AUSTRALIA’S THREE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
AUSTRALIA…
Australia has three levels of government. Each of these levels of government work together to provide us – Australian
citizens – with the services we need.
The three levels are:
• Federal Parliament in
Canberra – Australian or
national
• State and Territory
parliaments – in each state
and territory capital city
• Local councils, also called
shires or municipalities –
across Australia
RESPONSIBILITIES
Representatives – those we
refer to as politicians – are
elected to the Federal
Parliament, state and
territory parliaments, and
local councils.
They are elected to all levels
of government so that
Australians have someone to
represent them at each level.
Parliaments and councils
make laws; governments put
these laws into action.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Each level of government provides different services to Australians. Sometimes these services overlap.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
STATE AND TERRITORY
GOVERNMENTS
Responsible for issues that affect
all Australians (national issues)
Responsible for issues that affect
people in that state or territory
• Post, telephone connections,
internet connections
• Money
• Immigration
• Defence
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Public transport
Schools
Hospitals
Public housing
Transport infrastructure
LOCAL COUNCILS
Responsible for issues that affect
local communities
• Rubbish collection and recycling
• Parks, sports fields and
swimming pools
• Pet control
• Parking
RESPONSIBILITIES
In order to pay for and provide these services to Australians, all levels of governments raise money, through the
collection of taxes. Local councils also receive funding from the federal and state governments.
FEDERAL
The federal government raises
money to run the country by
collecting taxes on incomes, goods
and services, and company profits,
and spends it on national matters.
STATE AND TERRITORY
LOCAL
State and territory governments
also raise money from taxes but
receive more than half their money
from the federal government and
spend it on state/territory matters.
Local councils collect taxes – rates
– from all local property owners and
receive grants from federal, state
and territory governments, and
spend this on local matters.
THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION
Section 51 of the Australian Constitution (a set of rules by which Australia is run) contains a long list of areas
that outline where the federal Parliament can make laws. Some of these include defence, foreign affairs and
immigration.
Other areas – education, health, water management, etc. – are shared with the states. These are called
concurrent powers. In the case where state and federal laws come to conflict on the same subject, the federal
law overrides the state law.