The term of
Australian parliaments is determined by the opening and dissolution (or expiration) of the
House of Representatives. The
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
is not normally dissolved at all, except at a
double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...
, when the entire parliament is dissolved.
Parliaments do not have a fixed term. The maximum term permitted by section 28 of the
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...
is three years, counted from the date the parliament first meets after a general election. However, the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, acting on the advice of the
Prime Minister, may dissolve the parliament earlier. This has happened in all but one case (the 3rd Parliament 1907–1910). However, the 18th Parliament (1946–49) was only five days short of the full three years, and eight parliaments have exceeded 2 years, 300 days. The average length of completed parliaments since
Federation has been about 2 years, 130 days.
Because there is only an indirect relationship between the dates of elections and the commencement and dissolution dates of parliaments, more than three years can elapse between consecutive elections. This has happened on a number of occasions, most recently between the 2019 and 2022 elections (3 years 3 days). The longest gap between elections was 3 years 122 days, between the 1906 and 1910 elections.
Parliaments may be divided into one or more
sessions
Sessions may refer to:
* Sessions (surname), a surname
* Sessions (clothing company), an American apparel company
* Sessions Clock Company, an American clock manufacturer in the early 20th century
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''The Sessions' ...
. Each session except the last must be
prorogued
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...
before a new session can begin. One of the effects of prorogation is that it prevents the Senate from meeting and conducting its business after the House of Representatives has concluded its business.
Between 1928 and 1989, the last or sole session of a parliament was not prorogued, as the parliament was dissolved. Since 1993, the session has been prorogued prior to dissolution.
Chronology
Current Parliament
Next Parliament
See also
*
2019 Australian federal election
The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...
Notes
Sources
House of Representatives Practice, Appendix 15: Chronology of Parliaments{{Australian Federal Parliaments
Parliament of Australia
Federal elections in Australia