Government and the Law in Australia
What the test expects
This domain covers how Australia is governed: the constitutional monarchy, the three levels of government, the separation of powers, parliament and the courts, and how laws are made.
Core knowledge
- Head of state: the King, represented at federal level by the Governor-General and in each state by a Governor.
- Three levels: federal (defence, immigration, foreign affairs, income tax), state and territory (schools, hospitals, roads, police), and local (rubbish, parks, local planning).
- Parliament: the federal Parliament has the King (through the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives. Government is formed by the party or coalition with a majority in the House.
- Separation of powers: legislature makes law, executive administers it, judiciary interprets it.
- Courts: independent judges decide cases; the High Court is the final court of appeal and interprets the Constitution.
- Voting: compulsory for citizens aged 18 and over; preferential voting is used.
Traps to watch
Questions often mix up which level of government is responsible for a service. Health and education are mainly state responsibilities, while immigration and defence are federal. Another trap is confusing the Governor-General with the Prime Minister, or assuming the Senate is where government is formed - it is the House of Representatives. Some items wrongly say judges are elected; they are appointed.
Rule of thumb
If the service is local and practical (bins, footpaths), it is local government; if it is national in scope, it is federal; everything in between is usually state.
Worked example
"Who is responsible for public hospitals?" Defence and immigration are federal, but hospitals and schools are primarily state and territory responsibilities.