Australian Federal Parliament

The federal parliament sits in Canberra

In 1901, the six British colonies in Australia federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

Parliament is housed in the New Parliament House building which was opened in 1988. Prior to that the Parliament was housed in Old Parliament House, Canberra (9 May 1927 – 9 May 1988. Federal Parliament meetings were first held in Melbourne until 1927.

Queen Elizabeth II opened the current Parliament House on 9 May 1988.

1901 to 1927

The Federal Parliament was housed in Parliament House, Melbourne from 1901 to 1927.

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1927 to 1988

Old Parliament House, the home of the Australian Federal Parliament from 9 May 1927 until 8 May 1988.

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1988 and beyond

The current Parliament House was inagurated on 9 May 1988 and houses the Senate and House of Representatives. It cost more than A$1.1 billion to build.

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House of Representatives

The house of representatives members form the government. There are a total of 150 seats that are contested at each federal election. On July 2, 2016 the Liberal / National Party coalition won 76 seats to earn the right to form government.

You can access a list of members as well as access the first speeches by the new politicians in the 45th parliament here. There will also be photos and videos added to the members' page when Keating Media covers parliament or events.

Senate

The Australian Senate is the second element in the Parliament. The Queen who is represented  by the Governor-General is the third element.

The members of the Senate represent the six States and the two Territories. Twelve Senators are elected, normally over two periods of Parliament. There are also two Senators for the ACT and Northern Territory. As the recent July 2016 election was a double dissolution election all Senators were elected at that time to provide 76 members.

All Senators are listed here. On each page for a Senator you can access photos and videos created by Keating Media that relates to that individual.