Australia Government

What is the capital of Australia?

Country Name	Australia
Full Country Name	Commonwealth of Australia
Etymology- history of name	the name Australia derives from the Latin "australis" meaning "southern"; the Australian landmass was long referred to as "Terra Australis" or the Southern Land
Government Type	federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital Name	Canberra
Capital - geographic coordinate	35 16 S, 149 08 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+10 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Australia has four time zones, including Lord Howe Island (UTC+10:30)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April
Independence	1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)
National Holiday	Australia Day (commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet of Australian settlers), 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorates the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915)
Constitution	history: approved in a series of referenda from 1898 through 1900 and became law 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage requires approval of a referendum bill by absolute majority vote in both houses of Parliament, approval in a referendum by a majority of voters in at least four states and in the territories, and Royal Assent; proposals that would reduce a state’s representation in either house or change a state’s boundaries require that state’s approval prior to Royal Assent; amended several times, last in 1977

Australia Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Australia Government and Politics

Who is the president of Australia?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General David HURLEY (since 1 July 2019) previous chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (6 February 1952 - 8 September 2022) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony ALBANESE (since 23 May 2022) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and sworn in by the governor general elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years
Legal System:	common law system based on the English model
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Legislative Branch:	description: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of: Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the 6 states and 2 each from the 2 mainland territories; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of state membership renewed every 3 years and territory membership renewed every 3 years) House of Representatives (151 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by majority preferential vote; members serve terms of up to 3 years) elections: Senate - last held on 21 May 2022 (next to be held in May 2025) House of Representatives - last held on 21 May 2022 (next to be held in May 2025) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party/coalition - Liberal/National Coalition 40.7%, ALP 34.2%, Greens 14.5%, Pauline Hansen's One Nation 2.6%, Jacqui Lambee Network 2.6%, United Australia Party 1.3%, independent 3.9%; seats by party/coalition - Liberal/National Coalition 31, ALP 26, Australian Greens 11, Pauline Hansen's One Nation 2, Jacqui Lambee Network 2, United Australia Party 1, independent 3; composition - 33 men, 43 women; percentage of women 56.6% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - ALP 50.9%, Coalition 36.4%, 7.9%, 2.6%, others less than 1%; seats by party/coalition - ALP 77, Coalition 55, independent 12, Greens 4, Katter's 1, Center Alliance 1; composition as of January 2024 - 93 men, 57 women; percentage of women 38% (note - one seat will be filled after a by-election on 2 March 2024)
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): High Court of Australia (consists of 7 justices, including the chief justice); note - each of the 6 states, 2 territories, and Norfolk Island has a Supreme Court; the High Court is the final appellate court beyond the state and territory supreme courts judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general in council for life with mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: subordinate courts: at the federal level: Federal Court; Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia; at the state and territory level: Local Court - New South Wales; Magistrates' Courts – Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory; District Courts – New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia; County Court – Victoria; Family Court – Western Australia; Court of Petty Sessions – Norfolk Island
Regions or States:	6 states and 2 territories* Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Political Parties and Leaders:	Australian Greens Party or The Greens [Adam BANDT] Australian Labor Party or ALP [Anthony ALBANESE] Centre Alliance (formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team or NXT) [none] Jacqui Lambie Network or JLN [Jacqui LAMBIE] Katter's Australian Party [Robbie KATTER] Liberal Party of Australia [Peter DUTTON] The Nationals [David LITTLEPROUD] One Nation or ONP [Pauline HANSON] United Australia Party [Clive PALMER] note: the Labor Party is Australia’s oldest political party, established federally in 1901; the present Liberal Party was formed in 1944; the Country Party was formed in 1920, renamed the National Country Party in 1975, the National Party of Australia in 1982, and since 2003 has been known as the Nationals; since the general election of 1949, the Liberal Party and the Nationals (under various names) when forming government have done so as a coalition
International Law Organization Participation:	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CP, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), Quad, SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Kevin Michael RUDD (since 19 April 2023) chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 email address and website: info.us@dfat.gov.au https://usa.embassy.gov.au/ consulate(s) general: Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Caroline KENNEDY (since 25 July 2022) embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: 7800 Canberra Place, Washington DC 20512-7800 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 9373-9184 email address and website: AskEmbassyCanberra@state.gov https://au.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

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