Queensland Government
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government. The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 Queensland has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.
Under the Australian Constitution, Queensland ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas. In practice, however, the independence of the Australian states has been greatly eroded by the increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth.
Queensland is governed according to the principles of the Westminister system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with the Parliament of Queensland, which consists of the Crown, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the Queensland Legislative Assembly (Queensland is the only state which does not have an upper House).
Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers. In practice executive power is exercised by the Premier of Queensland and the Cabinet, who are appointed by the Governor, but who hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly.
Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Queensland and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution.
List of Queensland Government Departments (including links to respective departments)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, Department of (Link to department site)
- Arts Queensland (Link to department site)
- Child Safety, Department of (Link to department site)
- Communities, Department of (Link to department site)
- Corrective Services, Department of (Link to department site)
- Education Queensland (Link to department site)
- Emergency Services, Department of (Link to department site)
- Employment and Training, Department of (Link to department site)
- Engergy, Department of (Link to department site)
- Environmental Protection Agency (Link to department site)
- Queensland Health (Link to department site)
- Housing, Department of (Link to department site)
- Industrial Relations, Department of (Link to department site)
- Justice and Attorney-General, Department of (Link to department site)
- Legal Aid Queensland (Link to department site)
- Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation, Department of (Link to department site)
- Main Roads, Department of (Link to department site)
- Natural Resources and Mines, Department of (Link to department site)
- Queensland Police (Link to department site)
- Premier and Cabinet, Department of (Link to department site)
- Primary Industries and Fisheries, Department of (Link to department site)
- Queensland Rail (Link to department site)
- State Development and Innovation, Department of (Link to department site)
- TAFE Queensland (Link to department site)
- Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development, Department of (Link to department site)
- Queensland Transport (Link to department site)
- Queensland Treasury (Link to department site)
- Woment, Office for (Link to department site)
- Youth, Office of (Link to department site)
External link