Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Parliaments of Australia
Table 1 Parliaments in Australia: a summary of composition, electoral system and term
Parliament
Commonwealth
Number of
Members
Voting system Term Sovereign’s
representative
or other
constituting
part of
parliament
Governorgeneral
House of
Representatives
150 Single-member
electorates. Full
preferential voting.
Up to three
years.
Senate 76 12 for each state and
four for two
territories. Single
transferable vote.
Proportional
representation.
Election every
three years for
half of the
Senate. Six year
terms.
NSW
Governor
Legislative
Assembly
Legislative
Council
93 Single-member
districts. Optional
preferential voting.
42 Single transferable
vote system. Entire
state is one electorate.
Up to four
years
Members are
elected for two
terms(amaximum
of eight
years), with half
electedateach
general
election.
Vic.
Governor
Legislative
Assembly
88 Single-member
districts. Preferential
ballot in singlemember
seats.
Fixed four-year
terms.
73