About the Chamber of Deputies (2023)

In this section

• senate
• House of Representatives
  • About the house news
  • About the House of Representatives
  • Powers, Practice and Procedures
  • Biographical Dictionary of the House of Representatives
  • sergeant
  • about the TV house
  • House of Representatives seating plan
  • Seminarprogramm
• parliamentary work
• Task Force Parliamentary Leadership
• parliamentary departments
• International program
• Publications and Policies
• employment
• Media rules and rotation apps
• educational resources
• Parliamentary Friendship Groups (outside the country)
• meeting calendar

The House of Representatives is one of two chambers of the Australian federal parliament, along with the Senate. It is sometimes called the"House of the People"or the"government house".

composition

The chamber currently has 151 members. Each member represents an electoral division.The boundaries of these constituencies are adjusted from time to time so that they all contain approximately the same number of voters; Due to Australia's population distribution, they vary greatly in area (from a few square kilometers to over two million square kilometers). Members are elected through a system known as preferential voting, with voters ranking candidates in order of preference.

Each House of Representatives can last up to three years, after which general elections must be held for a new House. The elections usually take place before this period expires.

The main political parties represented in the House of Representatives are the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Liberal Party and the Australian National Party. There have also been a number of independent parties and MPs in recent years.

See also:

• Fact sheet 8: Elections to the House of Representatives

functions

makes laws— The Chamber's central and most time-consuming function is to review and approve new laws and reforms or amendments to existing laws. Any member can introduce a bill (bill), but most are introduced by the government. To become law, bills must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. They can start in either house, but most bills are introduced in the House of Representatives.

determines the government—After an election, the political party (or coalition of parties) with the most representatives in the House of Representatives becomes the ruling party. Its leader becomes prime minister and other ministers are appointed from among party members and senators. To remain in office, a government must have the support of a majority of members of the House of Representatives.

Publish and investigate government administration- discussing legislation and ministerial policy statements, discussing matters of public importance, committee inquiries, asking questions to ministers (during Question Time - at 2 p.m. - Members may put questions to ministers without prior notice on matters affecting their work and You will also be required to give advance notice of a written response).

represents the people—Members can submit citizen petitions and raise citizen concerns and grievances in the debate. Members also raise issues of interest to departments and ministries.

control government spending– The government cannot levy taxes or spend money except as permitted by law through the passage of Taxation and Appropriation Acts. Expenditure is also scrutinized by parliamentary committees.

See also:

• Factsheet 19: The Chamber, the Government and the Opposition

sessions

The normal house seating pattern runs from February to March, May to June and August to December. During this period, the House generally meets in blocks of two weeks, followed by two weeks without sitting. Normally the Chamber meets every week from Monday to Thursday.

IsAgendabecause each session, by the rules of the Chamber (theRules of Procedure and Sessions of the House of Representatives). Most of the time is spent discussing government affairs, mainly examining draft legislation. On Monday, 'Private Members' Day', time is set aside for debate on the reports of parliamentary committees and issues sponsored by governmental and non-governmental MPs.

All procedures are public.

See also:

• Leaflet 2: A typical sitting day
• meeting calendar

committees

The House has an extensive system of standing committees. These include:

• committees of inquiry—These committees advise on matters of public order or government administration. They collect evidence from the public and report to the House of Representatives with recommendations for government action. The system of standing committees for general purposes corresponds to government functions, e.g. B. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs; Economics, Finance and Public Administration; vocational training; And

• domestic or internal bodies—These committees deal with the running of the House eg procedures, privileges, interests of the members.

There are several joint committees in which both members and senators serve together, such as the Audit and Public Accounts Committee.

See also:

• Leaflet 4 – Committees

The camera

The Chamber of the Federation

The House of Federation provides an additional forum for second reading and detailed consideration of the stages of bills and discussion of committee reports and documents submitted to the House. One of the chambers of the House of Representatives is dedicated to this function and is set up as a small chamber. His negotiations are also public.

See also:

• Factsheet 16 – The Chamber of the Federation

A speaker

The first act of the House of Representatives after an election is to elect one of its membersspeaker. The Speaker chairs the sessions of the Chamber and is responsible for its administration. The Vice President and Second Vice President are also elected. A panel of other members, appointed by the Speaker, assists in presiding over the House of Representatives and the General Committee. When chairing, these members are referred to as “Vice Speakers”.

See also:

• Fact sheet 3: The speaker

More information

Refer toFrequently Asked Questionspage o laInformation sheetswith more information about the house.

Interparliamentary Relations

IsOffice of International and Parliamentary Relations(IPRO) provides advice and assistance in relation to the conduct of Parliament's international and regional affairs. Provides general support for interparliamentary conferences and incoming and outgoing parliamentary delegations; supporting the training of other parliaments, especially the smaller parliaments in our region; and advising the Bureau and members on international parliamentary matters.

The goal of IPRO is to support Parliament's external relations in terms of productive and friendly international and regional relations with other parliaments and parliamentary bodies and organizations.