Structures, Institutions and Processes of Government
Core concepts
You must be able to map the three branches of government and explain how they interact. The legislature (Commonwealth Parliament: King, Senate, House of Representatives) makes law; the executive (ministers, Cabinet, public service, Governor-General) administers it; the judiciary interprets and applies it. Understand responsible government: the executive is drawn from and answerable to parliament, and the ministry holds office only while it commands a majority in the lower house. Contrast this with the separation of powers, which is only partial in Australia because ministers sit in parliament. Know the Westminster conventions: ministerial responsibility, collective Cabinet solidarity, the Governor-General's reserve powers, and the caretaker period.
Processes to name
Trace a bill through the House, Senate, royal assent and commencement. Explain the committee system, question time, the role of the Senate as a states' house and house of review, and the significance of a hung parliament and confidence-and-supply agreements. At state level, know that WA has a Governor, Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, and that local government is a creature of state statute, not a constitutional tier.
Traps
Questions often blur constitutional text with convention. The Constitution does not mention Cabinet or the Prime Minister; these are conventions. Do not say the Senate is a house of review in a way that implies it can control the executive's confidence-it cannot normally. Distinguish the Governor-General's formal powers (assent, appointing ministers) from reserve powers exercised without ministerial advice. Watch for confusion between a ministerial and a public service role.
Rule of thumb
Ask: is this rule written in the Constitution, in statute, or is it a convention? Then ask which branch performs the function. This two-step test resolves most institutional questions.
Worked example
If a question asks who can dismiss a minister, the answer is the Prime Minister (by reshuffle) or the Governor-General on the PM's advice-not parliament by simple vote, though parliament can censure and pressure the executive.