Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The government consists of the parliamentary members of the party or coalition that currently has the support of a majority of members of the House of Representatives and in some contexts also includes the departments and other executive bodies ministers oversee. The current government consists of Anthony Albanese and other Australian Labor Party parliamentarians, in place since the 2022 federal election.
| Australian Government | |
|---|---|
| Government of the Commonwealth of Australia | |
The monochrome logo and wordmark of the Australian Government, based on the coat of arms of Australia | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 1 January 1901 |
| Country | Australia |
| Leader | Prime Minister: Anthony Albanese |
| Appointed by | Governor-General: David Hurley |
| Main organ | |
| Ministries | 16 government departments |
| Responsible to | Parliament of Australia |
| Annual budget | $644.8 billion (2022–23) |
| Headquarters | Canberra |
| Website | https://www.directory.gov.au |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Australia |
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| Constitution |
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The prime minister is the head of the government. They are formally appointed to the role by the governor-general (the King's representative), however their decision is normally limited to selecting the parliamentary leader who has the support of a majority of members in the House of Representatives. By convention, the prime minister must also be a member of the House.
Other key members of the government include cabinet ministers (who head government departments), junior ministers, parliamentary secretaries and government backbenchers. The prime minister and cabinet ministers form the Cabinet, the key decision-making organ of the government that forms policy and decides the agenda of the government. Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of the Parliament) and executive power (as ministers). However, in accordance with responsible government, this also requires the actions of the government in its executive capacity to be subject to scrutiny from non-government members of the Parliament.
The government is based in the nation's capital, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The head offices of all sixteen federal departments lie in Canberra, along with Parliament House and the High Court. The government must act in accordance with law and the Australian Constitution.
In exercising executive power, government ministers formally exercise power on behalf of the King of Australia, in which the executive power is vested.