The Australian Constitution is the set of rules by which Australia is run. It came into effect on 1 January 1901. This fact sheet summarises the key features of the Constitution and how it can be changed.
The Australian Constitution describes the composition, role and powers of the Australian Parliament. It sets out how the Australian and state parliaments share the power to make laws. It also details the roles of the executive government and the High Court of Australia, and some of the rights of Australian citizens, such as the right to religious freedom.
Birth certificate of a nation
For at least 50 000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on these lands and practiced traditional cultures and languages. From the late 1700s, British colonies were established. By the late 1800s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament. Many colonists began to see the benefits of uniting into a federation. During the 1890s a series of meetings, called conventions, were attended by representatives from each colony. During these conventions, the Constitution was drafted. The Constitution was then put to a vote by the people of the colonies in referendums.
The Constitution was approved in the referendums; however, it also had to be agreed to by the British Parliament. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 was passed in 1900 and came into effect on 1 January 1901. The colonies became Australian states and the new Australian Parliament was formed.
Features
The Australian Constitution is divided into 8 chapters and 128 sections. It sets out the basis for Australia's federal system of governance, the key features of which include:
- an Australian Parliament and government, responsible for national decision-making and law-making
- a bicameral Parliament, including the King (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives
- 6 state governments, responsible for state matters
- power-sharing arrangements between the Australian and state parliaments
- the High Court of Australia, which is the final court of appeal. The High Court interprets the Constitution and decides its meaning, as well as settling disputes between the Australian and state governments.
The Constitution does not cover all aspects of the governing of Australia. For example, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are not mentioned in the Constitution. The Prime Minister and Cabinet operate by custom and tradition, similar to the British system from which they came.
The Constitution does not detail many of the rights of the Australian people. Unlike the Constitution of the United States, Australia's does not include a bill of rights. In Australia these rights are protected by common law (made by the courts) and statute law (written law made by Parliament).
Changing the Australian Constitution
The Constitution can only be changed with the approval of the Australian people. A proposed change must be approved by the Parliament and then be voted on by Australians in a referendum. A referendum is only passed if it is approved by a majority of voters in a majority of states, and by a majority of voters across the nation. This is known as a double majority.
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1900: Original Public Record Copy (1900).
Parliament House Art Collection, Art Services Parliament House
Description
This image shows the front page of the original public record copy of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. There is a a red ribbon tied in a bow on the left hand side of the document. The paper looks faded from age.
Copyright information
Permission for publication must be sought from Parliament House Art Collection. Contact DPS Art Services, phone: 02 62775034 or 02 62775123
On June 21, 1788, the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The journey to ratification, however, was a long and arduous process.
Until the new Constitution was ratified, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation. That document was tailored to a newly formed nation made of states acting more like independent, sovereign countries, and it quickly became clear to some of America’s leaders that future stability required a stronger, more centralized government. New York’s Alexander Hamilton thus led the call for a constitutional convention to reevaluate the nation’s governing document. The Confederation Congress endorsed his initiative, and representatives from all 13 states were subsequently invited to convene in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, to participate in the Convention.
The initial purpose of the Convention was for the delegates to amend the Articles of Confederation; however, the ultimate outcome was the proposal and creation of a completely new form of government. Three months later, on September 17, 1787, the Convention concluded with the signing (by 38 out of 41 delegates present) of the new U.S. Constitution. Under Article VII, it was agreed that the document would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states.
Hamilton and James Madison led the lobbying efforts for votes in favor of ratifying the Constitution. With assistance from John Jay, they produced the 85 essays known as “The Federalist Papers” that explained and defended how the proposed new government would function. The essays were published in newspapers nationwide.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. Some states voiced opposition to the Constitution on the grounds that it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and press. However, the terms of the Massachusetts Compromise reached in February 1788 stipulated that amendments to that effect—what became the Bill of Rights—would be immediately proposed. The constitution was subsequently ratified by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and, finally, New Hampshire.
After ratification, Congress set dates for the first federal elections and the official implementation of the Constitution. Elections were set to take place from Monday, December 15, 1788, to Saturday, January 10, 1789, and the new government was set to begin on March 4, 1789.
In the nation’s first presidential election, George Washington was elected President and John Adams was elected Vice President. Congress was also restructured to reflect the system of representation created by the Connecticut Compromise at the Constitutional Convention.
The Constitution, however, was still evolving. Madison introduced 17 amendments to the Constitution born from the Massachusetts Compromise, of which Congress adopted twelve on September 25, 1789, to send forth to the states for ratification. Ten of those amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
Even after the Constitution’s ratification, the U.S. did not begin to look and function remotely like it does today until several years later. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document, and the Bill of Rights was not ratified to become part of the Constitution until the end of the following year. Moreover, the capital was not set until July 16, 1790, almost a year and half after the general elections took place.
The location of the capital was born, like most decisions in the formation of the budding nation, out of negotiation. Hamilton, now Secretary of the Treasury, sought passage of the Funding Act so that the federal government could assume state Revolutionary War debts and thus endow the government with more economic power. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wanted to pass the Residence Act, which would set the location of the nation’s capital along the Potomac River and give the South increased political power to check the North’s growing economic power by placing the capital in a location friendly to Southern economic interests.
The two men struck a deal: Jefferson would persuade Madison, a man with significant influence in the House, to back Hamilton’s Funding Act, thereby garnering him the votes it would need to pass. In return, Hamilton would help Jefferson and Madison secure the votes needed to pass the Residence Act. The capital’s precise geographic location was left to President Washington, and on January 24, 1791—almost three years after the Constitution was first ratified—land was designated for construction.