Functions of Parliament

• Legislation


  The making of statue laws, appropriation Acts and ordinary Acts
• Australia's Parliament


  • Bicameral (Except QLD), meaning that Parliament is consistent of two houses: House of Representatives, and the Senate
  • Their powers and responsibilities are outline in Ch 1 of the Constitution [s7 + s24]
  • The topics in which they can legislate on is outlined in Ch 1 Part V
• Statutes in Theory


  1. Well scrutinised through speeches, debates and in-depth analysis by Parliamentary Committees

  2. Have diverse inputs from people's elected representative

  3. Can be initiated by any member of Parliament including those serving in the Executive + Private members
• Statutes in Theory - Statutory Process

  1. Secondary Reading

  2. Committee Stage

  3. Speech - Meant to inform Parliament of a Bill's purpose and necessity

  4. Debate - Provides members of Parliament with opposition to represent electorate when legislating

  5. Committees may consult professionals or experts for advice and the community

  6. Committee members may travel to asses impact of proposed law on specific/affected communities
• Statutes in Theory - Senate

  1. As the House of Review, the Senate repeats the statutory process, but emphasises on the impact of the proposed law and how it may impact the people's rights

  2. The statutory process is 'deliberative' in theory. Meant to ensure that statues are well crafted, represented and doesn't infringe on the rights of the people
• Bills path through House of Representatives

  1. Handles controversial and complex bills

  2. Follows statutory process

  3. Can be subjected to gags + guillotine which affects the speed and reduces effective scrutiny + democratic input
• Bills path through Federation Chamber

  1. Handles uncontested bills

  2. Passes through quickly, done due to minimal debate and scrutiny bills are subjected to

  3. Operates by agreement and has no formal division
• Bills through Senate


  1. All bills transfer from House of Representatives to the Senate, passing through the 'Senate Standing Committee' for the Selection of Bills

  2. Classification ensures efficiency and scrutiny

  3. Executive dominance is uncommon in the Senate, meaning gags, guillotines and floodgating are less likely to occur than the House of Representatives

  4. Due to the Senates diverse representation in seats, they have a larger scope of debate and scrutiny to bills
• Parliamentary thesis refers to an ongoing argument that modern parliament is unable to perform its major roles
• Often due to: Rise of disciplined political parties, Executive Dominance
• Legislative function contributes to this argument due to the dominance the Lower House holds
• Due to the dominance the Executive has into the House of Representatives, private members' bills fail to proceed
• Executive dominance also ensures a guaranteed passage for Government legislation and enables disruptions such as floodgating, gag and guillotine
• Case Studies - Passing of Legislation

  • In July 2015, the Abbot Government proposed emergency amendments to close loopholes on the Migration Act 1958 due to a pending case in the HCA
  • The case threatened to declare offshore detention of asylum seekers in foreign countries as unlawful
  • The bill was able to pass in 2 days before the HCA can discover the loophole
  • This showcases the effectiveness of Executive Dominance and how it can be a positive function
• Case Studies - Private Members' Bills

  • In 2015, the Marriage Amendment (Marriage Equality) Bill was proposed
  • Opposition leader Bill Shorten and Deputy opposition leader Tanya Pilbersek co-sponsored a private members' bill to legislate marriage equality
  • In response the Government used their numbers in the House of Representatives to adjourn the debate indefinitely, preventing the progress of the bill
  • The consequence of having a strong Executive dominance
• Case Studies - Will of the Majority

  • In 2018, The Turnbull Government mandated for a $48 billion corporate tax cut policy
  • Due to the Double Dissolution, the quota for Senate seats fell from 14% to 7%, affecting the results of the Seats
  • A large amount of Minor and Independent parties gained seats in the Senate, creating a diverse Crossbench
  • The Government attempted to argue the bills passage through the Senate by a democratic "Will of the Majority", giving them the right to legislate
  • Opposition and the Greens in the Senate opposed these cuts on ideological and political grounds
  • The Government also had a weak majority, only having an advantage in the lower house by 1 seat, undermining their genuine mandate
  • Negotiations were led by the Mathias Cormann (Liberal Finance Minister) and the NXT used their 'balance of power' position to rule the tax cut as 'big' business
• Case Studies - Statutory Process (House of Representatives)


  • Government introduced the National Security (Espionage and Foreign Bill Amendment in December 7 of 2017
  • The MEAA and LCA argued that the bill went too far and limited political freedoms and rights, restricting the freedom of press and political communication
  • ALP and Greens backed the argument, not supporting the bill unless it was protected the freedom of press and political communication
  • Parliamentary pressures from both the pressure groups (MEAA and LCA) and Political Parties (ALP + Greens), the Government agreed to change the contents of the bill
• Case Studies - Statutory Process (Senate)


  • The Senate has the legislative power to gag bills from above, showcased during the proposal of the Ensuring Integrity Bill in 2019
  • Bills can pass the House of Representatives with relative ease due to majority the government holds in the house
  • Mathias Cormann (Former leader of the Government in the Senate), negotiated with the crossbench in the Senate to gain support for the Government's bill to pass
  • The Centre Alliance (Formerly known as the NXT) agreed which left Jacqui Lambie and PHON to control the outcome of the bill
  • When votes came in, PHON senators voted with the ALP opposition and defeated the Government bill
  • This demonstrates the legislative power held by the Senate and in particular the Crossbench, contributing to limiting Executive power and how Government is held responsible by the Senate