The executive , also referred to as the juditian or executive power , is that part of government which executes the law; in other words, directly makes the key decisions and holds power.
48-848: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), known until 2010 as the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner is an independent Australian Government agency, acting as the national data protection authority for Australia, established under the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 , headed by the Australian Information Commissioner . The office has three primary functions: The office
96-787: A broad range of perspectives, to the Australian Information Commissioner. PAC was established under section 82 of the Privacy Act. All members except the Commissioner are appointed by Her Excellency the Governor-General. PAC consists of no more than six members and is convened by the Australian Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner reports to the Attorney-General on matters relating to Australian Government information management policy and practice, including FOI and privacy. The Information Commissioner
144-424: A cabinet minister. The cabinet consists of the prime minister and senior ministers and makes most of the important policy decisions of the government. Members of the cabinet are selected by the prime minister and may be added or removed at any time, usually through a cabinet reshuffle . Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. The cabinet
192-486: A leader or leader of an office or multiple offices. Specifically, the top leadership roles of the executive branch may include: In a presidential system , the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government. In some cases, such as South Korea , there is a Prime Minister who assists the President, but who is not the head of government. In a parliamentary system , a cabinet minister responsible to
240-506: A national resource. The office encourages agencies to embed the principles in their internal policies and procedures on information management. The intention is that by doing so they will help build a culture of proactive information disclosure and community engagement. Government of Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Australian Government , also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as
288-642: A predominant influence over who was elected to Labor ministries, although the leaders of the party factions also exercised considerable influence. However, in 2007 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , assumed the power to choose the ministry alone. Later, the caucus regained this power in 2013. According to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald , ministerial positions are allocated by the Left and Right factions proportionally according to their representation in
336-660: Is an agency within the Attorney-General 's portfolio. The office liaises with the Business and Information Law Branch, part of the Civil Law Division within the Civil Justice and Legal Services Group of the Attorney-General's Department . The office is an independent agency and reports to the Attorney-General. The first Australian Privacy Commissioner was appointed in 1989 to the former Office of
384-421: Is assisted in this regard by an Information Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising senior officers from key agencies and people from outside government who have suitable qualifications or experience. The office has released a set of Principles on open public sector information and an accompanying report. The principles are based on the premise that public sector information is to be managed for public purposes as
432-418: Is difficult to apply as many actions by executive agencies are wide-ranging, binding and conducted independently of Parliament. The executive can also be delegated legislative power through provisions allowing for statutory instruments and Henry VIII clauses . Ultimately whether power is executive or legislative is determined on a case-by-case basis, and involves the weighing up of various factors, rather than
480-582: Is not a legal entity; it exists solely by convention. Its decisions do not in and of themselves have legal force. However, it serves as the practical expression of the Federal Executive Council , which is Australia's highest formal governmental body. In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the cabinet. All members of the cabinet are members of
528-722: The Australian Capital Territory . The head offices of all the federal departments are located in Canberra, along with Parliament House and the High Court . The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". This was the name used in many early federal government publications. However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for
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#1732772374404576-484: The Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election . The prime minister is the head of the federal government and is a role which exists by constitutional convention, rather than by law. They are appointed to the role by the governor-general (the representative of the monarch of Australia ). The governor-general normally appoints the parliamentary leader who commands
624-608: The Federal government , is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy . The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives (the lower house) and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of
672-475: The United Kingdom , the executive forms the government, and its members generally belong to the political party that controls the legislature. Since the executive requires the support and approval of the legislature, the two bodies are "fused" together, rather than being independent. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means powers possessed by the executive are solely dependent on those granted by
720-462: The Constitution . These were defined by High Court Justice Anthony Mason , as powers "peculiarly adapted to the government of a nation and which cannot otherwise be carried on for the benefit of the nation". They have been found to include the power to provide financial stimulus payments to households during a financial crisis and the power to prevent "unlawful non-citizens" from entering
768-551: The Dismissal of 1975. In that case, the Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the prime minister and government due to his conclusion that the government had failed to secure supply. The propriety of the use of the powers during that event remain highly contested. The Federal Executive Council is the body that formally advises the governor-general in the exercise of executive power. Decisions of
816-680: The Executive Council. A senior member of the cabinet holds the office of vice-president of the Executive Council and acts as presiding officer of the Executive Council in the absence of the governor-general. The cabinet meets not only in Canberra but also in state capitals, most frequently Sydney and Melbourne. Kevin Rudd was in favour of the cabinet meeting in other places, such as major regional cities. There are Commonwealth Parliament Offices in each state capital, with those in Sydney located in 1 Bligh Street . Until 1956 all members of
864-816: The FOI Act. The object of the Act is 'to increase recognition that information held by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource'. The Reform Act introduced a new scheme for the proactive publication of government information called the Information Publication Scheme, under which government agencies are required to provide certain operational information on their websites. The office may initiate an own motion investigation (OMI). The office can also provide information and advice on FOI to individuals and agencies, via
912-515: The King and the governor-general must follow the advice of the prime minister or other ministers in the exercise of his powers. Powers subject to the governor-general’s discretion are known as reserve powers. While certain reserve powers, such as the ability to choose the prime minister most likely to command the confidence of the lower house, are uncontroversial, others are subject to much greater debate. The most notable example of their use occurring in
960-645: The OAIC enquiries line. Privacy is one of three broad functions conferred on the office. The legislative basis of these privacy functions is drawn primarily from the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act regulates how an individual's personal information is handled. For example, it covers: The Act also covers more specific matters, such as: The office has a range of responsibilities under other laws, including laws relating to data matching, eHealth, spent convictions and tax file numbers . The office provides information and advice on privacy to individuals, businesses and agencies via
1008-560: The OAIC enquiries line. Under the Privacy Act a person can make a complaint to the office about the handling of their personal information by Australian, ACT and Norfolk Island government agencies and private sector organisations covered by the Privacy Act. In some circumstances, the office may also initiate an OMI. The office has the power to conduct privacy audits of Australian and ACT Government agencies, as well as some other organisations in certain circumstances. The Privacy Advisory Committee (PAC) provides strategic advice on privacy, from
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#17327723744041056-549: The Parliament. The King is not involved with the day-to-day operations of the government, belonging (according to the Bagehot formulation) to the "dignified" rather than the "efficient" part of government. While the executive power of the Commonwealth is formally vested in the monarch, the Constitution requires those powers to be exercisable by a governor-general, appointed by the monarch as their representative (but since
1104-538: The Privacy Commissioner, which was the national privacy regulatory body until 2010. Major changes to federal freedom of information (FOI) law made in 2010 established the present office as the body responsible for FOI, privacy, and information policy. The Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Act 2010 was passed in May 2010, and came into effect from November 2010. This Act introduced fundamental changes to
1152-588: The allocation of their portfolios. When Labor first held office under Chris Watson , Watson assumed the right to choose members of his cabinet. In 1907, however, the party decided that future Labor cabinets would be elected by the members of the Parliamentary Labor Party, the Caucus , and the prime minister would retain the right to allocate portfolios. This practice was followed until 2007. Between 1907 and 2007, Labor prime ministers exercised
1200-488: The application of a strict test. As most executive power is granted by statute, the executive power of the government is similarly limited to those areas in which the Commonwealth is granted the power to legislate under the constitution (primarily under section 51 ). They also retain certain powers traditionally part of the royal prerogative , such as the power to declare war and enter into treaties. Finally, there exists certain "nationhood powers", implied from section 61 of
1248-444: The appointing of Sir Isaac Isaacs in 1931, always appointed according to the advice of federal ministers, rather than British ministers). Members of the government do not exercise executive power of their own accord but are instead appointed by the governor-general as ministers, formally as the "Queen's [or King's] Ministers of State". As such, while government ministers make most major decisions in cabinet, if those decisions require
1296-414: The body give legal effect to decisions already deliberated at cabinet. All current and formers ministers are members of the council, although only current ministers are summoned to meetings. The governor-general usually presides at council meetings, but in his or her absence another minister nominated as the vice-president of the Executive Council presides at the meeting of the council. Since 1 June 2022,
1344-599: The bottom layer includes public servants , police, government departments and independent statutory bodies who directly implement policy and laws. Executive power is also difficult to clearly define. In the British context, it was defined by John Locke as all government power not legislative or judicial in nature. The key distinction is that while legislative power involves setting down rules of general application, executive power involves applying those rules to specific situations. In practice, however, this definition
1392-470: The confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives. Also by convention, the prime minister is a member of the lower house. The prime minister and their sworn ministers form the cabinet , the key decision-making organ of the government that makes policy and decides the agenda of the government. Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of
1440-553: The country . Ministers drawn from the Australian parliament form the core of the Australian Government. A subset of these ministers form the cabinet, the de facto highest executive body of the government. Ministers not part of cabinet belong to the outer ministry. Additionally, there are also assistant ministers (formally parliamentary secretaries ), responsible for a specific policy area, reporting directly to
1488-419: The formal endorsement of the governor-general in council, those decisions do not have legal force until approved by the Federal Executive Council , which is presided over by the governor-general. Similarly, laws passed by both houses of parliament require royal assent before being enacted, as the monarch is a constituent part of the Parliament. However, in all these cases, except for certain reserve powers,
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1536-450: The hands of a single person or group. To achieve this, each branch is subject to checks by the other two; in general, the role of the legislature is to pass laws, which are then enforced by the executive, and interpreted by the judiciary . The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law-derived rules, such as a decree or executive order . In those that use fusion of powers , typically parliamentary systems , such as
1584-417: The information policy functions. The office’s responsibilities include: The office has freedom of information functions, including the oversight of the operation of the FOI Act and review of decisions made by agencies and ministers under that Act. If a person is dissatisfied with the result of an FOI request, they may seek review by the office. A person may also complain to the office if they are unhappy with
1632-470: The legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive, which causes either a change in governing party or group of parties or a general election. Parliamentary systems have a head of government (who leads the executive, often called ministers ) normally distinct from the head of state (who continues through governmental and electoral changes). In the Westminster type of parliamentary system ,
1680-471: The legislature, which can also subject its actions to judicial review. However, the executive often has wide-ranging powers stemming from the control of the government bureaucracy , especially in the areas of overall economic or foreign policy . In parliamentary systems, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, which must maintain the confidence of the legislature or one part of it, if bicameral. In certain circumstances (varying by state),
1728-472: The manner in which their request was handled by an agency. The FOI Act has been a feature of Australia's legislative landscape since 1982. The purpose of the FOI Act was to open government activity to public scrutiny, so as to enhance accountability and encourage citizen engagement with public administration. In 2010, the Australian Parliament implemented wide-ranging open government reforms —
1776-790: The ministry differs depending on their party. When the Liberal Party and its predecessors (the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party ) have been in coalition with the National Party or its predecessor the Country Party , the leader of the junior Coalition party has had the right to nominate their party's members of the Coalition ministry, and to be consulted by the prime minister on
1824-464: The ministry were members of the cabinet. The growth of the ministry in the 1940s and 1950s made this increasingly impractical, and in 1956 Robert Menzies created a two-tier ministry, with only senior ministers holding cabinet rank, also known within parliament as the front bench . This practice has been continued by all governments except the Whitlam government . The prime minister's power to select
1872-426: The most significant FOI reforms in thirty years. The office was established and substantial changes were made to the FOI Act. These reforms simplified the process for accessing government information, tightened the exemptions to information release, strengthened independent oversight and review of FOI administration, promoted proactive publication of government information, and clearly stated the open government object of
1920-399: The name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations . The Whitlam government legislated the use of "Government of Australia" in 1973 in line with its policy of promoting national goals and aspirations. However, academic Anne Twomey argues that the government was also motivated by a desire to blur the differences between the Commonwealth and
1968-404: The other two branches of government, however, membership of the executive is not clearly defined. One definition describes the executive as a pyramid, consisting of three layers. At the top stands the king, as the symbolic apex and formal repository of executive power. Below him lies a second layer made up of the prime minister, cabinet and other ministers who in practice lead the executive. Finally,
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2016-418: The parliament) and executive power (as ministers on behalf of the governor-general and the monarch). However, in accordance with responsible government , and to ensure accountability, actions of the government in its executive capacity are subject to scrutiny from parliament. The Australian Government is headquartered in the executive wing of Parliament House , located in the nation's capital, Canberra , in
2064-516: The political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In democratic countries, the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics, though limitations are often applied to the executive. In political systems based on the separation of powers , such as the United States of America , government authority is distributed between several branches in order to prevent power being concentrated in
2112-419: The principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched as in some others. Members of the executive ( ministers ), are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law. In presidential systems , the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers. The ministers can be directly elected by the voters. In this context, the executive consists of
2160-512: The states in an attempt to increase federal power. The Parliament of Australia website also notes that the name "Australian Government" is preferable in order to avoid confusion with the Commonwealth of Nations and the US federal government by those not familiar with Australia's system of government. This terminology remains preferred by the government. However, the terms Commonwealth Government and federal government are also common. In some contexts,
2208-459: The term "government" refers to all public agencies that exercise the power of the State , whether legislative, executive or judicial. The government's primary role, in its executive capacity, is to implement the laws passed by the parliament. However, laws are frequently drafted according to the interests of the executive branch as the government often also controls the legislative branch. Unlike
2256-645: The vice-president has been senator Katy Gallagher . As of 17 August 2024 , there are 16 departments of the Australian Government. Additionally, there are four departments which support the Parliament of Australia : The following corporations are prescribed by Acts of Parliament: As of March 2024 , the following Corporate Commonwealth entities are prescribed as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs): The following Commonwealth companies are prescribed as GBEs: Executive (government) The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on
2304-512: The way information held by government is managed and accessed by members of the public (see Freedom of Information). The Office of the Privacy Commissioner was integrated into the office at this time. The office is headed by the Australian Information Commissioner. Despite their titles, all commissioners can exercise the privacy and freedom of information (FOI) functions. However, only the Information Commissioner may exercise
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