Australian Government

This article is about the federal executive government of Australia. For the political structure of Australia, see Politics of Australia.

Commonwealth Government
Overview
Established1 January 1901; 123 years ago (1901-01-01)
LeaderPrime Minister (Anthony Albanese)
Appointed byGovernor-General (Sam Mostyn) on the advice of the prime minister
Main organCabinet
Ministries16 government departments (2024)
Responsible toHouse of Representatives/Commonwealth Parliament[a]
Annual budgetIncrease $668.1 billion (2023–24)[2]
HeadquartersExecutive wing, Parliament House, Canberra
WebsiteGovernment Directory
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The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the Federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives[3] (the lower house) and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee.[4] The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election.[6]

The prime minister is the head of the federal government and is a role which exists by constitutional convention, rather than by law. They are appointed to the role by the governor-general (the representative of the monarch of Australia).[7] The governor-general normally appoints the parliamentary leader who commands the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives.[8][9] Also by convention, the prime minister is a member of the lower house.[10]

The prime minister and their sworn ministers form the cabinet, the key decision-making organ of the government that makes policy and decides the agenda of the government.[3] Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of the parliament) and executive power (as ministers on behalf of the governor-general and the monarch).[11] However, in accordance with responsible government, and to ensure accountability, actions of the government in its executive capacity are subject to scrutiny from parliament.[12]

The Australian Government is headquartered in the executive wing of Parliament House, located in the nation's capital, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The head offices of all the federal departments are located in Canberra, along with Parliament House and the High Court.[13][14]

  1. ^ Bach, Stanley (2003). "The Crisis of 1974–75". Platypus and Parliament: the Australian Senate in Theory and Practice. Canberra, ACT: Department of the Senate. ISBN 978-0-642-71291-2.
  2. ^ Chalmers, Jim (9 May 2023). "Budget Paper 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook" (PDF). Australian Government Budget 2023–24. p. 90. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Infosheet 19 - The House, government and opposition". Australian Parliament House. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Government". Parliamentary Education Office. Australian Government. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Which members of the government are considered a part of the Executive government and the Cabinet?". Parliamentary Education Office. Australian Government. 14 December 2023.
  6. ^ Colloquially, all members of the parliamentary party that support the current government are described as members of the government, however only ministers formally belong to the executive government.[5]
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "About the House of Representatives". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  9. ^ "The role of the Governor-General". The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Prime Minister". Parliamentary Education Office. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Ministers and shadow ministers". Parliamentary Education Office. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Cabinet". Parliamentary Education Office. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Australian Capital Territory". Study Australia. Australian Trade and Investment Commission. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Contact us". High Court of Australia. High Court of Australia. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020 – via National Library of Australia.


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