Parliament and leaders
The Australian Parliament has two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Learn their nicknames, how many senators each state and territory gets, and the titles of state, territory and local government leaders.
What to remember
- House of Representatives (Lower House / People's House): 150+ MPs, seats by population.
- Senate (Upper House / House of Review / States' House): 76 senators, 12 per state and 2 each for ACT and NT.
- Premier = state leader, Chief Minister = territory leader, Mayor/Shire President = local government leader.
- States have constitutional rights; territory laws can be overridden by the Australian Government. The NT has an Administrator.
Sample questions
What are the two Houses of the Australian Parliament?Show answer
- The House of Commons and the House of Lords
- The Cabinet and the High Court
- The House of Representatives and the Senate
The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Australian Parliament has two Houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
What are other names for the House of Representatives?Show answer
- The Lower House or the People's House
- The House of Review
- The Upper House or the States' House
The Lower House or the People's House. Other names for the House of Representatives are the Lower House or the People's House.
What are other names for the Senate?Show answer
- The Upper House, the House of Review or the States' House
- The Cabinet
- The Lower House or the People's House
The Upper House, the House of Review or the States' House. The Senate is sometimes called the Upper House, the House of Review or the States' House.
Source: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, pp. 27–28. Read the full booklet on the Home Affairs website.