by Nick Manning
You probably know these faces - Kevin Rudd (left) and Nathan Rees (right) - but where do they fit in the Australian government picture?
Australia has about 700 governments, in 3 levels of government:
-
local government (local councils) - almost 700 of them
-
state and territory governments (eg. NSW Government) - 8 of them
-
the Australian Government (also called the Commonwealth or Federal Government).
So most Australians have 3 governments governing them and there are almost 700 governments altogether! (People in the ACT and some remote parts of Australia do not have local government - so they just have 2 levels of government governing them).
Level |
How many in Australia |
Top decision making body |
Location |
Leader |
Australian Government |
1 |
Australian or Federal Parliament |
Canberra |
Prime Minister |
state or territory government eg. NSW Government |
8 in total: 6 state governments |
state parliament eg. NSW Parliament |
state or territory capital city eg. Sydney |
Premier (in the states) Chief Minister (territories) |
local government city/ |
almost 700 across Australia |
council |
a suburb or major town |
Mayor, Lord Mayor, or Shire President |
Each level of government has different powers and responsibilities, though many responsibilities are shared in various ways.
Australian Government
The Australian Government is responsible for things such as:
- Medicare (funding for doctors)
- Centrelink, the Job Network and work for the dole
- university funding and HECS
- funding certain youth programs: Reconnect, YouthLinx).
Shared roles
Some responsibilities are shared between the Australian and state governments, eg:
- funding for schools
- refuges and other supported accommodation
State Governments
State Governments are responsible for things such as:
- TAFE, government schools and the HSC
- child protection and out-of-home care
- Community Services Grants Program (CSGP) funding for youth and community programs (NSW only)
- most public transport
- road rules, vehicle registration and drivers' licences
- police, ambulance, fire brigade
Local government (councils)
Local government (councils) are responsible for things such as:
- garbage collection
- local roads, streets, footpaths and drains
- parks, playing fields, swimming pools, libraries.
Some local councils also provide welfare and recreation services for children, youth and others, often using funds from the state government or the Australian government.
More information
more about what each level of government does
Updated: 2008
