Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system. Its eight chapters sets down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament, the executive government and the judicature.
Constitution of Australia
Royal Assent to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
Photo of the Australia Act 1986 (United Kingdom) document located in Parliament House, Canberra
Chapter III establishes the High Court as Australia's apex court
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, tropical savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Landing of James Cook at Botany Bay on 29 April 1770 to claim Australia's east coast for Great Britain
Tasmania's Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.
The Big Picture, a painting by Tom Roberts, depicts the opening of the first Australian Parliament in 1901.