What is the legislative government?

The legislative branch of Australian government is Parliament, the elected body responsible for making laws. At federal level, the Parliament consists of the King (the Governor-General representing the King for royal assent), the Senate, and the House of Representatives, working together to pass legislation. State and territory parliaments have parallel structures for state and territory law-making.

The federal Parliament has 227 members in total: 151 in the House of Representatives and 76 in the Senate. The House is directly elected at federal elections, with each member representing a single electorate of roughly equal population. The Senate has 12 senators from each state and 2 from each of the two mainland territories. The Speaker presides over the House, the President over the Senate. Both presiding officers are elected by their respective chambers at the start of each Parliament.

The Parliament's main functions are passing legislation, controlling Commonwealth spending (through the annual Budget process), providing the chamber from which the government is drawn and to which it is accountable, scrutinising the executive through Question Time, committee inquiries, and Senate Estimates, and representing constituents on matters of public concern. The Parliament can amend the Constitution only by passing a constitutional alteration bill that is then approved at a referendum under section 128.

State and territory parliaments handle state and territory matters. The six states have bicameral parliaments (Queensland is the exception, being unicameral). The two mainland self-governing territories have unicameral Legislative Assemblies. Each parliament has its own constitution, electoral law, and standing orders. State parliaments cover the great majority of criminal law, residential tenancies, public schools, public hospitals, state roads, police, courts, and many other areas. Together the federal, state, and territory parliaments are the legislative backbone of Australian government, with about 4,000 legislators across the country (627 federal MPs and senators, plus state and territory members, plus mayors and councillors at local level). Legislative power is one of the three branches of government, alongside the executive and the judiciary.