ÿþ<html> <head> <title> Australia Government 2013, CIA World Factbook </title> <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Australia Government 2013, CIA World Factbook"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Australia, Government, 2013, CIA, World, Factbook"> <script language="JavaScript"> function AddToFaves_hp(){ var is_4up = parseInt(navigator.appVersion); var is_mac = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("mac")!=-1; var is_ie = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("msie")!=-1; var thePage = location.href; if (thePage.lastIndexOf('#')!=-1) thePage = thePage.substring(0,thePage.lastIndexOf('#')); if (is_ie && is_4up && !is_mac) window.external.AddFavorite(thePage,document.title); else if (is_ie || document.images) booker_hp = window.open(thePage,'booker_','menubar,width=325,height=100,left=140,top=60'); //booker_hp.focus(); } //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); </script> <style type="text/css"> A:link { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:visited { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:active { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:hover { text-decoration: none; color:#990033; } a { text-decoration: none} </style> </head> <body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" bgcolor="white"> <div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=183601415082146"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script> <table background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/drugsbgr.gif" width="972" align="top"><tr><td colspan="2" width="972"> <font face="arial"> | <a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb" target="_blank">COUNTRIES</a> | <a href="http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names" target="_blank">GEOGRAPHIC NAMES</a> | <a href="http://www.theodora.com/geology" target="_blank">GEOLOGY</a> | <a href="http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/" target="_blank">USA STATS</a> | <a href="http://www.allcountries.org/china_statistics/" target="_blank">CHINA STATS</a> | <a href="http://www.geographic.org/countries/county_codes.html" target="_blank">COUNTRY CODES</a> | <a href="http://www.photius.com/wfb2001/airport_codes.html" target="_blank">AIRPORTS</a> | <a href="http://www.photius.com/religion" target="_blank">RELIGION</a> | <a href="http://www.occupationalinfo.org" target="_blank">JOBS</a> | </font></td></tr> </table> <table border="0" bgcolor="white" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="972" align="top" valign="top" hspace="0" vspace="0" units="pixels"> <tr><td colspan="2" width="972"><img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line2.gif"></td></tr><tr height="90" align="left" valign="top"><td align="left" valign="top" width="244" nowrap><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb"><img border="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/countries_of_the_world_banner.gif"></a></td> <td align="left" valign="top" width="728" nowrap> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-7437757543052749"; //728x90, created 1/28/08 google_ad_slot = "6589376789"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"><td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line1.gif"></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" align="middle" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="972"> <font size="-2"> <br></font> <font face="arial" size="5"><b>Australia</b> Government 2013</font> <br> <font size = "-2"> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html </font> <br> <font size="-2"><B>SOURCE: 2013 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES</B></FONT></td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line13.gif"></td></tr></table> <table border="0" bgcolor="#FFCC99" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="972" align="left" valign="top" hspace="0" vspace="0" units="pixels"> <tr><td background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="200" valign="top"> <font face="arial"> <br><br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-7437757543052749"; /* 160x600, created 26/1/2013 */ google_ad_slot = "8708585973"; google_ad_width = 160; google_ad_height = 600; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br><br><br><br> <br> <a href="http://www.theodora.com/dot.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/dot_ad.gif" valign="top"></a> <hr> <br><br><br><br><br> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Link Unit */ google_ad_slot = "3506820389"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br><br><br><br> </center> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="14"></td> <td bgcolor="white" width="558" valign="top"> <font face="arial"><br> <table><tr><td width="350"> <a href="http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/australia/" target="_blank"><b>GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES</b></a> </td><td width="300"> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=es&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/spanish_translate.gif" alt="Spanish"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=zh-CN&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/chinese_translate.gif" alt="Simplified Chinese"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=fr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/french_translate.gif" alt="French"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/german_translate.gif" alt="German"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=ru&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/russian_translate.gif" alt="Russian"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=hi&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/hindi_translate.gif" alt="Hindi"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=ar&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/arabic_translate.gif" alt="Arabic"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html&sl=en&tl=pt&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/portuguese_translate.gif" alt="Portuguese"></a> </td></tr></table> <HR> <br> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Medium Rectangle */ google_ad_slot = "5200087626"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br> Page last updated on February 14, 2013 <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#country_name">Country name:</a></b><br> <i>conventional long form: </i>Commonwealth of Australia <br><i> conventional short form: </i>Australia <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#government_type">Government type:</a></b><br> federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#capital">Capital:</a></b><br> <i>name: </i>Canberra <br><i> geographic coordinates: </i>35 16 S, 149 08 E <br><i> time difference: </i>UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) <br><i> daylight saving time: </i>+1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April <br><i> <em>note:</em> </i>Australia is divided into three time zones <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#administrative_divisions">Administrative divisions:</a></b><br> 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#dependent_areas">Dependent areas:</a></b><br> Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#independence">Independence:</a></b><br> 1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies) <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#national_holiday">National holiday:</a></b><br> Australia Day, 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) <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#constitution">Constitution:</a></b><br> 9 July 1900; effective 1 January 1901 <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#legal_system">Legal system:</a></b><br> common law system based on the English model <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#international_law_organization_participation">International law organization participation:</a></b><br> accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#suffrage">Suffrage:</a></b><br> 18 years of age; universal and compulsory <br>[see also: <a href="http://www.photius.com/rankings/population/suffrage_2013_0.html" target="_blank"><u>Suffrage country ranks</u></a> ] <p><b><a href = "australia_chiefs.html">Executive branch</a>:</b><br> <i>chief of state: </i>Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Quentin BRYCE (since 5 September 2008) <br><i> head of government: </i>Prime Minister Julia Eileen GILLARD (since 24 June 2010); Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Maxwell SWAN (since 24 June 2010) <br><i> cabinet: </i>prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers <br><i> elections: </i>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 leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#legislative_branch">Legislative branch:</a></b><br> bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives) <br><i> elections: </i>Senate - last held on 21 August 2010; House of Representatives - last held on 21 August 2010 (the latest a simultaneous half-Senate and House of Representative elections can be held is 30 November 2013) <br><i> election results: </i>Senate (effective 1 July 2011) - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Liberal/National Coalition 34, Australian Labor Party 31, Australian Greens Party 9, others 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Australian Labor Party 38.1%, Liberal Party 30.4%, Greens Party 11.5%, Liberal National Party of Queensland 9.3%, independents 6.6%, National Party of Australia 3.7%, Country Liberals 0.3%; seats by party - Australian Labor Party 72, Liberal Party 44, Liberal National Party of Queensland 21, National Party of Australia 7, Country Liberals 1, Australian Greens Party 1, independents 4 <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#judicial_branch">Judicial branch:</a></b><br> High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general acting on the advice of the government) <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#political_parties_and_leaders">Political parties and leaders:</a></b><br> Australian Greens Party [Christine MILNE]; Australian Labor Party [Julia GILLARD]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Tony ABBOTT]; National Party of Australia [Warren TRUSS] <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#political_pressure_groups_and_leaders">Political pressure groups and leaders:</a></b><br> <i>other: </i>business groups; environmental groups; social groups; trade unions <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abbreviations.html">International organization participation</a>:</b><br> 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), 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), Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#diplomatic_representation_in_the_us">Diplomatic representation in the US:</a></b><br> <i>chief of mission: </i>Ambassador Kim Christian BEAZLEY <br><i> chancery: </i>1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 <br><i> telephone: </i>[1] (202) 797-3000 <br><i> FAX: </i>[1] (202) 797-3168 <br><i> consulate(s) general: </i>Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#diplomatic_representation_from_the_us">Diplomatic representation from the US:</a></b><br> <i>chief of mission: </i>Ambassador Jeffrey L. BLEICH <br><i> embassy: </i>Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 <br><i> mailing address: </i>APO AP 96549 <br><i> telephone: </i>[61] (02) 6214-5600 <br><i> FAX: </i>[61] (02) 6214-5970 <br><i> consulate(s) general: </i>Melbourne, Perth, Sydney <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/flags/">Flag</a> description:</b><br> blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#national_symbol">National symbol(s):</a></b><br> Southern Cross constellation (five, seven-pointed stars); kangaroo; emu <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#national_anthem">National anthem:</a></b><br> <i>name: </i>"Advance Australia Fair" <div id="mediaplayer" style="height: 23px;"> <script type="text/javascript" src="jwplayer.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> jwplayer("mediaplayer").setup({ 'flashplayer' : "player.swf", 'file': "../anthems/AS.mp3", 'controlbar': 'bottom', 'width': '370', 'height': '23' }); </script> <br><i> lyrics/music: </i>Peter Dodds McCORMICK <br><i> <em>note:</em> </i>adopted 1984; although originally written in the late 19th century, the anthem did not become used for all official occasions until 1984; as a Commonwealth country, in addition to the national anthem, "God Save the Queen" is also played at Royal functions (see United Kingdom) </font> <p> <p> <BR> <P> <font size = "-2"><B> NOTE: The information regarding Australia on this page is re-published from the 2013 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Australia Government 2013 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Australia Government 2013 should be addressed to the CIA. </B></font> </P> <br> <hr> <a href="#" onClick="AddToFaves_hp()"><img src="http://www.theodora.com/images/bookmark_banner.gif" align="left" width="176" height="52" border="0"></a><font color=brown> - Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites). <br> - If you wish to <b>link</b> to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line.</font> <hr> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/australia_government.html <br><br> This page was last modified 11-Mar-13 <br> Copyright &copy 1995-2013 <a href="http://www.theodora.com/ita.html">ITA</a> all rights reserved. <br> </td> <td width=200 valign="top" align="left" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif"> <!-- SiteSearch Google --> <br> <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-7437757543052749:i8v5yg-obf2" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="26" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box&lang=en"></script> <!-- End SiteSearch Google --> <font size="2" face="arial"> <b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb">|Main INDEX|</a> <li><a href="../index.html">2013 INDEX</a> <li><a href="http://www.photius.com/rankings/index.html">Country Ranks</a> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html">DEFINITIONS</a> <br><br> <a href="index.html">Australia Index 2013</a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/australia/index.html">Australia Main Index</a> <li><a href="australia_introduction.html">Introduction</a> <li><a href="http://workmall.com/wfb2001/australia/australia_history_index.html">History</a> <li><a href="australia_geography.html">Geography</a> <li>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theodora.com/maps">Maps</a><br> </b> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.photius.com/religion">Religion</a> <b><li><a href="australia_government.html">Government</a><br></B> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="australia_chiefs.html"> Gov. Leaders</a> <br>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theodora.com/flags">Flags</a> <b><br> <li><a href="australia_economy.html">Economy</a> <li><a href="australia_energy.html">Energy</a> <li><a href="australia_communications.html">Communications</a> <li><a href="australia_transportation.html">Transportation</a> <br></B> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.photius.com/wfb2001/airport_codes_alpha.html">Airport Codes</a> <b> <li><a href="australia_military.html">Military</a> <li><a href="australia_issues.html">Transnational Issues</a> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/">Photos</a> </ul> <ul><A href="http://www.theodora.com/wwwads.html" target="_blank">Advertise Here</a></ul> <ul> . <A href="http://www.theodora.com/theodora_feedback.html">Feedback</a> <br><br> <div class="fb-like" data-send="false" data-layout="button_count" data-width="80" data-show-faces="false"></div> <br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="none">Tweet</a> <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script> <br><br> <g:plusone size="medium" annotation="none"></g:plusone> <br> </ul> </b> </font> </td></tr></table> </body> </html>