What is responsible government?

Responsible government is the principle that the executive (the Prime Minister and ministers) is drawn from and accountable to the elected Parliament, and continues in office only as long as it retains the confidence of the House of Representatives. It is fundamental to Australian parliamentary democracy and shapes the daily operation of government.

Responsible government has three main elements. First, ministers must be Members of Parliament (either House). Section 64 of the Australian Constitution requires that a minister who is not a member of Parliament at the time of appointment must become a member within three months. In practice, ministers are almost always already in Parliament when appointed. Second, ministers are individually responsible for their portfolios and collectively responsible as Cabinet for the government's overall conduct. Third, the government must retain the confidence of the House of Representatives to continue in office.

Individual ministerial responsibility operates through Question Time, Senate Estimates, parliamentary committee inquiries, the Statement of Ministerial Standards, and conventions about ministerial resignation for serious failures. Ministers must answer for decisions in their portfolios, must inform Parliament of major decisions, must respond to members' letters, and must follow the law in exercising their ministerial powers. Cabinet collective responsibility means that ministers publicly support Cabinet decisions even where they personally disagreed, with resignation the appropriate course for ministers who cannot accept a decision.

Confidence is the third element. The government must hold a majority in the House of Representatives (currently 76 of 151 seats) to govern. Loss of confidence through a no-confidence motion or defeat on a major bill requires the Prime Minister to resign or advise an election. The 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government remains the most famous Australian example of a confidence controversy, with the Senate's blocking of supply leading to the Governor-General's intervention. More recent examples include the 2010 to 2013 Gillard Labor government's reliance on crossbench confidence support, and the various state minority governments that have operated under formal confidence and supply agreements with independents and minor parties.