Australian parliament

The parliament of Australia is the legislative body in the Commonwealth of Australia. It consists of 226 members. The two chambers are the senate, composed of 76 senators (12 per state and 2 per territory) and ruled by a president and the House of Representatives, composed of 150 representatives, and ruled by a speaker.

The senators are elected for a 6-year term. The representatives are elected for a 3-year term.

The governor-general can dissolve the federal parliament and organise new parliamentary elections.

The Australian governor-general fixes the length and the dates of the sessions.

The Australian parliament has been open since 1901.