What powers do territories lack compared to states?
Answer
Territories have less constitutional power over some matters and the Parliament retains more authority
Explanation
Territories lack two main powers that states hold: constitutional status and the right to equal Senate representation. Several other differences flow from these structural differences, including the federal Parliament's power to override territory laws under section 122 of the Constitution.
Constitutional status is the most fundamental difference. States are founding members of the federation and can be altered or abolished only under section 123 of the Constitution, which requires consent of the state Parliament and majority approval at a state referendum. Territories are governed under section 122, which gives the federal Parliament 'plenary power' to make laws for them. The federal Parliament can in principle dissolve a territory's self-government, although this has not been done for the mainland territories.
Senate representation is another major difference. Each state returns 12 senators (under the equal-state principle in section 7), while each mainland self-governing territory returns only 2 senators. State senators serve six-year terms with half elected at each ordinary federal election. Territory senators serve three-year terms aligned with the House of Representatives cycle. This produces a Senate of 76 members rather than the 84 that would result from equal treatment of states and territories.
Several specific powers and arrangements operate differently. Territory leaders are called Chief Ministers rather than Premiers. The King's representative in the Northern Territory is the Administrator (not a Governor). The ACT has no equivalent vice-regal position at all. The Australian Federal Police delivers all general policing in the ACT, Norfolk Island, and Jervis Bay under contract. The 1997 override of the NT's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was the most famous federal intervention. The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 repealed the 1997 restriction, but the underlying federal power to override territory laws remains intact. Statehood for the Northern Territory was rejected by NT voters in 1998 and remains a contested proposition. External territories (Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island, Australian Antarctic Territory, and others) have even less self-government than the mainland self-governing territories.
Why this matters for your test
Territories have fewer constitutional protections and less representation than states, and recognising the specific differences explains why the NT statehood debate has recurred.
Source: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond (2024)
