Australian Government
Government of the Commonwealth | |
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Federal government | |
Overview | |
Established | 1 January 1901 |
Leader | Prime Minister (Anthony Albanese) |
Appointed by | Governor-General (David Hurley) |
Main organ | |
Ministries | 16 Commonwealth Parliament |
Annual budget | $668.1 billion (2023–24)[1] |
Headquarters | Parliament House, Canberra |
Website | Government Directory |
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Australia |
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Constitution |
Australia portal |
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the
The
The prime minister and cabinet ministers form the
The government is based in the nation's capital,
Name
The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth".[14] This was the name used in many early federal government publications.[15]
However, in 1965
In some contexts, the term "government" refers to all public agencies that exercise the power of the State, whether legislative, executive or judicial.[22][23]
Executive power
The government's primary role, in its executive capacity, is to implement the laws passed by the Parliament. However, laws are frequently drafted according to the interests of the executive branch as the government often also controls the legislative branch.
Unlike the other two branches of government, however, membership of the executive is not clearly defined. One definition describes the executive as a pyramid, consisting of three layers. At the top stands The King, as the symbolic apex and formal repository of executive power. Below him lies a second layer made up of the prime minister, cabinet and other ministers who in practice lead the executive. Finally, the bottom layer includes
As most executive power is granted by statute, the executive power of the government is similarly limited to those areas in which the Commonwealth is granted the power to legislate under the Constitution (primarily under
There are times when the government acts in a caretaker capacity, principally in the period before and immediately following a general election.[33]
The role of the King and the governor-general
The King is not involved with the day-to-day operations of the government,
Similarly, laws passed by both houses of parliament require royal assent before being enacted, as the monarch is a constituent part of the Parliament.[43]
However, in all these cases, except for certain reserve powers, the King and the governor-general must follow the advice of the prime minister or other ministers in the exercise of his powers. The validity of the use of the powers during that event remain highly contested.
Federal Executive council
The Federal Executive Council is the body that formally advises the governor-general in the exercise of executive power. Decisions of the body give legal effect to decisions already deliberated at cabinet. All current and formers ministers are members of the council, although only current ministers are summoned to meetings. The governor-general usually presides at council meetings, but in his or her absence another minister nominated as the vice-president of the Executive Council presides at the meeting of the council.[47] Since 1 June 2022, the vice-president has been senator Katy Gallagher.[48]
Cabinet
The cabinet of Australia is the de facto highest executive body of the government. It consists of the prime minister and senior ministers and makes most of the important policy decisions of the government. Members of the cabinet are selected by the prime minister and may be added or removed at any time, usually through a cabinet reshuffle.[49] Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. Ministers not part of cabinet belong to the outer ministry. Additionally, there are also assistant ministers (formally parliamentary secretaries[50][51]), responsible for a specific policy area, reporting directly to a cabinet minister.[52][53][54]
The Constitution of Australia does not recognise the cabinet as a legal entity; it exists solely by convention. Its decisions do not in and of themselves have legal force. However, it serves as the practical expression of the Federal Executive Council, which is Australia's highest formal governmental body. In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the cabinet.[55] All members of the cabinet are members of the Executive Council. A senior member of the cabinet holds the office of vice-president of the Executive Council and acts as presiding officer of the Executive Council in the absence of the governor-general.[56]
Until 1956 all members of the ministry were members of the cabinet. The growth of the ministry in the 1940s and 1950s made this increasingly impractical, and in 1956
The prime minister makes all cabinet and ministerial appointments at their discretion, although in practice they consult with senior colleagues in making appointments. When the
When
The cabinet meets not only in Canberra but also in state capitals, most frequently Sydney and Melbourne. Kevin Rudd was in favour of the Cabinet meeting in other places, such as major regional cities.[59] There are Commonwealth Parliament Offices in each state capital, with those in Sydney located in 1 Bligh Street.[60]
Departments
As of 12 March 2024[update], there are 16 departments of the Australian Government.[61]
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- Attorney-General's Department
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- Department of Defence
- Department of Education
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Department of Finance
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Department of Health and Aged Care
- Department of Home Affairs
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Department of Social Services
- Department of the Treasury
- Department of Veterans' Affairs
Additionally, there are four departments which support the Parliament of Australia:[62]
- Department of Parliamentary Services
- Department of the House of Representatives
- Department of the Senate
- Parliamentary Budget Office
Publicly owned entities
Corporations prescribed by acts of parliament
The following corporations are prescribed by Acts of Parliament:
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation[63]
- Clean Energy Finance Corporation[64]
- Special Broadcasting Service[65]
Government Business Enterprises
As of March 2024[update], the following Corporate Commonwealth entities are prescribed as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs):[66]
The following Commonwealth companies are prescribed as GBEs:[66]
- Australian Submarine Corporation
- Australian Naval Infrastructure
- Australian Rail Track Corporation
- National Intermodal Corporation
- NBN Co
- Snowy Hydro
- Western Sydney Airport
Other public non-financial corporations
See also
- Australian Public Service
- Referendums in Australia
- States and territories of Australia
- Timeline of the expansion of federal powers in Australia
References
- ^ Chalmers, Jim (9 May 2023). "Budget Paper 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook" (PDF). Australian Government Budget 2023–24. p. 90. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Infosheet 19 - The House, government and opposition". Australian Parliament House. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Government". Parliamentary Education Office. Australian Government. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Which members of the government are considered a part of the Executive government and the Cabinet?". Parliamentary Education Office. Australian Government. 14 December 2023.
- ^ Colloquially, all members of the parliamentary party that support the current government are described as members of the government, however only ministers formally belong to the executive government. [4]
- ^ a b "Infosheet 20 - The Australian system of government". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "About the House of Representatives". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the originalon 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Prime Minister". Parliamentary Education Office. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "Ministers and shadow ministers". Parliamentary Education Office. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "Cabinet". Parliamentary Education Office. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- Australian Trade and Investment Commission. Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Contact us". High Court of Australia. High Court of Australia. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Constitution of Australia (Cth) s 4
- ^ a b "The term 'Australian Government'". Australian Law Journal. 48 (1): 1–3. 1974 – via Westlaw.
- ^ "Question: Commonwealth of Australia". House of Representatives Official Hansard. Vol. 1965, no. 42. 20 October 1965. p. 1976.
- ISBN 0522850987.
- ISBN 978-1-86287-629-3 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Lundie, Rob; Horne, Nicholas (22 July 2020). "'What's the difference?': explaining parliamentary terms". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Government terms". Australian Style Guide. 31 March 2023.
- ^ "1. Introduction to Australia and its system of government". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Quick, John; Garran, Robert (1901). The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. p. 699 – via Internet Archive.
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- ^ "Separation of powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary". Parliamentary Education Office. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Appleby, Gabrielle (14 September 2023). "Explainer: what is executive government and what does it have to do with the Voice to Parliament?". UNSW Newsroom. University of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
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- ^ Victoria v Commonwealth [1975] HCA 52 at para 19 of Mason J's opinion, (1975) 134 CLR 338
- Pape v Commissioner of Taxation [2009] HCA 23, (2009) 238 CLR1
- ^ Ruddock v Vadarlis [2001] FCA 1329, (2001) 110 FCR 491 (18 September 2001), Federal Court (Full Court) (Australia)
- Museum of Australian Democracy. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
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- ^ Constitution (Cth) s 62
- ISBN 978-1-74366-654-8. Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Constitution of Australia (Cth) s 64
- ^ "Australian - New Zealand Agreement 1944". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. 21 January 1944.
- ^ Van Heyningen v Netherlands-Indies Government [1949] St R Qd 54.
- ^ Trade Agreement between the Governments of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland [1955] ATS 5
- ^ In a similar vein, the phrase His/Her Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia was historically used occasionally in formal legal contexts to refer to the federal government.[39][40][41]
- ^ Constitution (Cth) s 1; Constitution (Cth) s 58
- ^ "Who has more power, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister?". The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "What are reserve powers?". The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Reserve Powers and the Whitlam dismissal". Rule of Law Education Centre. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Federal Executive Council Handbook 2021" (PDF). Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Senator Katy Gallagher, ACT". OpenAustralia.org. OpenAustralia Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Cabinet". House of Representatives Practice (7th edition). Parliament of Australia. June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ Ministers of State Act 1952 (Cth) s 4
- ^ "Appointments revoked, appointments made by the Governor-General". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 31 May 2023. Gazette ID: C2023G00600.
- ^ Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Archived from the originalon 26 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Albanese Government full Ministry". Prime Minister of Australia. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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- ^ "Why is it that the Prime Minister and Cabinet are not mentioned in the Australian Constitution?". Parliamentary Education Office. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Federal Executive Council". House of Representatives Practice (7th edition). Parliament of Australia. June 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "The Ministry". House of Representatives Practice (7th edition). Parliament of Australia. June 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ Worsley, Ben (11 September 2007). "Rudd seizes power from factions". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007.
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- ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (Cth)
- ^ Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012 (Cth)
- ^ Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 (Cth)
- ^ a b "Government Business Enterprises". Department of Finance. Australian Government. 27 September 2023.