Parliament of Australia

Joined the Commonwealth: Australia joined the early Commonwealth in 1926, although legislation to enact this membership was passed in 1931 under the Statute of Westminster.

CPA Branch Formed: The Parliament of Australia was one of the six original founding Members of the now Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1911. The CPA Australia Federal Branch was established on 1 January 1912.

Unicameral/Bicameral: Bicameral - House of Representatives (151), Senate (76)

Parliament/Legislature Website: Parliament of Australia

Standing Orders:

House of Representatives

Senate

Constitution: Click here

Committees:

Number of Departmental/Ministry Oversight Committees: 20 Standing and 6 Select Committees

Number of Joint Committees (if bicameral): 17 Statutory/Standing and & 3 Select Committees

Names of House Management (such as Privileges or Procedure) Committees: Appropriations & Administration (House); Appropriations, Staffing & Security (Senate); Parliamentary Library (Joint); Petitions (House); Privileges (Senate); Privileges & Members' Interests (House); Procedure (House and Senate); Publications (House, Senate and Joint); Scrutiny of Bills (Senate), Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation (Senate); Selection (House); Selection of Bills (Senate); Senators' Interests (Senate).

CPA Blogs

• Five things I wish someone told me when I was first elected to Parliament - by one of Australia’s longest-serving MPs
• From COP26 to COP27: A review of climate legislation in 2022

Recent articles in The Parliamentarian

• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue Three: 'Levelling the playing field for the Territories - Australian Federal Parliament passes Private Members Bill to allow ACT and NT to debate new laws' by Mr Luke Gosling OAM, MP (Member for Solomon in the Northern Territory) and Ms Alicia Payne, MP (Member for Canberra)
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue Three: 'History is calling: Is Australia prepared to answer? - Representation of First Nations in Parliament' by Senator Hon. Sue Lines, President of the Australian Senate
  
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue One - 'Training for MPs and parliamentary staff with examples from the Parliament of Australia' by Hon. Milton Dick, MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue One - 'Role of Presiding Officers in Leading Parliamentary Innovation - Indigenous Peoples and Reconciliation' by Senator Hon. Sue Lines, President of the Senate
  
• The Parliamentarian 2021 Issue Four - 'Reflections on Parliamentary Democracy in the Australian Parliament' - Interview with two outgoing Presiding Officers of the Australian Federal Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2018 Issue Three - ‘High and exacting demands: preparing for the role of Chair' by Hon. Tony Smith, MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia.

Parliamentary reports and Third Reading reports from the Australia Federal Parliament appear in each issue of The Parliamentarian - visit our archives to find back issues.

Recent activities

• January 2023 - Speakers meet in Australia for the 26th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth to discuss parliamentary engagement, innovation and security - click here to read news story