Government and power in Australia

Who leads Australia, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Who leads Australia?

• Head of state: King Charles III (King)
• Representative of the head of state: Sam Mostyn (Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia)
• Head of government: Anthony Albanese (Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia)
• Foreign minister: Penny Wong (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Australia

Government

• Prime Minister of Australia
  Media releases, speeches and transcripts from the Prime Minister's office.
• Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  Cabinet and federal policy publications, the Cabinet Handbook and reports of the department supporting the Prime Minister.

Parliament

• Parliament of Australia
  Hansard for both the House of Representatives and the Senate, bills, committee inquiries and Parliamentary Library research.

Elections

• Australian Electoral Commission
  Federal election and referendum results, enrolment statistics, electoral boundaries and political donation disclosures.

Ombudsman

• Commonwealth Ombudsman
  Investigation reports and complaint statistics about Australian Government agencies.

Lobbying register

• Australian Government Register of Lobbyists
  Third-party lobbyists registered to lobby Commonwealth officials, with their clients and staff.

Asset declarations

• Register of Members' Interests (House of Representatives)
  Members' statements of registrable interests, including shareholdings, property, gifts and liabilities.

Public contracts

• AusTender
  Australian Government approaches to market, contract notices and standing offer arrangements.

Laws and the official gazette

• Federal Register of Legislation
  The authorised text of Commonwealth Acts, legislative instruments and the Constitution, with historical versions.

Government below the national level

• States (6) and self-governing territories (2): Elected parliaments; premier or chief minister from the majority
• Local governments (about 537: cities, shires, towns, regional and Aboriginal shire councils): Councillors elected (methods vary by state; voting compulsory in some states); mayors directly elected in some places and chosen by councillors in others
• No local tier in the Australian Capital Territory: Territory government

How local power works in Australia

Places in Australia

• All 8 states
• The 31 largest cities
• Official statistics for Australia

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.