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VCE Politics (Year 11) · Unit 2 — Democracy: Stability and Change · 12m read

Australia’s Political System — Constitution, Parliament and Separation of Powers

Unit 2 examines Australian democracy. Knowing how the system is designed helps you judge how stable and democratic it is.

Learning objective: Describe the key features of Australian democracy, including the Constitution, the Westminster system, federalism and the separation of powers.

By the end of this lesson you can:

  • I can describe Australia as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.
  • I can explain the separation of powers.
  • I can describe the roles of the two houses of federal parliament.

Checks and balances like a team referee. A game is fair when no single player also acts as referee. Separating the powers of government stops any one group controlling everything.

Key features

• FEDERATION (1901) — power divided between the Commonwealth and the states, set out in the Australian Constitution.
• CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY — the monarch is head of state, represented by the Governor-General; in practice, power lies with the elected government.
• WESTMINSTER SYSTEM — the executive (Prime Minister and Cabinet) is drawn from, and responsible to, parliament.
• SEPARATION OF POWERS
– Legislative: Parliament makes laws.
– Executive: government and departments administer laws.
– Judicial: courts interpret and apply laws (strictly separate in Australia; the High Court interprets the Constitution).
• BICAMERAL PARLIAMENT
– House of Representatives: government formed by the party/coalition with majority support.
– Senate: 76 senators (12 per state, 2 per territory); a house of review.

Worked example (Medium)

Explain why the Senate can act as a check on government.

  1. Composition. Proportional voting often means no party controls the Senate.
  2. Power. Bills must pass both houses, so the Senate can amend or reject legislation.
  3. Scrutiny. Senate committees and estimates hearings question ministers and officials.

Answer: Because the government often lacks a Senate majority, and bills must pass both houses, the Senate can amend, block and scrutinise government decisions.

Common mistakes

  • Saying the Prime Minister is head of state The monarch is head of state; the PM is head of government. Fix: Distinguish head of state from head of government.
  • Stating Australia has a complete separation of powers The executive sits in parliament (fusion of legislative and executive). Fix: Note that the judiciary is the clearly separated branch.

Practice questions

  1. How many senators represent each Australian state?

    1. 6
    2. 10
    3. 12
    4. 2

    (1 marks)

  2. Which branch interprets the Constitution?

    1. Legislative
    2. Executive
    3. Judicial
    4. Governor-General

    (1 marks)

  3. Explain how the separation of powers protects democracy in Australia.

    (3 marks)

Summary

  • Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.
  • Westminster: executive responsible to parliament.
  • Separation of powers; independent judiciary.
  • Senate: 76 senators, a house of review.

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