Australia is a federation consisting of six states and two territories.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The Constitution adopted on 1st January 1901 during the federation of the colonies in the Commonwealth of Australia, appointed the federal government as responsible for finances and the Central Bank, customs and taxes, immigration, defence, foreign policy, postal services and telecommunications.
Seat of the federal government : it is situated in Canberra, capital of the federal state and capital of Australia.
The members of the federal government are elected for a maximum period of three years.
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF EVERY STATE
It is responsible for health, education, accommodation, transport and justice. There is a federal police and a separate police for every state.
THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM
It is the same as in the United Kingdom. The parliamentary structure of the states is similar to that of the federation.
 

The federal parliament : it consists of two chambers:

The House of Representatives which has 148 representatives distributed proportionally by state according to the population
The Senate which has 12 senators per state, 2 for the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) and 2 for the Northern Territory
Special feature of Queensland:
This state hasn't had a Senate since 1922.
the federal gouvernment is led by a Prime Minister, whereas the governments of the states are lead by a Premier (corresponding to the federal Prime Minister), the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory by a Chief Minister. The party having the majority in the House of Representatives forms the government.
The Australian nation, although it is a monarchy whose sovereign is that of Great Britain, is a completely self-governing nation. The governor general and the governors of every state, appointed and ratified by the queen of England, are the representatives of the Crown.
VOTING : it is compulsory as of 18 years old and is done by secret ballot.
THE MAIN PARTIES REPRESENTED IN THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT ARE :
Australian Labor Party (ALP )
The coalition of the Liberal Party (conservative party) and the National Party (nationalist party)
These parties also dominate the political scene of the states, in which the Liberal Party and the National Party do not always form a coalition.
The Australian Democrats (Australian democratic movement), also spokesman for the ecologists
Find the sites regarding the Australian political parties.
MAIN EXECUTIVE ORGAN OF THE GOVERNMENT :
The cabinet of ministers, chaired by The Prime Minister and consisting of half of the Ministers, is the main executive organ of the government. It convenes in closed session and decisions are ratified by the Executive Council, the formal organ chaired by the governor general.