Federal Parliament

The Australian Federal Parliament comprises two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House is colloquially known as the "lower house", whilst the Senate is known as the "upper house".

At present, the House is made up of 150 single member electorates. There are 50 electorates in New South Wales, 37 in Victoria, 26 in Queensland, 15 in Western Australia, 12 in South Australia, 5 in Tasmania, 3 in the Australian Capital Territory and 2 in the Northern Territory.

The Senate has 76 members composed of 12 from each State, plus two each from the territories.

Together, the two houses of Parliament comprise the Legislative arm of the Australian political system.

The government is drawn from the party or parties that command a majority in the House of Representatives. At present, the Liberal Party and the National Party govern in coalition.

Legislation has to pass both houses in order to become law and, except in the case of money bills, the Senate has equal power with the House of Representatives.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------