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Australia
Women in decision-making positions
40%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (1,813 elected women)
No woman is Head of Government
39%
Parliamentarians are women
48%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy with three spheres of government: federal, intermediate (states and territories), and local.

A tier of central government, one tier of three intermediate governments (states, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory) and one tier of local government for the states and the Northern Territory. There is no local government in the Australian Capital Territory.

  • Head of State: The Monarch of the Commonwealth is the Head of State. The Monarch appoints a Governor-General to represent him/her in Australia.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is a member of the House of Representatives and the leader of the political party that commands the support of the majority of members of the House of Representatives, as appointed by the Governor-General.
  • Legislative body: Parliament is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate), and a lower house (the House of Representatives). Members of Parliament are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and ministers (one of whom is the Attorney-General) appointed by the Governor-General, with the advice of the Prime Minister, from amongst the members of Parliament.

  • Organization: Australia is organized into an intermediate tier of government, comprising six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia) and two self-governing territories (Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory).
  • Legislative body: 
    • The state parliament is bicameral, with an upper house, the Legislative Council, and a lower house, the Legislative Assembly (in New South Wales, Western Australia, and Victoria) or the House of Assembly (in South Australia and Tasmania).
    • The state/territory parliament is unicameral with one house, the Legislative Assembly, in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • Executive body: The cabinet, led by the premier, is composed of ministers appointed by the premier. The premier appointed by the governor of the state/territory from amongst the majority party of the state/territory parliament.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 535 local government areas, including 128 in New South Wales, 17 in the Northern Territory, 79 in Victoria, 77 in Queensland, 68 in South Australia, 137 in Western Australia, and 29 in Tasmania. The name of the local government area varies (city, town, municipality, shire, or district) but the government structure and competencies are similar across all local government areas.
  • There is no organized local government in the Australian Capital Territory.
  • Local government exists in some External Territories managed by Australia. In Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, local government is organized into one tier of local government areas. The Shires of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands operate in the same manner as all local government areas regulated by the state of Western Australia. Similarly, the Norfolk Island Regional Council operates in the same manner as local government areas regulated by the state of Queensland.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for making and enforcing local regulatory legislation, laws and by-laws, adopting a budget, and raising revenue.
  • Ministerial oversight: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts; state/territory-level government departments or offices.

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The council is composed of 5-15 elected members, including the mayor/lord mayor/president/chairperson, who presides over it but is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The Mayor, President, or Chairperson is elected by the council to be the executive of the local government area or is directly elected by voters.

Local government elections

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: mixed

  • Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania: preferential voting.
  • Northern Territory: proportional representation with single transferable vote.
  • New South Wales: optional preferential, if only one councillor is to be elected, or proportional, if two or more councillors are to be elected.

Electoral system for mayors/lord mayors/presidents/chairpersons: optional-preferential system or indirect elections

  • Queensland: The mayor is elected by optional-preferential voting.
  • New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, and Northern Territory: The mayor/president may be elected directly by voters of by and from the local deliberative body.
  • Victoria: The Mayor is elected by and from the Councilors by absolute majority.

Sources: Queensland Local Government Electoral Act, 2011 (amended through 2023), article 65; Western Australia Local Government Act, 1995 (amended through 2025), Schedule 4.1.2, 4.2.3 and 4.1.4; South Australia Local Government Elections Act, 1999 (amended through 2022), article 45.1; Tasmania Local Government Act, 1993 (amended through 2025), Schedule 7, Part 2; Northern Territory Local Government (Electoral) Regulations, 2021 (amended through 2025), Schedule 1; New South Wales Local Government Act, 1993 (amended through 2025), article 285; Victoria Local Government Act, 2020 (amended through 2025), article 269.

  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No

  • Term length: 4 years. In Tasmania and Western Australia, half of the membership of the council is renewed every two years.
  • Last local elections: varies by state/territory: 2026 in Tasmania; 2025 in Western Australia and Northern Territory; 2024 in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria; 2022 in South Australia 
  • Next local elections: varies by state/territory: 2027 in South Australia and Western Australia; 2028 in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria; 2029 in Northern Territory.

State/territory independent electoral commissions

National legal framework on local government

  • Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1901 (amended through 1977);
  • Statute of Westminster Adoption Act, 1942 (amended through 1985);
  • Australia Act, 1986;
  • New South Wales Constitution Act, 1902 (amended through 2025); 
  • New South Wales Local Government Act, 1993 (amended through 2025);
  • Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act, 1988 (amended through 2024);
  • Northern Territory Local Government Act, 2019 (amended through 2025);
  • Northern Territory Local Government (Electoral) Regulations, 2021 (amended through 2025);
  • Constitution of Queensland, 2001 (amended through 2024);
  • Queensland Local Government Act, 2009 (amended through 2025);
  • Queensland Local Government Electoral Act, 2011 (amended through 2023);
  • City of Brisbane Act, 2010 (amended through 2025);
  • South Australia Constitution Act, 1934 (amended through 2024);
  • South Australia Local Government Act, 1999 (amended through 2024);
  • South Australia Local Government Elections Act, 1999 (amended through 2022);
  • Tasmania Constitution Act, 1934 (amended through 2024);
  • Tasmania Local Government Act, 1993 (amended through 2025);
  • Victoria Constitution Act, 1975 (amended through 2025);
  • Victoria Local Government Act, 2020 (amended through 2025);
  • Constitution of Western Australia, 1889 (amended through 2021);
  • Western Australia Local Government Act, 1995 (amended through 2025);
  • Norfolk Island Act, 1979 (amended through 2024);
  • Norfolk Island Applied Laws and Service Delivery (Queensland) Ordinance 2021 (amended through 2025);
  • Christmas Island Act, 1958 (amended through 2020);
  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act, 1955 (amended through 2020);
  • Aboriginal Land and Waters (Jervis Bay Territory) Act, 1986 (amended through 2023).

There are no federal constitutional provisions that establish local government in Australia.

The parliaments of the states and territories are responsible for establishing the legal framework regulating local government. The key pieces of legislation that regulate local government are the local government acts, local self-government acts, and city acts of the states and territories. For example, according to Article 6 of the South Australia Local Government Act, 1999 (amended through 2025), “a council is, under the system of local government established by this Act, established to provide for the government and management of its area at the local level and, in particular: to act as a representative, informed, and responsible decision-maker in the interests of its community, to provide and co-ordinate various public services and facilities and to develop its community and resources in a socially just and ecologically sustainable manner, to encourage and develop initiatives within its community for improving the quality of life of the community, and to represent the interests of its community to the wider community.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2026.