Decisions in a democratic society are made through a system of representation and voting. Australia has a multi-level system of government with local, state, and federal levels. At the federal level, the Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and Senate, which are elected by Australian citizens in regular votes. The Parliament then makes laws on matters of national interest through this representative process.

1. “How are decisions made in a
democratic society?”

2. What is democracy?
Democracy is generally a form of government in which all the
people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.
The people, either directly or indirectly, take part in governing.
The word democracy comes from the Greek words demos
meaning ‘the people’ and kratos meaning ‘power’. So the word
‘democracy’ means ‘people power’ – the right of people to
make decisions on how they are governed.

3. What is the structure of Australian’s
system of Government?
There are 3 levels of government:
Local, State and Federal.

4. Local Government
What are their roles and responsibilities?
There are over 560 councils across Australia. The
elected members of local councils are usually called
councillors while the chair of the council is usually
called the mayor.
These smaller legislative bodies make by-laws which
relate to matters of local interest such as: local
roads, parks and playgrounds, rubbish collection,
library services, sporting fields, street signage and
domestic animal regulation.

5. State Government
What are their roles and responsibilities?
• Australia has six parliaments at the state level and two
territory parliaments. State and territory parliaments are
located in each of Australia’s eight capital cities:
• Parliament of NSW located in Sydney
• Parliament of VIC located in Melbourne
• QLD Parliament located in Brisbane
• Parliament of WA located in Perth
• Parliament of SA located in Adelaide
• Parliament of TAS located in Hobart
• ACT Legislative Assembly located in Canberra (and separate
to the federal Parliament)
• NT Legislative Assembly located in Darwin.

6. State Government
State parliaments make laws that are enforced
within the state of origin.
State laws generally relate to matters of state
interest such as: schools and hospitals, roads
and railways, utilities such as electricity and
water supply, mining and agriculture.

7. Federal Government
What are their roles and responsibilities?
• There is only one parliament at the national level. It is the
Parliament of Australia, located in Canberra.
• The parliament shall consist of the Queen, a Senate and
House of Representatives’.
• These law-making areas relate to matters of national
interest such as: trade and commerce, postal, telephonic,
foreign relations, taxation, quarantine, fisheries, currency,
copyright, marriage, immigration, defence etc.

8. How are Australian laws made?
In Australia, laws are made:
• by politicians in Parliament
• by judges making decisions about court cases.
Parliament-made law overrules judge-made
law if both apply to a case.

9. How does the Australian voting
system work?
In modern democracies citizens elect representatives to govern
on their behalf, and these representatives remain answerable
to electors at periodic elections.
An election is the process by which people vote to choose
representatives in parliament. Elections for the House of
Representatives and the Senate (the Australian Parliament) are
held at least every 3 years.
Every Australian aged 18 years and over who is on the electoral
roll must attend a polling booth (for the purpose of voting) in
elections for representatives in the federal Parliament.

10. How does the Australian voting
system support democracy?
Voting systems safeguard our democratic principles.
Voting is a vital link between citizen participation and
democratic representation and provide the
mechanism for free and fair elections and political
change.
Citizens can individually and collectively influence
decision making through voting.
In Australia, the Commonwealth Parliament contains
2 representative institutions at the federal level: the
House of Representatives and the Senate.

11. What is a Parliament?
A parliament consists of a group of elected
representatives and a person who represents the
Queen. In the federal Parliament that person is the
Governor-General. In state parliaments that person is a
governor. Parliaments make the laws for a country or a
state.
The name parliament is derived from the French word
parlement meaning a talk, a discussion, a meeting (an
assembly, a court) where people discuss matters.