When was federation established in australia

Under a federal system, powers are divided between a central government and several regional governments. In Australia, power was divided between the federal government and the governments of the six colonies, which were renamed 'states' by the Constitution. Specific areas of legislative power were given to the federal government, including taxation, defence, foreign affairs and postal and telecommunications services. A complete list of Commonwealth power is at section 51 of the Constitution.

The federal government also has power to make laws for Australia's territories section The states retained legislative power over all other matters that occurred within their borders, including police, hospitals, education and public transport.

The wording of the law has often created situations where both the federal government and the states claim the authority to make laws over the same matter.

See State and territory government for a discussion of the federal-state relationship and how these conflicts are resolved. Jump to navigation Skip to main content. Close Contact Government Publications.

The birth of Australian Federation in Melbourne. Sydney versus Melbourne in the s While it was initially expected the Federal Parliament would sit in the Victorian Parliament building for three to five years, it was not until 26 years later in that the Federal Parliament started sitting in Canberra.

You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. This fact sheet examines the arguments for Federation, the path to Federation, the creation of the territories and the opening of the Australian Parliament. For at least 50 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on these lands and practiced traditional cultures and languages.

From the late s, British colonies were established. By the late s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament.

Each colony had its own government and laws, including its own railway system, postage stamps and tariffs—taxes. This caused many problems and people began to think about the benefits of uniting as one nation. They argued a national government would:. This helped spark the Federation movement. Australasian Federation Conference Representatives from each of the colonies and New Zealand met , and decided the colonies should unite to become a nation.

First National Australasian Convention A draft constitution for the new nation was written. Second National Australasian Convention Representatives from each of the colonies except Queensland and New Zealand, who had pulled out of the process agreed to changes to the draft constitution. Second referendum All the colonies except Western Australia held referendums to approve to the proposed constitution and all the colonies agreed.

The Constitution provided for the establishment of a national capital, to be located in New South Wales but at least miles from Sydney. In the same year, the NT was also created.