System of government

Learn about the system of government in Queensland.

In short

Queensland's government is a representative democracy and is modelled after the British parliament.

The state is made up of electorates, each with an elected representative. These members form Queensland Parliament. The Premier appoints portfolios to Ministers, making them responsible for the governance and operation of that portfolio.

Visit the Queensland Parliament website for more resources and information for teachers, students and the general public.

The government system

Queensland's system of government is modelled on the Westminster system after the British parliament in the Palace of Westminister, London.

Under this system, there are 3 separate arms of government:

Legislative Assembly (Parliament)
Executive (Cabinet and Executive Council)
Judiciary (Courts).

This ensures no one arm of government has all the power.

A representative democracy

The Queensland Constitution states Queensland is governed by a representative democracy whereby citizens decide who governs the state.

Queensland has 93 electoral districts each with an elected representative in Parliament.

In a democracy all citizens have the right to vote to elect a candidate who represents their electorate and a political party. Voting is compulsory for everyone aged 18 and over.

The candidate with the majority of votes in an electoral district becomes the member of parliament. This process is commonly referred to as winning a seat in Parliament.

Forming parliament

The political party, or group of parties working together in an election, that wins the majority of seats (at least 45) forms the government.

The party, or group of parties working together, that gain the next highest number of seats forms the opposition, and parliament.

The difference between Parliament and the government is that Parliament is made up of members of all political parties, whereas the government is formed by the party with the majority in Parliament.

Role of parliament and members

The role of the Legislative Assembly is to make decisions about new laws and propose changes to legislation. As part of the democratic process, members of Parliament debate the key issues of the day and ask questions of ministers.

Parliament can make and change laws and the government can make 'rules' to regulate those laws.

The Premier

The Premier has several critical roles in Parliament, including:

leadership of the Parliament
being the Chief Minister and Chair of Cabinet
choosing Ministers and allocating portfolios
representing their own electorate
portfolio responsibilities
being the main channel of communication between:
- the Governor and Cabinet
- the Queensland Government and other state and territory governments
- the Commonwealth Government, and governments overseas.

The Premier of Queensland is expected to have a vision for Queensland that addresses expected challenges and includes plans for our state's continued prosperity.

The Governor

The Governor's role in Parliament is to conduct a range of constitutional and ceremonial duties:

summoning and dissolving Parliament
granting Royal Assent to proposed laws (Bills) passed by Parliament
presiding over meetings of the Executive Council, and
issuing writs for state elections and elections for Queensland's federal Senators.

The Governor is the representative in Queensland of His Majesty King Charles III and appoints the Premier of Queensland.

The structure

Ministerial portfolios
Government departments
Statutory bodies

Ministerial portfolios

The Premier appoints a member of parliament to be the Minister of a portfolio. Portfolios include areas like health, education, transport and the arts.

The appointed Minister then becomes responsible for that portfolio. The responsibilities of ministers and their portfolios are set out in Administrative Arrangements Orders.

Government departments

Each portfolio has a government department or agency which must implement policies and deliver services to Queenslanders.

Departments are led by Directors-General, who are effectively Chief Executive Officers.

Collectively these departments and agencies are known as the public sector or public service.

Statutory bodies

Government is also made up of statutory bodies which have been established under their own separate legislation, and are responsible for specific aspects of government administration.

They include authorities, boards, commissions, committees, councils, corporations, trusts and tribunals.

Most statutory bodies are administered by boards or committees, and all must report through the responsible Minister on their operations.