	7										36	Plurality-at-large voting
6th	1914	31	5										36	Plurality-at-large voting
7th	1917	12	24										36	Plurality-at-large voting
8th	1919	1	35										36	Preferential block voting
9th	1922	12	24										36	Preferential block voting
10th	1925	8	25		3								36	Preferential block voting
11th	1928	7	24		5								36	Preferential block voting
12th	1931	10	21		5								36	Preferential block voting
13th	1934	3	26		7								36	Preferential block voting
14th	1937	16	16		4								36	Preferential block voting
15th	1940	17	15		4								36	Preferential block voting
16th	1943	22	12		2								36	Preferential block voting
17th	1946	33	2		1								36	Preferential block voting
18th	1949	34	21		5								60	Single transferable vote (Full preferential voting)
19th	1951	28	26		6								60	Single transferable vote
20th	1953	29	26		5								60	Single transferable vote
21st	1955	28	24		6	2							60	Single transferable vote
22nd	1958	26	25		7	2							60	Single transferable vote
23rd	1961	28	24		6	1				1			60	Single transferable vote
24th	1964	27	23		7	2				1			60	Single transferable vote
25th	1967	27	21		7	4				1			60	Single transferable vote
26th	1970	26	21		5	5				3			60	Single transferable vote
27th	1974	29	23		6					1	1	Liberal Movement	60	Single transferable vote
28th	1975	27	26		6				1	1	1	Liberal Movement	64	Single transferable vote
29th	1977	27	27		6		2		1	1			64	Single transferable vote
30th	1980	27	28		3		5		1	1			64	Single transferable vote
31st	1983	30	23		4		5		1	1			64	Single transferable vote
32nd	1984	34	27		5		7		1	1	1	Nuclear Disarmament	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
33rd	1987	32	26		7		7		1	2	1	Nuclear Disarmament	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
34th	1990	32	28		5		8		1	1	1	Greens (WA)	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
35th	1993	30	29		6		7		1	1	2	Greens (WA) (2)	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
36th	1996	29	31		5		7		1	1	2	Greens (WA), Greens (Tas)	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
37th	1998	29	31		3		9	1	1	1	1	One Nation	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
38th	2001	28	31		3		8	2	1	2	1	One Nation	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
39th	2004	28	33		5		4	4	1		1	Family First	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
40th	2007	32	32		4			5	1	1	1	Family First	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
41st	2010	31	28 + (3 LNP)		2	1		9	1	1			76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
42nd	2013	25	23 + (5 LNP)		3 + (1 LNP)	1		10	1	1	6	Family First, Liberal Democrats, Motoring Enthusiast, Palmer United (3)	76	Single transferable vote (Group voting ticket)
43rd	2016	26	21 + (3 LNP)		3 + (2 LNP)			9	1		11	Family First, Jacqui Lambie, Justice Party, Liberal Democrats, Nick Xenophon Team (3), One Nation (4)	76	Single transferable vote (Optional preferential voting)
44th	2019	26	26 + (4 LNP)		2 + (2 LNP)			9	1	1	5	Centre Alliance (2), Jacqui Lambie, One Nation (2),	76	Single transferable vote (Optional preferential voting)

See also

• Far-right politics in Australia
• Politics of New South Wales
• Politics of Queensland
• Politics of Western Australia
• Political donations in Australia
• Political families of Australia

References

1. Hardgrave, Gary (2 March 2015). "Commonwealth Day 2015". Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Government of Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
2. "Is voting compulsory?". Voting within Australia – Frequently Asked Questions. Australian Electoral Commission. 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
3. The Economist Intelligence Unit (8 January 2019). "Democracy Index 2019". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
4. "The World Factbook 2009". Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
5. Thompson, Elaine (1980). "The "Washminster" Mutation". Australian Journal of Political Science. 15: 32.
6. The timing of elections is related to the dissolution or expiry of the House of Representatives, which extends for a maximum period of three years from the date of its first sitting, not the date of the election of its members. The house can be dissolved and a new election called at any time. In 12 out of 41 parliaments since Federation, more than three years have elapsed between elections. There is a complex formula for determining the date of such elections, which must satisfy section 32 of the Constitution of Australia and sections 156–8 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. These provisions do not allow an election to be held less than 33 days or more than 68 days after the dissolution of the House of Representatives. See 2010 Australian federal election for an example of how the formula applies in practice.
7. "Politics, media and democracy in Australia: public and producer perceptions of the political public sphere". Democratic Representation and the Property Franchise in Australian Local Government. October 2016. doi:10.1111/1467-8500.12217.
8. "Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia: Governor-General's role". Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
9. Uhr, Gregory; Uhr, John (13 April 1998). Deliberative Democracy in Australia: The Changing Place of Parliament. Cambridge University Press. pp. 20–37. ISBN 9780521624657.
10. "Pearce, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
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Further reading

• Chen, Peter (2019). Australian Politics and Policy: Senior Edition. Sydney University Press. ISBN 9781743326671.
• Robert Corcoran and Jackie Dickenson (2010), A Dictionary of Australian Politics, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW
• Department of the Senate, 'Electing Australia's Senators', Senate Briefs No. 1, 2006, retrieved July 2007
• Rodney Smith (2001), Australian Political Culture, Longman, Frenchs Forest NSW