Parliament of Australia

The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor-general), the Senate (the upper house), and the House of Representatives (the lower house). The Parliament combines elements from the British Westminster system, in which the party or coalition with a majority in the lower house is entitled to form a government, and the United States Congress, which affords equal representation to each of the states, and scrutinises legislation before it can be signed into law.

The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members; twelve for each state, and two for each of the two self-governing territories. Senators are elected using the single transferable vote and, as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for legislative control. No party or coalition has held a majority in the Senate since 2007, and this usually necessitates negotiation with either the opposition or crossbench to pass legislation.

The lower house, the House of Representatives, currently consists of 150 members, each elected via full preferential voting from single-member electorates (also known as divisions or seats). This tends to result in the chamber being dominated by two major political groups, the centre‑right to right‑wing Coalition (consisting of the Liberal and National parties) and the centre‑left Labor Party. The government of the day must command the confidence of the House of Representatives in order to gain and remain in power.

The House of Representatives has a maximum term of three years, although it can be dissolved early. The Senate has fixed terms, with half of the state senators' terms expiring every three years (the terms of the four territory senators are linked to House elections). As a result, House and Senate elections almost always coincide. A deadlock-breaking mechanism known as a double dissolution can be used to dissolve the full Senate as well as the House if the Senate refuses to pass a piece of legislation passed by the House.

The two houses of Parliament meet in separate chambers at Parliament House (except in rare joint sittings), which itself is located on Capital Hill in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Members of the House of Representatives usually convene in the so-called Green Room, while Senators convene in the adjacent Red Room.