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Australian_Constitution_Act_19
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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:-
Chapter I The Parliament 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 o
f
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 right
s
& priveleges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power: or
(ii.) Is attained of treason, or has been convicted and is under sentence, o
r
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 th
e
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 th
e
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, o
f
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 Hous
e
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 th
e
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 th
e
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 exercis
ed
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 an
d
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 o
f
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 unti
l
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, shal
l
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 th
e
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, o
r
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 o
f
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.
Chapter III The Judicature
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, prayin
g
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 o
f
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.
Chapter IV Finance And Trade
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 bountie
s,
for such time only as the Governor-General in Council may declare to b
e
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 ascertaine
d
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 o
f
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 House
s
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 severa
l
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.
Chapter V The States
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, th
e
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.
Chapter VI New States
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.
Chapter VII Miscellaneous
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 int he 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.)
.
