What is a double dissolution in Australian politics?
Answer
When both houses of Parliament are dissolved and an election is called
Explanation
A double dissolution is the simultaneous dissolution of both Houses of the Australian Parliament, leading to an election in which all 151 House of Representatives seats and all 76 Senate seats are contested. It is the constitutional mechanism (set out in section 57 of the Constitution) for resolving deadlocks between the government and the Senate that cannot be resolved through ordinary politics.
The trigger requires specific steps. The House of Representatives must pass a bill. The Senate must reject it, fail to pass it, or amend it unacceptably to the House. After at least three months pass, the House must pass the same bill again. The Senate must again reject it, fail to pass it, or amend it unacceptably. The Prime Minister can then advise the Governor-General to dissolve both Houses, and the Governor-General can act on that advice (although the Governor-General retains discretion). The dissolution must happen more than six months before the natural expiry of the House of Representatives.
Seven double-dissolution elections have taken place since federation: 1914, 1951, 1974, 1975, 1983, 1987, and 2016. Each has involved disputed legislation that became the trigger, but elections fought on double-dissolution triggers rarely turn primarily on the underlying bill. The 1974 and 1975 double dissolutions led to the Whitlam government's constitutional crisis. The 2016 election, triggered by the Australian Building and Construction Commission bill and others, was called by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and returned the Coalition with a reduced majority.
If the deadlock persists after the double dissolution, the Constitution allows a joint sitting of both Houses to be convened by the Governor-General. At a joint sitting, members of both Houses vote together as a single body, with the deadlock bill passing if it secures a majority. Only one joint sitting has happened in Australian history, in 1974 after the Whitlam government's double dissolution, when six pieces of legislation passed including the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Act, the Medibank Act, and the senators (NSW) Act. Double dissolutions also have consequences for Senate composition, since the quotas for election are smaller (one-thirteenth rather than one-seventh), favouring minor parties and independents.
Why this matters for your test
Double dissolution is the constitutional mechanism for resolving Parliament deadlocks, and recognising the section 57 process plus the historical examples helps new citizens understand the country's most distinctive constitutional tool.
Source: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond (2024)
