WACE ATAR Politics and Law key terms

A model of parliamentary government inherited from Britain in which the executive is drawn from and answerable to the legislature, and a ceremonial head of state acts on ministerial advice.

The principle that ministers are accountable to parliament, and through it to voters, for their actions and must retain the confidence of the lower house to remain in office.

The division of governmental authority among legislature, executive and judiciary so that no single body holds all power, with each branch able to check the others.

An unwritten rule of political practice, such as that the Governor-General acts on ministerial advice, which is obeyed though not enforceable by any court.

Discretionary powers of the Crown's representative, such as dismissing a government or refusing dissolution, exercised without ministerial advice in exceptional circumstances.

A legislature composed of two houses, typically a lower house forming government and an upper house reviewing legislation, as in the Commonwealth Parliament.

A situation where the upper house is controlled by parties or crossbenchers opposed to the government, enabling it to block or amend government legislation.

The position of minor parties or independents whose votes are needed to pass legislation when neither major party holds a majority in a house.

Members of parliament who belong to neither the governing party nor the official opposition, including minor party and independent members.

An electoral system in which voters rank candidates, and preferences are distributed until one candidate secures an absolute majority of formal votes.

An electoral system allocating seats roughly in proportion to each party's share of the vote, used for the Senate and typically producing multi-member electorates.

A legal requirement that enrolled voters attend a polling place or lodge a valid ballot, with failure to do so attracting a fine.

A ballot paper that cannot be counted because it is blank, incorrectly marked or otherwise fails to comply with the rules for a valid vote.

Unequal population sizes among electorates, meaning some votes carry more weight than others in choosing representatives.

The periodic redrawing of electoral boundaries by an independent commission to reflect population change and keep electorates of broadly equal size.

The deliberate manipulation of electoral boundaries to favour a particular party or candidate, named after an early American politician.

A national vote in which electors approve or reject a proposed alteration to the Commonwealth Constitution, requiring a double majority to succeed.

The requirement that a constitutional referendum pass nationally and also in a majority of states before the alteration takes effect.

A non-binding public vote on a question of policy or symbolism, used to gauge opinion rather than to alter the Constitution.

The allocation of law-making authority between the Commonwealth and the states, distinguishing exclusive, concurrent and residual powers.

A legislative power granted solely to the Commonwealth Parliament, such as over defence, currency and customs, which the states cannot exercise.

A legislative power held by both Commonwealth and state parliaments, such as taxation, where inconsistency between laws is resolved in favour of the Commonwealth.

Law-making authority remaining with the states, covering matters not expressly listed in the Constitution, such as education, health and criminal law.

The constitutional provision stating that where a valid Commonwealth law and a state law are inconsistent, the Commonwealth law prevails and the state law is invalid to the extent of inconsistency.

A process under section 51(xxxvii) by which states hand legislative responsibility for a matter to the Commonwealth, often subject to conditions and time limits.

Arrangements in which Commonwealth and state governments share responsibility for policy areas through intergovernmental agreements, ministerial councils and joint funding schemes.

The mismatch between the Commonwealth's dominance in revenue raising and the states' responsibility for costly service delivery, managed through grants.

A conditional payment made by the Commonwealth to a state under the Constitution, allowing federal influence over policy areas the Commonwealth cannot legislate directly.

The principle that everyone, including governments and officials, is subject to the same publicly known laws, applied by independent courts rather than by arbitrary power.

The security of judges' tenure, remuneration and decision-making from interference by the executive or legislature, so that cases are decided impartially.

The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a particular kind of dispute or matter, determined by statute and the court's place in the hierarchy.

A court's power to hear a matter at first instance, before any appeal, as opposed to reviewing a decision already made elsewhere.

A court's authority to review and correct decisions made by lower courts, typically on questions of law, fact or the adequacy of a sentence.

A principle from an earlier decision that binds lower courts in the same hierarchy to decide similar cases in a similar way, promoting consistency.

Law developed by judges through decided cases rather than by parliament, also used to describe the legal system inherited from England.

Legislation enacted by parliament, which prevails over judge-made law where the two conflict and is the dominant source of modern Australian law.

Rules, regulations or by-laws made by the executive or agencies under authority granted by an Act of parliament, subject to parliamentary scrutiny and disallowance.

Beyond the power conferred by law, describing administrative action or delegated legislation that exceeds the authority granted by the enabling statute and is therefore invalid.

The power of courts to examine decisions of the executive or lower tribunals and declare them unlawful where they exceed power or breach procedural fairness.

Procedural fairness owed by decision-makers, chiefly the right to a fair hearing and the requirement that a decision-maker be free from bias.

A protection written into the Constitution, such as trial by jury for indictable offences or freedom of religion under section 116.

A constitutional protection found by the High Court to be inherent in the text and structure of the Constitution, notably political communication.

Australia's highest court, which hears appeals and interprets the Constitution, and whose decisions bind all other courts in the country.

Laws requiring courts to impose a fixed minimum penalty for certain offences, reducing judicial discretion and a frequent subject of rights-based criticism.

Proposals to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution and address historical dispossession through treaty or agreement processes.

The soundness of elections, including accurate enrolment, transparent counting, disclosure of political donations and resistance to misinformation and foreign interference.