Australia, at a national level, operates under a Federal or Commonwealth, bicameral [two houses of parliament] system of government. This page provides information via four main areas.

The first looks at the Commonwealth Parliament and includes information about parliament, parliamentarians, documentation such as Hansard, legislation, publications, Parliamentary Education Office and more.

The Commonwealth Department area lists all departments related to portfolios, while Commonwealth Agencies lists a range of important agencies under either the influence or control of the Commonwealth Government.

The Other Information section has a range of information from special issues to political cartoons and information portals to webcasts.

You are referred to the page on Nationalism and Federation, to gain an historical perspective to the development of national government and politics.

Commonwealth Parliament

• Australian Government Information
  The National Library of Australia. Includes the parliamentary system, Executive Government, Judiciary, Publications, Australia’s government overseas, historical information, The Constitution and more.
• Australia’s System Of Government Information
  An introduction from the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade. You can also access a second source at Infosheet 20 - The Australian System of Government
• Parliament of Australia
  The home page for information on the Commonwealth Parliament. A selection of major links from this page are provided here :

Commonwealth Leaders

• Prime Ministers of Australia
  Listing of all Prime Ministers with details including name, party, dates and time as PM.
• Opposition Leaders
  As for Prime Ministers.
• The Prime Minister
  Find information on the incumbent Prime Minister.

Contact Your MP

• House of Representatives
• The Senate

Documents & Publications

• A Short History of Parliament
  From the Parliamentary Education Office.
• Chronology of Parliaments
  Details about each Australian parliament from first to most recent - election, first sitting, when prorogued, when dissolved. Also available in PDF format.
• Hansard
  ‘Hansard is the name given to transcripts of parliamentary proceedings. The Senate and House of Representatives Hansards are available on the Internet each morning following a sitting day. Hansards of Committee Hearings are also available online. These transcripts are published shortly after the committee meets. The electronic version of Hansard is available from 1981 onwards’.
• Parliamentary Handbook
  Commonwealth of Australia. Covers National Symbols, the current Parliament, election of it, Referendums & Plebiscites, Historical Information.
• Parliament of Australia : House of Representatives
  Publications.

General Information

• Committees
  Both from each house and also joint committees

Houses of Parliament

• House of Representatives
• The Senate

Legislation

• Australian Law
  Covers legislation, court decisions, national bodies, plus legal research tools law blogs and more.
• Bills
  Covers Bills [with both Houses], Acts & Australian Law, proposed legislation, explanations and more.
• ComLaw
  ‘ComLaw contains Commonwealth primary legislation, as well as other ancillary documents and information, in electronic form’.
• Commonwealth Resources
  From AustLII. A range of databases including Commonwealth legislation and law plus other links to information.
• Legislation Tracker LexisNexis
  Access legislation for Commonwealth and State/Territory level. Covers Bills, Acts and Regulations. PDF Format for much of this.

Parliamentary Podcasts

• ABC NewsRadio House of Representatives Question Time
• ABC NewsRadio Senate Question Time

• This Week in Parliament [The House]
  Find out what is happening.
• Who’s Who in Parliament
  Find out the positions and the people in them.
• Webcasts
  [Also Committee Hearings]

Parliamentary Search

• Advanced Search
  A multiplicity of options are provided for what you want and where to get it.
• Basic Search
• Guided Search
  Guides searching through 5 major areas.
• Parliament of Australia : House of Representatives
  Publications and other resources. also provides access to those from the senate, the department of parliamentary services and the parliamentary Library.

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Commonwealth Departments

The following will provide access to Commonwealth departments and agencies. Simply Click on the title to go to the site.

The main link provides an array of options for Commonwealth government sites and information. It replaces two previous portals and provides links for Government Online Services.

On the A - Z listing, scroll down the catalogue [from ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation to Youth Portal and everything between], then Click on the agency, consulate-general, council, department, embassy, etc., to access them.

The individual Commonwealth departments will take you directly to the site nominated.

• 
  
  Australian Government Information & Services

• A - Z List of Australian Government Departments & Agencies
  Select from the three options listed under this heading on the home page of this site.
• A - Z List of Government Sites
  Includes Offices, Statutory Bodies & Departments.
• Live Broadcasts
  All details are provided regarding these, including times and formats.
• Portfolios, Departments and Agencies
  ‘Provides a list of the Australian Government portfolios, their departments and agencies. Each portfolio links to a portfolio detail page which lists the portfolio Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, with links to their homepages; the portfolio department; other portfolio agencies and other websites in the portfolio’.
• RSS Feeds

Departments

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry	Human Services
Attorney-General	Immigration and Citizenship
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy	Infrastructure & Transport
Climate Change & Energy Efficiency	Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
Defence	Prime Minister & Cabinet
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations	Resources, Energy and Tourism
Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs	Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
Finance & Deregulation	The Treasury
Foreign Affairs and Trade	Veterans’ Affairs
Health and Ageing

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Commonwealth Organisations

This Commonwealth Organisation listing includes commonly accessed government-related sites. Some are government controlled, some are independent, others rely on government funding.

Archives of Australia Gateway	Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [CSIRO]
Australia.gov.au [1]	Family Court of Australia
Australian Broadcasting Commission [ABC]	Future Unlimited [4]
Australian Bureau of Statistics	High Court of Australia
Australian Citizenship	Medicare Australia
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission [ACCC]	National Library of Australia
Australian Electoral Commission	National Museum of Australia
Australian Federal Police	Office for Youth
Australian Heritage Council	Parliamentary Education Office
Australian Institute of Sport	Prime Minister of Australia
Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation [ANSTO]	Productivity Commission
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation [ASIO]	Reserve Bank of Australia
Australian Tax Office	SBS [Special Broadcasting Service]
Council of Australian Governments [COAG] [2]	Therapeutic Goods Administration [TGA]
COAG Reform Council [3]	The Science Portal
	1. Australian information. Includes much of the previous Culture & Recreation Portal. Search the site using topic names.
	2. ‘COAG is the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia, comprising the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association’.
	3. ‘The COAG Reform Council has been established by the Council of Australian Governments as part of the arrangements for federal financial relations to assist COAG to drive its reform agenda. Independent of individual governments, we report directly to COAG on reforms of national significance that require cooperative action by Australian governments’.
	4. Previously listed as Study in Australia but now sub-titled by that name. Information for international students.

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Other Information

• Governor General of Australia
  Under the present structure, a Governor General is the representative of the current monarch. This is their site.
• GovPubs
  The Australian Government Publications Guide.

• The Australian Constitution
• A Closer Look - The Australian Constitution
  Done for Students by the Parliamentary Education Office.
• Constitution of Australia
  Information on Federation, the bodies covered by the Constitution, amendments, interpretation, criticism, references, further links. From Wikipedia.
• The Australian Constitution
  Complete, online version of this. A Second Version can be found here at AustLii. Download the Full Text here in PDF format.
• The Australian Constitution : A First Reading
  ‘The purpose of this page is to guide readers rapidly through the Australian Constitution to get the general sense of it’. Has commentary and the Constitution in two halves of the screen.
• The Australian Federal Constitution
  ‘A Guide to Net Resources about the Constitution’. Not updated recently but there are vast numbers of links on every aspect. A second site covering the same things can be found at The Australian Federal Constitution : Net Resources
• The Beginner’s Guide to the Australian Constitution
  ‘To get started, just click on the Commence button [at the top]. You also have other options to learn about the Australian Constitution as shown below. [If you wish to download any of the Free podcasts you will need to have Apple iTunes installed on your computer]’. Quizzes, podcasts, video, PDF version.
• The British [and Australian] Monarchy
  The monarchy, their role and their links with Commonwealth countries including Australia.

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