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Factsheet Three Levels of

There are three levels of government in : Each level of government is responsible for providing services and they each raise money • local, through or charges to pay for those • , and services. Each level may be responsible for • federal. providing certain services, but often two or three levels of government share responsibilities. The federal and state are established under the Australian . What is ? Every person forms part of a local . Local government is sometimes called Every local community is part of a state or “grassroots” government because it is concerned territory and every state or territory is part of with matters close to home. The decision making Australia. Representatives elected by their local body at a local level is called the council. community make decisions about the area they Representatives who are elected to that council are elected to represent. are called and the leader is called Rules are made by our to keep order the . and allow for fairness in our community. These The council makes local that reflect rules are called laws. community needs and ensures they can govern their area. Local laws can differ between local Why do we need Governments? governments. These laws have to be approved by Just like people, communities have basic needs the State Parliament, because and councils www.parliament.qld.gov.au that must be met. Imagine what it would be like are created by the State Parliaments, and they

W if there were nobody to make sure that laws were decide what duties the councils will perform. obeyed, if there were nobody to help look after The council pays for its services with state and the sick and elderly, or to plan where buildings federal funding and also with charges (such as should go, and to keep the environment clean , licences and permit fees) that it collects and safe. from people who own land in the local area.

What does Local Government do? Generally, the looks after the parts of the local community that are public property, such as local and , and decides where new local roads and buildings should go and which natural areas and historic places should be protected. The plans for all new buildings must be approved by the council.

Who’s who in Local Government? E [email protected] E [email protected] Queen’s Representative Not applicable to local government Mayor, A diagram showing the three levels of government in or President Australia: federal government, , and local government. Your Representative +61 7 3553 6000 P Queensland Parliament Factsheet Three Levels of Government

The council looks after aspects of public health What is Federal Government? such as arranging for garbage and recyclable In 1901, Australia became a nation. This is known waste to be collected, checking that restaurants as . Prior to federation, each of the and shops are clean, registering dogs and six states was a colony with its own government destroying vermin. It is also responsible for that made decisions for the people living in that street signs and traffic control. Some councils colony. (The territories gained self government run libraries, museums and theatres and provide later.) However, some people thought it was a public halls and swimming pools. good idea for Australia to have a government that These are just some of the community services made decisions for all Australians. that a council may provide and your local The citizens were asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on newspaper is often the best place to find out whether Australia should become a nation. information about these services. (A yes or no vote on a particular issue is called What is State Government? a .) A majority voted ‘yes’ and the colonies gave some of their power to a new Each Australian state and territory has its own level of government known as the Federal or government and its own constitution. The Commonwealth Government. decision making body for each state is the State Parliament which is located in each capital . Who’s who in Federal Government?

What does the State Government do? Queen’s Representative -General Under the Australian Constitution, the states Head of Government Prime are responsible for all the areas not listed as Your Representative federal responsibilities. However, often both (MP and Senator) levels of government are involved and the federal www.parliament.qld.gov.au government will give money to the states to carry What does the Federal Government do? W out their programs. The Australian Constitution lists the matters that State governments receive funding from a the Federal Parliament can make laws about. number of sources including revenue from the federal Goods and Services and state-based Some of these include the defence forces, fees, levies and charges. pensions and family support, employment, immigration and customs, post and Who’s who in State Government? telecommunications, imports and exports, passports, the media, airports and air safety, Queen’s Representative Governor income and company taxes. These services are Head of Government * paid for by the taxes collected by the federal Your Representative Member of Parliament government. (MP)

* In the two Territories, the Head of Government is called the .

State governments are responsible for education, health, the environment, transport, E [email protected] E [email protected] public works, primary industries, industrial relations, community services, sport and recreation, consumer affairs, police services, prisons, and water – to name just a few. That means whenever you go to hospital or a police officer in your community takes action against someone breaking the , your +61 7 3553 6000 state government is at work. P