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Constitutional Documents
THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION MAGNA
CARTA
THE ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS 1689
THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT, 1701
THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION
Contents:
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT
An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of
Australia [9th July 1900]
Whereas the people of
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly
relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one
indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established:
And whereas it is expedient to provide for
the admission into the Commonwealth of other Australasian Colonies and
possessions of the Queen:
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most
Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the
authority of the same, as follows:-
1. This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth
of Australia Constitution Act.
2. The provisions of this Act referring to
the Queen shall extend to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty
of the United Kingdom.
3. It shall be lawful for the Queen, with the
advice of the Privy Council, to declare by proclamation that, on and after a day
therein appointed, not being later that one year after the passing of this Act,
the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and
Tasmania, and also, if Her Majesty is satisfied that the people of Western
Australia have agreed thereto, of Western Australia, shall be united in a
Federal Commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia. But the
Queen may, at any time after the proclamation, appoint a Governor-General for
the Commonwealth.
4. The Commonwealth shall be established, and
the Constitution of the Commonwealth shall take effect, on and after the day so
appointed. But the Parliaments of the several colonies may at any time after the
passing of this Act make any such laws, to come into operation on the day so
appointed, as they might have made of the Constitution had taken effect at the
passing of this Act.
5. This Act, and all laws made by the
Parliament of the Commonwealth under the Constitution, shall be binding on the
courts, judges, and people of every State and of every part of the Commonwealth,
notwithstanding anything in the laws of any State; and the laws of the
Commonwealth shall be in force on all British ships, the Queen's ships of war
excepted, whose first port of clearance and whose port of destination are in the
Commonwealth.
6. "The Commonwealth" shall mean the
Commonwealth of Australia as established under this Act.
"The States" shall mean such of the colonies
of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western
Australia, and South Australia, including the northern territory of South
Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such
colonies or territories as may be admitted into or established by the
Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be
called "a State".
"Original States" shall mean such States as
are parts of the Commonwealth at its establishment.
7. The Federal Council of Australasia Act,
1885, is hereby repealed, but so as not to affect any laws passed by the Federal
Council of Australasia and in force at the establishment of the Commonwealth.
Any such law may be repealed as to any State
by the Parliament of the Commonwealth, or as to any colony not being a State by
the Parliament thereof.
8. After the passing of this Act the Colonial
Boundaries Act, 1895, shall not apply to any colony which becomes a State of the
Commonwealth; but the Commonwealth shall be taken to be a self-governing colony
for the purposes of that Act.
9. The Constitution of the Commonwealth shall
be as follows:-
Part I General
1. The legislative power of the Commonwealth
shall be vested in a Federal Parliament, which shall consist of the Queen, a
Senate, and a House of Representatives, and which is herein-after called "The
Parliament," or "The Parliament of the Commonwealth."
2. A Governor-General appointed by the Queen
shall be Her Majesty's representative in the Commonwealth, and shall have and
may exercise in the Commonwealth during the Queen's pleasure, but subject to
this Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be
pleased to assign to him.
3. There shall be payable to the Queen out of
the Consolidated Revenue fund of the Commonwealth, for the salary of the
Governor- General, an annual sum which, until the Parliament otherwise provides,
shall be ten thousand pounds.
The salary of the Governor-General shall not
be altered during his continuance in office.
4. The provisions of this Constitution
relating to the Governor- General extend and apply to the Governor-General for
the time being, or such person as the Queen may appoint to administer the
Government of the Commonwealth; but no such person shall be entitled to receive
any salary from the Commonwealth in respect of any other office during his
administration of the Government of the Commonwealth.
5. The Governor-General may appoint such
times for holding the sessions of the Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also
from time to time, by Proclamation or otherwise, prorogue the Parliament, and
may in like manner dissolve the House of Representatives.
After any general election the Parliament
shall be summoned to meet not later than thirty days after the day appointed for
the return of the writs.
The Parliament shall be summoned to meet not
later than six months after the establishment of the Commonwealth.
6. There shall be a session of the Parliament
once at least in every year, so that twelve months shall not intervene between
the last sitting of the Parliament in one session and its first sitting in the
nextsession.
>Part
II The Senate
7. The Senate shall be composed of senators
for each State, directly chosen by the people of the State, voting, until the
Parliament otherwise provides, as one electorate.
But until the Parliament of the Commonwealth
otherwise provides, the Parliament of the State of Queensland, if that State be
an Original State, may make laws dividing the State into divisions and
determining the number of senators to be chosen for each division, and in the
absence of such provision the State shall be one electorate.
Until the Parliament otherwise provides there
shall be six senators for each Original State. The Parliament may make laws
increasing or diminishing the number of senators for each State, but so that
equal representation of the several Original States shall be maintained and that
no Original State shall have less than six senators. {** Note: number of
senators for each State increased to 10 by the Representation Act 1948-49, S.4
**}
The senators shall be chosen for a term of
six years, and the names of the senators chosen for each State shall be
certified by the Government to the Governor-General.
8. The qualification of electors of senators
shall be in each State that which is prescribed by this Constitution, or by the
Parliament, as the qualification for electors of members of the House of
Representatives; but in the choosing of senators each elector shall vote only
once.
9. The Parliament of the Commonwealth may
make laws prescribing the method of choosing senators, but so that the method
shall be uniform for all the States. Subject to any such law, the Parliament of
each State may make laws prescribing the method of choosing the senators for
that State.
The Parliament of a State may make laws for
determining the times and places of elections of senators for the State.
10. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
but subject to this constitution, the laws in force in each State, for the time
being, relating to elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of
the State shall, as nearly as practicable, apply to elections of senators for
the State.
11. The Senate may proceed to despatch of
business, notwithstanding the failure of any State to provide for its
representation in the Senate.
12. The Governor of any State may cause writs
to be issued for elections of senators for the State. In case of the dissolution
of the Senate the writs shall be issued within ten days from the proclamation of
such dissolution.
13. As soon as may be after the Senate first
meets, and after each first meeting of the Senate following a dissolution
thereof, the Senate shall divide the senators chosen for each State into two
classes, as nearly equal in number as practicable; and the places of the
senators of the first class shall become vacant at the expiration of three
years, and the places of those of the second class at the expiration of six
years, from the beginning of their term of service' and afterwards the places of
senators shall be vacant at the expiration of six years from the beginning of
their term of service.
The election to fill vacant places shall be
made within one year before the places are to become vacant.
For the purpose of this section the term of
service of a senator shall be taken to begin on the first day of July following
the day of his election, except in the cases of the first election and of the
election next after any dissolution of the Senate, when it shall be taken to
begin on the first day of July preceding the day of his election.
14. Whenever the number of senators for a
State is increased or diminished, the Parliament of the Commonwealth may make
such provision for the vacating of the places of senators for the State as it
deems necessary to maintain regularity in the rotation.
15. If the place of a senator becomes vacant
before the expiration of his term of service, the Houses of Parliament of the
State for which he was chosen shall, sitting and voting together, choose a
person to hold the place until the expiration of the term, or until the election
of a successor as herein-after provided, whichever first happens. But if the
Houses of Parliament of the State are not in session at the time when the
vacancy is notified, the Governor of the State, with the advice of the Executive
Council thereof, may appoint a person to hold the place until the expiration of
fourteen days after the beginning of the next session of the Parliament of the
State, or until the election of a successor, whichever first happens.
At the next general election of members of
the House of Representatives, or at the next election of senators for the State,
whichever first happens, a successor shall, if the term has not then expired, be
chosen to hold the place from the date of his election until the expiration of
the term.
The name of any senator so chosen or
appointed shall be certified by the Governor of the State to the
Governor-General.
16. The qualification of a senator shall be
the same as those of a member of the House of Representatives.
17. The Senate shall, before proceeding to
the despatch of any other business, choose a senator to be to President of the
Senate; and as often as the office of President becomes vacant the Senate shall
again choose a senator to be the President.
The President shall cease to hold his office
if he ceases to be a senator. He may be removed from office by a vote of the
Senate, or he may resign his office or his seat by writing addressed to the
Governor-General.
18. Before or during any absence of the
President, the Senate may choose a senator to perform his duties in his absence.
19. A senator may by writing addressed to the
President, or to the Governor-General if there is no President or if the
President is absent from the Commonwealth, resign his place, which thereupon
shall become vacant.
20. The place of a senator shall become
vacant if for two consecutive months of any session of the Parliament he,
without the permission of the Senate, fails to attend the Senate.
21. Whenever a vacancy happens in the Senate,
the President, or if there is no President or if the President is absent from
the Commonwealth the Governor-General, shall notify the same to the Governor of
the State in the representation of which the vacancy has happened.
22. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the presence of at least one-third of the whole number of the senators shall be
necessary to constitute a meeting of the Senate for the exercise of its powers.
23. Questions arising in the Senate shall be
determined by a majority of votes, and each senator shall have one vote. The
President shall in all cases be entitled to a vote; and when the votes are equal
the question shall pass in the negative.
Part III The House of Representatives
24. The House of Representatives shall be
composed of members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth, and the
number of such members shall be, as nearly as practicable, twice the number of
senators.
The number of members chosen in the several
States shall be in proportion to the respective members of their people, and
shall, until the Parliament otherwise provides, be determined, whenever
necessary, in the following manner:-
(i.) A quota shall be ascertained by dividing
the number of the people of the Commonwealth, as shown by the latest statistics
of the Commonwealth, by twice the number of senators:
(ii.) The number of members to be chosen in
each State shall be determined by dividing the number of people of the State, as
shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth, by the quota; and if on such
division there is a remainder greater than one-half of the quota, one more
member shall be chosen in the State.
But notwithstanding anything in this section,
five members at least shall be chosen in each Original State.
25. For the purposes of the last section, if
by the law of any State all persons of any race are disqualified from voting at
elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of the State, then, in
reckoning the number of the people of the State or of the Commonwealth, persons
of the race resident in that State shall not be counted.
26. Notwithstanding anything in section
twenty-four, the number of members tobe chosen in each State at the first
election shall be as follows:-
New South Wales .. .. .. twenty-three;
Victoria .. .. .. .. twenty;
Queensland .. .. .. .. eight;
South Australia .. .. .. .. six;
Tasmania .. .. .. .. five;
Provided that if Western
Australia is an Original State, the numbers shall be as follows:-
New South Wales .. .. .. twenty-six;
Victoria .. .. .. .. twenty-three;
Queensland .. .. .. .. nine;
South Australia .. .. .. seven;
Western Australia .. .. .. five;
Tasmania .. .. .. .. five.
27. Subject to this Constitution, the
Parliament may make laws for increasing or diminishing the number of the members
of the House of Representatives.
28. Every House of Representatives shall
continue for three years from the first meeting of the House, and no longer, but
may be soon dissolved by the Governor-General.
29. Until the Parliament of the Commonwealth
otherwise provides, the Parliament of any State may make laws for determining
the divisions in each State for which members of the House of Representatives
may be chosen, and the number of members to be chosen for each division. A
division shall not be formed out of parts of different States.
In the absence of other provision each State
shall be one electorate.
30.Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the qualification of electors of members of the House of Representatives shall
be in each State that which is prescribed by the law of the State as the
qualification of electors of the more numerous House of Parliament of the State;
but in the choosing of members each elector shall vote only once.
31. Until the parliament otherwise provides,
but subject to this Constitution, the laws in force in each State for the time
being relating to elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of the
State shall, as nearly as practicable, apply to elections in the State of
members of the House of Representatives.
32. The Governer-General in Council may cause
writs to be issued for general elections of members of the House of
Representatives.
After the first general election, the writs
shall be issued withing ten days from the expiry of a House of Representatives
or from the proclamation of a dissolution thereof.
33. Whenever a vacancy happens in the House
of Representatives, the Speaker shall issue his writ for the election of a new
member, or if there is no Speaker or if he is absent from the Commonwealth for
Governor-General in Council may issue the writ.
34. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the qualifications of a member of the House of Representatives shall be as
follows:-
(i.) He must be of the full age of twenty-one
years, and must be an elector entitled to vote at the election of members of the
House of Representatives, or a person qualifies to become such elector, and must
have been for three years at the least a resident within the limits of the
Commonwealth as existing at the time when he was chosen:
(ii.) He must be a subject of the Queen,
either natural-born or for at least five years naturalized under a law of the
United Kingdom, or of a Colony which has become or becomes a State, or of the
Commonwealth, or of a State.
35. The House of Representatives shall,
before proceeding to the despatch of any other business, choose a member to be
the Speaker of the House, and as often as the office of Speaker becomes vacant
the House shall again choose a member to be the Speaker.
The Speaker shall cease to hold his office if
he ceases to be a member. He may be removed from office by a vote of the House,
or he may resign his office or his seat by writing addressed to the
Governor-General.
36. Before or during any absence of the
Speaker, the House of Representatives may choose a member to perform his duties
in his absence.
37. A member may by writing addressed to the
Speaker, or to the Governor- General if there is no Speaker or if the Speaker is
absent from the Commonwealth, resign his place, which there-upon shall become
vacant.
38. The place of a member shall become vacant
if for two consecutive months of any session of the Parliament he, without the
permission of the House, fails to attend the House.
39. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the presence of at least one- third of the whole number of the members of the
House of Representatives shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the House
for the exercise of it's powers.
40. Questions arising in the House of
Representatives shall be determined by a majority of votes other than that of
the Speaker. The Speaker shall not vote unless the numbers are equal, and then
he shall have a casting vote.
Part IV Both Houses of the Parliament
41. No adult person who has or acquires a
right to vote at elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of a
State shall, while the right continues, be prevented by any law of the
Commonwealth from voting at elections for either House of the Parliament of the
Commonwealth.
42. Every senator and every member of the
House of Representatives shall before taking his seat make and subscribe before
the Governor-General, or some person authorised by him, an oath or affirmation
of allegiance in the form set forth in the schedule to this Constitution.
43. A member of either House of Parliament
shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a member of the other House.
44. Any person who-
(i.) Is under any acknowledgement of
allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a
citizen or entitled to the rights & priveleges of a subject or citizen of a
foreign power: or
(ii.) Is attained of treason, or has been
convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence
punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for
one year or longer: or
(iii.) Is an undischarged bankrupt or
insolvent: or
(iv.) Holds any office of profit under the
Crown, or any pension payable during the pleasure of the Crown out of any of the
revenues of the Commonwealth: or
(v.) Has any direct or indirect pecuniary
interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth otherwise
than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company
consisting of more than twenty-five persons:
shall be incapable of being chosen or of
sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
But sub-section iv. does not apply to the
office of any of the Queen's Ministers of State for the Commonwealth, or of any
of the Queen's Ministers for a State, or to the receipt of pay, half pay, or a
pension, by any person as an officer or member of the Queen's navy or army, or
to the receipt of pay as an officer or member of the naval or military forces of
the Commonwealth by any person whose services are not wholly employed by the
Commonwealth.
45. If a senator or member of the House of
Representatives-
(i.) Becomes subject to any of the
disabilities mentioned in the last preceding section: or
(ii.) Takes the benefit, whether by
assignment, composition, or otherwise, of any law relating to bankrupt or
insolvent debtors: or
(iii.) Directly or indirectly takes or agrees
to take any fee or honorarium for services rendered to the Commonwealth, or for
services rendered in the Parliament to any person or State:
his place shall thereupon become vacant.
46. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
any person declared by this Constitution to be incapable of sitting as a senator
or as a member of the House of Representatives shall, for every day on which he
so sits, be liable to pay the sum of one hundred pounds to any person who sues
for it in any court of competent jurisdiction.
47. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
any question respecting the qualification of a senator or member of the House or
Representatives, or respecting a vacancy in either House of the Parliament, and
any question of a disputed election to either House, shall be determined by the
House in which the question arises.
48. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
each senator and each member of the House of Representatives shall receive an
allowance of four hundred pounds a year, to be reckoned from the day on which he
takes his seat.
49. The powers, priveleges, and immunities of
the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the
committees of each House, shall be such as are declared by the Parliament, and
until declared shall be those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United
Kingdom, and of its members and committees, at the establishment of the
Commonwealth.
50. Each House of the Parliament may make
rules and orders with respect to-
(i.) The mode in which its powers, priveleges,
and immunities may be exercised and upheld:
(ii.) The order and conduct of its business
and proceedings either separately or jointly with the other House.
Part V Powers of the Parliament
51. The Parliament shall, subject to this
Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government
of the Commonwealth with respect to:-
(i.) Trade and commerce with other countries,
and among the States:
(ii.) Taxation; but so as not to discriminate
between States or parts of States:
(iii.) Bounties on the production or export
of goods, but so that such bounties shall be uniform throughout the
Commonwealth:
(iv.) Borrowing money on the public credit of
the Commonwealth:
(v.) Postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and
other like services:
(vi.) The naval and military defence of the
Commonwealth and of the several States, and the control of the forces to execute
and maintain the laws of the Commonwealth.
(vii.) Lighthouses, lightships, beacons and
buoys:
(viii.) Astronomical and metereological
observations:
(ix.) Quarantine:
(x.) Fisheries in Australian waters beyond
territorial limits:
(xi.) Census and statistics:
(xii.) Currency, coinage, and legal tender:
(xiii.) Banking, other than State banking;
also State banking extending beyond the limits of the State concerned, the
incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money:
(xiv.) Insurance, other than State insurance;
also State insurance extending beyond the limits of the State concerned:
(xv.) Weights and measures:
(xvi.) Bills of exchanging and promissory
notes:
(xvii.) Bankruptcy and insolvency:
(xviii.) Copyrights, patents of inventions
and designs, and trade marks:
(xix.) Naturalization and aliens:
(xx.) Foreign corporations, and trading or
financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth:
(xxi.) Marriage:
(xxii.) Divorce and matrimonial causes; and
in relation thereto, parental rights, and the custody and guardianship of
infants:
(xxiii.) Invalid and old-age pensions:
(xxiiiA.) The provision of maternity
allowances, widows' pensions, child endowment, unemployment, pharmaceutical,
sickness and hospital benefits, medical and dental services (but not so as to
authorize any form of civil conscription), benefits to students and family
allowances:
(xxiv.) The service and execution throughout
the Commonwealth of the civil and criminal process and the judgements of the
courts of the States:
(xxv.) The recognition throughout the
Commonwealth of the laws, the public Acts and records, and the judicial
proceedings of the States:
(xxvi.) The people of any race, for whom it
is deemed necessary to make special laws:
(xxvii.) Immigration and emigration:
(xxviii.) The influx of criminals:
(xxix.) External Affairs:
(xxx.) The relations of the Commonwealth with
the islands of the Pacific:
(xxxi.) The acquisition of property on just
terms from any State or person for any purpose in respect of which the
Parliament has power to make laws:
(xxxii.) The control of railways with respect
to transport for the naval and military purposes of the Commonwealth:
(xxxiii.) The acquisition, with the consent
of a State, of any railways of the State on terms arranged between the
Commonwealth and the State:
(xxxiv.) Railway construction and extension
in any State with the consent of that State:
(xxxv.) Conciliation and arbitration for the
prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of
any one State:
(xxxvi.) Matters in respect of which this
Constitution makes provision until the Parliament otherwise provides:
(xxxvii.) Matters referred to the Parliament
of the Commonwealth by the Parliament or Parliaments of any State or States, but
so that the law shall extend only to States by whose Parliaments the matter is
referred, or which afterwards adopt the law:
(xxxviii.) The exercise within the
Commonwealth, at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all
the States directly concerned, of any power which can at the establishment of
this Constitution be exercised only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom or
by the Federal Council of Australasia:
(xxxix.) Matters incidental to the execution
of any power vested by this Constitution in the Parliament or in either House
thereof, or in the Government of the Commonwealth, or in the Federal Judicature,
or in any department or officer of the Commonwealth.
52. The Parliament shall, subject to this
Constitution, have exclusive power to make laws for the peace, order, and good
government of the Commonwealth with respect to-
(i.) The seat of government of the
Commonwealth, and all places acquired by the Commonwealth for public purposes:
(ii.) Matters relating to any department of
the public service the control of which is by this Constitution transferred to
the Executive Government or the Commonwealth:
(iii.) Other matters declared by this
Constitution to be within the exclusive power of the Parliament.
53. Proposed laws appropriating revenue or
moneys, or imposing taxation, shall not originate in the Senate. But a proposed
law shall not be taken to appropriate revenue or moneys, or to impose taxation,
by reason only of its containing provisions for the imposition or appropriation
of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for the demand or payment or
appropriation of fees for licences, or fees for services under the proposed law.
The Senate may not amend proposed laws
imposing taxation, or proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for the
ordinary annual services of the Government.
The Senate may not amend any proposed law so
as to increase nay proposed charge or burden on the people.
The Senate may at any stage return to the
House of Representatives any proposed law which the Senate may not amend,
requesting, by message, the omission or amendment of any items or provisions
therein. And the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make any of
such omissions or amendments, with or without modifications.
Except as provided in this section, the
Senate shall have equal power with the House of Representatives in respect of
all proposed laws.
54. The proposed law which appropriates
revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government shall deal
only with such appropriation.
55. Laws imposing taxation shall deal only
with the imposition of taxation, and any provision therein dealing with any
other matter shall be of no effect.
Laws imposing taxation except laws imposing
duties of customs or of excise, shall deal with one subject of taxation only;
but laws imposing duties of customs shall deal with duties of customs only, and
laws imposing duties of excise shall deal with duties of excise only.
56. A vote, resolution, or proposed law for
the appropriation of revenue or moneys shall not be passed unless the purpose of
the appropriation has in the same session been recommended by message of the
Governor-General to the House in which the proposal originated.
57. If the House of representatives passes
any proposed law, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with
amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an
interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next
session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have
been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or
fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of
Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and
the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take
place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of
Representatives by effluxion of time.
If after such dissolution the House of
Representatives again passes the proposed law, with or without any amendments
which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate
rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of
Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may convene a joint sitting
of the members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives.
The members present at the joint sitting may
deliberate and shall vote together upon the proposed law as last proposed by the
House of Representatives, and upon amendments, if any, which have been made
therein by one House and not agreed to by the other, and any such amendments
which are affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of the members of
the Senate and House of Representatives shall be taken to have been carried, and
if the proposed law, with the amendments, if any, so carried is affirmed by an
absolute majority of the total number of the members of the Senate and House of
Representatives, it shall be taken to have been duly passed by Houses of the
Parliament, and shall be presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's
assent.
58. When a proposed law passed by both Houses
of the Parliament is presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent,
he shall declare, according to his discretion, but subject to this Constitution,
that he assents in the Queen's name, or that he withholds assent, or that he
reserves the law for the Queen's pleasure.
The Governor-General may return to the house
in which it originated any proposed law so presented to him, and may transmit
therewith any amendments which he may recommend, and the Houses may deal with
the recommendation.
59. The Queen may disallow any law within one
year from the Governor-General's assent, and such disallowance on being made
known by the Governor-General by speech or message to each of the Houses of the
Parliament, or by Proclamation, shall annul the law from the day when the
disallowance is so made known.
60. A proposed law reserved for the Queen's
pleasure shall not have any force unless and until within two years from the day
on which it was presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent the
Governor-General makes known, by speech or message to each of the Houses of the
Parliament, or by Proclamation, that it has received the Queen's assent.
Chapter II The
Executive Government
61. The executive power of the Commonwealth
is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor-General as the Queen's
representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this
Constitution, and of the laws of the Commonwealth.
62. There shall be a Federal Executive
Council to advise the Governor- General in the government of the Commonwealth,
and the members of the Council shall be chosen and summoned by the
Governor-General and sworn as Executive Councillors, and shall hold office
during his pleasure.
63. The provisions of this Constitution
referring to the Governor-General in Council shall be construed as referring to
the Governor-General acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council.
64. The Governor-General may appoint officers
to administer such departments of State of the Commonwealth as the
Governor-General in Council may establish.
Such officers shall hold office during he
pleasure of the Governor-General. They shall be members of the Federal Executive
Council, and shall be the Queen's Ministers of State for the Commonwealth.
After the first general election no Minister
of State shall hold office for a longer period than three months unless he is or
becomes a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
65. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the Ministers of the State shall not exceed seven in number, and shall hold such
offices as the Parliament prescribes, or, in the absence of provision, as the
Governor- General directs.
66. There shall be payable to the Queen, out
of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Commonwealth, for the salaries of the
Ministers of State, an annual sum which, until the Parliament otherwise
provides, shall not exceed twelve thousand pounds a year.
67. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the appointment and removal of all other officers of the Executive Government of
the Commonwealth shall be vested in the Governor-General in Council, unless the
appointment is delegated by the Governor-General in Council or by a law of the
Commonwealth to some other authority.
68. The command in chief of the naval and
military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the
Queen's representative.
69. On a date or dates to be proclaimed by
the Governor-General after the establishment of the Commonwealth the following
departments of the public service in each State shall become transferred to the
Commonwealth:-
Posts, telegraphs, and telephones:
Naval and military defence:
Lighthouses, lightships, beacons, and buoys:
Quarantine.
But the departments of customs and of excise
in each State shall become transferred to the Commonwealth on its establishment.
70. In respect of matters which, under this
Constitution, pass to the Executive Government of the Commonwealth, all powers
and functions which at the establishment of the Commonwealth are vested in the
Governor of a Colony, or in the Governor of a Colony with the advice of his
Executive Council, or in any authority of a Colony, shall vest in the
Governor-General, or in the Governor-General in Council, or in the authority
exercising similar powers under the Commonwealth, as the case requires.
71. The judicial power of the Commonwealth
shall be vested in a Federal Supreme Court, to be called the High Court of
Australia, and in such other federal courts as the Parliament creates, and in
such other courts as it invests with federal jurisdiction. The High Court shall
consist of a Chief Justice, and so many other Justices, not less than two, as
the Parliament prescribes.
72. The Justices of the High Court and of the
other courts created by the Parliament-
(i.) Shall be appointed by the
Governor-General in Council:
(ii.) Shall not be removed except by the
Governor-General in Council, on an address from both Houses of the Parliament in
the same session, praying for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour
or incapacity:
(iii.) Shall receive such remuneration as the
Parliament may fix; but the remuneration shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
The appointment of a Justice of the High
Court shall be for a term expiring upon his attaining the age of seventy years,
and a person shall not be appointed as a Justice of the High Court if he has
attained that age.
The appointment of a Justice of a court
created by the Parliament shall be for a term expiring upon his attaining the
age that is, at the time of his appointment, the maximum age for Justices of
that court and a person shall not be appointed as a Justice of such a court if
he has attained the age that is for the time being the maximum age for Justices
of that court.
Subject to this section, the maximum age for
Justices of any court created by the Parliament is seventy years.
The Parliament may make a law fixing an age
that is less than seventy years as the maximum age for Justices of a court
created by the Parliament and may at any time repeal or amend such a law, but
any such repeal or amendment does not affect the term of office of a Justice
under an appointment made before the repeal or amendment.
A Justice of the High Court or of a court
created by the Parliament may resign his office by writing under his hand
delivered to the Governor-General.
Nothing in the provisions added to this
section by the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) 1977 affects the
continuance of a person in office as a Justice of a court under an appointment
made before the commencement of those provisions.
A reference in this section to the
appointment of a Justice of the High Court or of a court created by the
Parliament shall be read as including a reference to the appointment of a person
who holds office as a Justice of the High Court or of a court created by the
Parliament to another office of Justice of the same court having a different
status or designation.
73. The High Court shall have jurisdiction,
with such exceptions and subject to such regulations as the Parliament
prescribes, to hear and determine appeals from all judgements, decrees, orders,
and sentences-
(i.) Of any Justice or Justices exercising
the original jurisdiction of the High Court:
(ii.) Of any other federal court, or court
exercising federal jurisdiction; or of the Supreme Court of any State, or of any
other court of any State from which at the establishment of the Commonwealth an
appeal lies to the Queen in Council:
(iii.) Of the Inter-State Commission, but as
to questions of law only: and the judgement of the High Court in all such cases
shall be final and conclusive.
But no exception or regulation prescribed by
the Parliament shall prevent the High Court from hearing and determining any
appeal from the Supreme Court of a State in any matter in which at the
establishment of the Commonwealth an appeal lies from such Supreme Court to the
Queen in Council.
Until the Parliament otherwise provides, the
conditions of and restrictions on appeals to the Queen in Council from the
Supreme Courts of the several States shall be applicable to appeals from them to
the High Court.
74. No appeal shall be permitted to the Queen
in Council from a decision of the High Court upon any question, howsoever
arising, as the the limits inter se of the Constitutional powers of the
Commonwealth and those of any State or States, or as to the limits inter se of
the Constitutional powers of any two or more States, unless the High Court shall
certify that the Question is one which ought to be determined by Her Majesty in
Council.
The High Court may so certify if satisfied
that for any special reason the certificate should be granted, and thereupon an
appeal shall lie to Her Majesty in Council on the question without further
leave.
Except as provided in this section, this
Constitution shall not impair any right which the Queen may be please to
exercise by virtue of Her Royal prerogative to grant special leave of appeal
from the High Court to Her Majesty in Council. The Parliament may make laws
limiting the matters in which leave may be asked, but proposed laws containing
any such limitations shall be reserved by the Governor-General for Her Majesty's
pleasure.
75. In all matters-
(i.) Arising under any treaty:
(ii.) Affecting consuls or other
representatives of other countries:
(iii.) In which the Commonwealth, or a person
suing or being sued on behalf of the Commonwealth, is a party:
(iv.) Between States, or between residents of
different States, or between a State and a resident of another State:
(v.) In which a writ of Mandamus or
prohibition or an injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth:
the High Court shall have original
jurisdiction.
76. The Parliament may make laws conferring
original jurisdiction on the High Court in any matter-
(i.) Arising under this Constitution, or
involving its interpretation:
(ii.) Arising under any laws made by the
Parliaments:
(iii.) Of Admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction:
(iv.) Relating to the same subject-matter
claimed under the laws of different States.
77. With respect to any of the matters
mentioned in the last two sections the Parliament may make laws-
(i.) Defining the jurisdiction of any federal
court other than the High Court:
(ii.) Defining the extent to which the
jurisdiction of any federal court shall be exclusive of that which belongs to or
is invested in the courts of the States:
(iii.) Investing any court of a State with
federal jurisdiction.
78. The Parliament may make laws conferring
rights to proceed against the Commonwealth or a State in respect of matters
within the limits of the judicial power.
79. The federal jurisdiction of any court may
be exercised by such number of judges as the Parliament prescribes.
80. The trial on indictment of any offence
against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury, and every such trial shall
be held in the State where the offence was committed, and if the offence was not
committed within any State the trial shall be held at such place or places as
the Parliament prescribes.
81. All revenues or moneys raised or received
by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated
Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth in the
manner and subject to the charges and liabilities imposed by this Constitution.
82. The costs, charges, and expenses incident
to the collection, management, and receipt of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
shall form the first charge thereon; and the revenue of the Commonwealth shall
in the first instance be applied to the payment of the expenditure of the
Commonwealth.
83. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury
of the Commonwealth except under appropriation made by law.
But until the expiration of one month after
the first meeting of the Parliament the Governor-General in Council may draw
from the Treasury and expend such moneys as may be necessary for the maintenance
of any department transferred to the Commonwealth and for the holding of the
first elections for the Parliament.
84. When any department of the public service
of a State becomes transferred to the Commonwealth, all officers of the
department shall become subject to the control of the Executive Government of
the Commonwealth
Any such officer who is not retained in the
service of the Commonwealth shall, unless he is appointed to some other office
of equal emolument in the public service of the State, be entitled to receive
from the State any pension, gratuity, or other compensation, payable under the
law of the State on the abolition of his office.
Any such officer who is retained in the
service of the Commonwealth shall preserve all his existing and accruing rights,
and shall be entitled to retire from office at the time, and on the pension or
retiring allowance, which would be permitted by the law of the State if his
service with the Commonwealth were a continuation of his service with the State.
Such pension or retiring allowance shall be paid to him by the Commonwealth; but
the State shall pay to the Commonwealth a part thereof, to be calculated on the
proportion which his term of service with the State bears to his whole term of
service, and for the purpose of the calculation his salary shall be taken to be
that paid to him by the State at the time of the transfer.
Any officer who is, at the establishment of
the Commonwealth, in the public service of a State, and who is, by consent of
the Governor of the State with the advice of the Executive Council thereof,
transferred to the public service of the Commonwealth, shall have the same
rights as if he had been an officer of a department transferred to the
Commonwealth and were retained in the service of the Commonwealth.
85. When any departments of the public
service of a State is transferred to the Commonwealth-
(i.) All property of the State of any kind,
used exlcusively in connection with the department, shall become vested in the
Commonwealth; but, in the case of the departments controlling customs and excise
and bounties, for such time only as the Governor-General in Council may declare
to be necessary:
(ii.) The Commonwealth may acquire any
property of the State, of any kind used, but not exclusively used in connection
with the department; the value thereof shall, if no agreement can be made, be
ascertained in, as nearly as may be, the anner in which the value of land, or of
an interest in land, taken by the State for public purposes is ascertained under
the law of the State in force at the establishment of the Commonwealth:
(iii.) The Commonwealth shall compensate the
State for the value of any property passing ot the Commonwealth under this
section; if no agreement can be made as to the mode of compensation, it shall be
determined under laws to be made by the Parliament:
(iv.) The Commonweatlth shall, at the date of
the transfer, assume the current obligations of the State in respect of the
department transferred.
86. On the establishment of the Commonwealth,
the collection and control of duties of customs and of excise, and the control
of the payment of bounties, shall pass to the Executive Government of the
Commonwealth.
87. During a period of ten years after the
establishment of the Commonwealth and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise
provides, of the net revenue of the Commonwealth from duties of customs and of
excise not more than one-fourth shall be applied annually by the Commonwealth
towards its expenditure.
The balance shall, in accordance with the
Constitution, be paid to the several States, or applied towards the payment of
interest on debts of the several States taken over by the Commonwealth.
88. Uniform duties of customs shall be
imposed within two years after the establishment of the Commonwealth.
89. Until the imposition of uniform duties of
custom-
(i.) The Commonwealth shall credit to each
State the revenues collected therein by the Commonweatlh.
(ii.) The Commonwealth shall debit to each
State-
(a) The expenditure therein of the
Commonwealth incurred solely for the maintenance or continuance, as at the time
of transfer, of any department transferred from the State to the Commonwealth;
(b) The proportion of the State, according to
the number of its people, in the other expenditure of the Commonwealth.
(iii.) The Commonwealth shall pay to each
State month by month the balance (if any) in favour of the State.
90. On the imposition of uniform duties of
customs the power of the Parliament to impose duties of customs and of excise,
and to grant bounties on the production or export of goods, shall become
exclusive.
On the imposition of uniform duties of
customs all laws of the several States imposing duties of customs or of excise,
or offering bounties on the production or export of goods, shall cease to have
effect, but any grant of or agreement for any such bounty lawfully made by or
under the authority of the Government of any State shall be taken to be good if
made before the thirtieth day of June, One thousand eight hundred and ninety
eight, and not otherwise.
91. Nothing in this Constitution prohibits a
State from granting any aid to or bounty on mining for gold, silver, or other
metals, not from granting, with the consent of both Houses of the Parliament of
the Commonwealth expressed by resolution, any aid to or bounty on the production
or export of goods.
92. On the imposition of uniform duties of
customs, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whether by means of
internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free.
But notwithstanding anything in this
Constitution, goods imported before the imposition of uniform duties of customs
into any State, or into any Colony which, whilst the goods remain therein,
becomes a State, shall, on thence passing into another State within two years
after the imposition of such duties, be liable to any duty chargeable on the
importation of such goods into the Commonwealth, less any duty paid in respect
of the goods on their importation.
93. During the first five years after the
imposition of uniform duties of customs, and thereafter until the Parliament
otherwise provides-
(i.) The duties of customs chargeable on
goods imported into a State and afterwards passing into another State for
consumption, and the duties of excise paid on goods produced or manufactured in
a State and afterwards passing into another State for consumption, shall be
taken to have been collected not in the former but in the latter State:
(ii.) Subject to the last subsection, the
Commonwealth shall credit revenue, debit expenditure, and pay balances to the
several States as prescribed for the period preceding the imposition of uniform
duties of customs.
94. After five years from the imposition of
uniform duties of customs, the Parliament may provide, on such basis as it deems
fair, for the monthly payment to the several States of all surplus revenue of
the Commonwealth.
95. Notwithstanding anything in this
Constitution, the Parliament of the State of Western Australia, if that State be
an Original State, may, during the first five years after the imposition of
uniform duties of customs, impose duties of customs on goods passing into that
State and not originally imported from beyond the limits of the Commonwealth;
and such duties shall be collected by the Commonwealth.
But any duty so imposed on any goods shall
not exceed during the first of such years the duty chargeable on the goods under
the law of Western Australia in force at the imposition of uniform duties, and
shall not exceed during the second, third, fourth, and fifth of such years
respectively, four-fifths, two- fifth, and one-fifth of such latter duty, and
all duties imposed under this section shall cease at the expiration of the fifth
year after the imposition of uniform duties.
If at any time during the five years the duty
on any goods under this section is higher than the duty imposed by the
Commonwealth on the importation of the like goods, then such higher duty shall
be collected on the goods when imported into Western Australia from beyond the
limits of the Commonwealth.
96. During a period of ten years after the
establishment of the Commonwealth and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise
provides, the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State on such
terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit.
97. Until the Parliament otherwise provides,
the laws in force in any Colony which has become or becomes a State with respect
to the receipt of revenue and the expenditure of money on account of the
Government of the Colony, and the review and audit of such receipt and
expenditure, shall apply to the receipt of revenue and the expenditure of money
on account of the Commonwealth in the State in the same manner as if the
Commonwealth, or the Government or an officer of the Commonwealth were mentioned
whenever the Colony, or the Government or an officer of the Colony, is
mentioned.
98. The power of the Parliament to make laws
with respect to trade and commerce extends to navigation and shipping, and to
railways the property of any State.
99. The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or
regulation of trade, commerce, or revenue, give preference to one State or any
part thereof over another State or any part thereof.
100. The Commonwealth shall not, by any law
or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the
residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation
or irrigation.
101. There shall be an Inter-State
Commission, with such powers of adjudication and administration as the
Parliament deems necessary for the execution and maintenance, within the
Commonwealth, of the provisions of this Constitution relating to trade and
commerce, and of all laws made thereunder.
102. The Parliament may by any law with
respect to trade or commerce forbid, as to railways, any preference or
discrimination by any State, or by any authority constituted under a State, if
such preference or discrimination is undue and unreasonable, or unjust to any
State; due regard being had to the financial responsibilities incurred by any
State in connection with the construction and maintenance of its railways. But
no preference or discrimination shall, within the meaning of this section, be
taken to be undue and unreasonable, or unjust to any State, unless so adjudged
by the Inter-State Commission.
103. The members of the Inter-State
Commission-
(i.) Shall be appointed by the
Governor-General in Council:
(ii.) Shall hold office for seven years, but
may be removed within that time by the Governor-General in Council, on an
address from both Houses of the Parliament in the same session praying for such
removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity:
(iii.) Shall receive such remuneration as the
Parliament may fix; but such remuneration shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
104. Nothing in this Constitution shall
render unlawful any rate for the carriage of goods upon a railway, the property
of a State, if the rate is deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be necessary
for the development of the territory of the State, and if the rate applies
equally to goods within the State and to goods passing into the State from other
States.
105. The Parliament may take over from the
States their public debts, or a proportion thereof according to the respective
numbers of their people as shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth,
and may convert, renew, or consolidate such debts, or any part thereof; ad the
States shall indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the debts taken over, and
thereafter the interest payable in respect of the debts shall be deducted and
retained from the portions of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth payable to
the several States, or if such surplus is insufficient, or if there is no
surplus, then the deficiency or the whole amount shall be paid by the several
States.
105A.-(1) The Commonwealth may make
agreements with the States with respect to the public debts of the States,
including-
(a) the taking over of such debts by the
Commonwealth;
(b) the management of such debts;
(c) the paying of interest and the provision
and management of sinking funds in respect of such debts;
(d) the consolidation, renewal, conversion,
and redemption of such debts;
(e) the indemnification of the Commonwealth
by the States in respect of debts taken over by the Commonwealth; and
(f) the borrowing of money by the States or
by the Commonwealth, or by the Commonwealth for the States.
(2) The Parliament may make laws for
validating any such agreement made before the commencement of this section.
(3) The Parliament may make laws for the
carrying out by the parties of any such agreement.
(4) Any such agreement may be varied or
rescinded by the parties therein.
(5) Every such agreement and any such
variation thereof shall be binding upon the Commonwealth and the States parties
thereto notwithstanding anything contained in this Constitution or the
Constitution of the several States or in any law of the Parliament of the
Commonwealth or of any State.
(6) The powers conferred by this section
shall not be construed as being limited in any way by the provision of section
one hundred and five of this Constitution.
106. The Constitution of each State of the
Commonwealth shall, subject to this Constitution, continue as at the
establishment of the Commonwealth, or as at the admission of establishment of
the State, as the case may be, until altered in accordance with the Constitution
of the State.
107. Every power of the Parliament of a
Colony which has become or becomes a State, shall, unless it is by this
Constitution exclusively vested in the Parliament of the Commonwealth or
withdrawn from the Parliament of the State, continue as at the establishment of
the Commonwealth, or as at the admission or establishment of the State, as the
case may be.
108. Every law in force in a Colony which has
become or becomes a State, and relating to any matter within the powers of the
Parliament of the Commonwealth shall, subject to this Constitution, continue in
force in the State; and, until provision is made in that behalf by the
Parliament of the Commonwealth, the Parliament of the State shall have such
powers of alteration and of repeal in respect of any such law as the Parliament
of the Colony had until the Colony became a State.
109. When a law of a State is inconsistent
with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall,
to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid.
110. The provisions of this Constitution
relating to the Governor of a State extend and apply to the Governor for the
time being of the State, or other chief executive officer or administrator of
the government of the State.
111. The Parliament of a State may surrender
any part of the State to the Commonwealth; and upon such surrender, and the
acceptance thereof by the Commonwealth, such part of the State shall become
subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commonwealth.
112. After uniform duties of customs have
been imposed, a State may levy on imports, or on goods passing into or out of
the State such charges as my be necessary for executing the inspection laws of
the State; but the net produce of all charges so levied shall be for the use of
the Commonwealth; and any such inspection laws may be annulled by the Parliament
of the Commonwealth.
113. All fermented, distilled, or other
intoxicating liquids passing into any State or remaining therein for use,
consumption, sale, or storage, shall be subject to the laws of the State as if
such liquids had been produced in the State.
114. A State shall not, without the consent
of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, raise or maintain any naval or military
force, or impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to the Commonwealth,
not shall the Commonwealth impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to a
State.
115. A State shall not coin money, nor make
anything but gold and silver coin a legal tender in payment of debts.
116. The Commonwealth shall not make any law
for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for
prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be
required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the
Commonwealth.
117. A subject of the Queen, resident in any
State, shall not be subject to any other State to any disability or
discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject
of the Queen resident in such other State.
118. Full faith and credit shall be given,
throughout the Commonwealth to the laws, the public Acts and records, and the
judicial proceeding of every State.
119. The Commonwealth shall protect every
State against the invasion and, on the application of the Executive Government
of the State, against domestic violence.
120. Every State shall make provisions for
the detention in its prisons of persons accused or convicted of offences against
the laws of the Commonwealth, and for the punishment of persons convicted of
such offences, and the Parliament of the Commonwealth may make laws to give
effects to this provision.
121. The Parliament may admit to the
Commonwealth or establish new States, and may upon such admission or
establishment make or impose such terms and conditions, including the extent of
representation in either House of the Parliament, as it thinks fit.
122. The Parliament may make laws for the
government of any territory surrendered by any State to and accepted by the
Commonwealth, or of any territory placed by the Queen under the authority of an
accepted by the Commonwealth, and may allow the representation of such territory
in either House of the Parliament to the extent and on the terms which it thinks
fit.
123. The Parliament of the Commonwealth may,
with the consent of the Parliament of a State, and the approval of the majority
of the electors of the State voting upon the question, increase, diminish, or
otherwise alter the limits of the State, upon such terms and conditions as may
be agreed on, and may, with the like consent, make provision respecting the
effect and operation of any increase or diminution or alteration of territory in
relation to any State affected.
124. A new State may be formed by separation
of territory from a State, but only with the consent of the Parliament thereof,
and a new State may be formed by the union of two or more States or parts of
States, but only with the consent of the Parliaments of the States affected.
125. The seat of Government of the
Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament, and shall be within
territory which shall have been granted to or acquired by the Commonwealth, and
shall be vested in and belong to the Commonwealth, and shall be in the State of
New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.
Such territory shall contain an area of not
less than one hundred square miles, and such portion thereof as shall consist of
Crown lands shall be granted to the Commonwealth without any payment therefor.
The Parliament shall sit at Melbourne until
it meet at the seat of Government.
126. The Queen may authorize the
Governor-General to appoint any person, or any persons jointly or severally, to
be his deputy or deputies within any part of the Commonwealth, and in that
capacity to exercise during the pleasure of the Governor-General as he thinks
fit to assign to such deputy or deputies, subject to any limitations expressed
or directions given by the Queen; but the appointment of such deputy or deputies
shall not affect the exercise by the Governor-General himself of any power or
function.
Chapter VIII
Alteration Of The Constitution
128. This Constitution shall not be altered
except in the following manner:-
The proposed law for the alteration thereof
must be passed by an absolute majority of each House of the Parliament, and not
less than two more more than six months after its passage through both Houses
the proposed law shall be submitted in each State and Territory to the electors
qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
But if either House passes any such proposed
law by an absolute majority, and the other House rejects or fails to pass it, or
passes it with any amendments to which the first-mentioned House will not agree,
and if after an interval of three months the first-mentioned House in the same
or the next session again passes the proposed law by an absolute majority with
or without any amendment which has been made or agreed to bu the other House,
and such other House rejects or fails to pass it or passes it with any amendment
to which the first-mentioned House will not agree, the Governor-General may
submit the proposed law as last proposed by the first-mentioned House, and
either with or without any amendments subsequently agreed to by both Houses, to
the electors in each State and Territory qualified to vote for the election of
the House of Representatives.
When a proposed law is submitted to the
electors the vote shall be taken in such manner as the Parliament prescribes.
But until the qualification of electors of members of the House of
Representatives becomes uniform throughout the Commonwealth, only one-half the
electors voting for and against the proposed law shall be counted in any State
in which adult suffrage prevails.
And if in a majority of the States a majority
of the electors voting approve the proposed law, and if a majority of all the
electors voting also approve the proposed law, it shall be presented to the
Governor-General for the Queen's assent.
No alteration diminishing the proportionate
representation of any State in either House of the Parliament, or the minimum
number of representatives of a State in the House of Representative, in
increasing, diminishing, or otherwise altering the limits of the State, or in
any manner affecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation thereto,
shall become law unless the majority of the electors voting in that State
approve the proposed law.
In this section "Territory" means any
territory referred to in section one hundred and twenty-two of this Constitution
in respect of which there is in force a law allowing its representation in the
House of Representatives.
Schedule
OATH. I, A.B., do swear
that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria,
Her heirs and successors according to law. SO HELP ME GOD!
AFFIRMATION. I, A.B., do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I
will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Her
heirs and successors according to law.
(NOTE - The name of the King or Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the time being is to be
substituted from time to time.)
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