Australian Government

The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive government consists of the prime minister and other ministers that currently have the support of a majority of members of the House of Representatives (the lower house) and in some contexts also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other Australian Labor Party ministers, in place since the 2022 federal election.

The prime minister is the head of the government and is appointed to the role by the governor-general (the King's representative). The governor-general normally appoints the parliamentary leader who has the support of a majority of members in the House of Representatives. By convention, the prime minister is a member of the lower house.

The prime minister and cabinet ministers form the cabinet, the key decision-making organ of the government that forms policy and decides the agenda of the government. Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of the parliament) and executive power (as ministers on behalf of the governor-general and the King). However, in accordance with responsible government, this also requires the actions of the government in its executive capacity to be subject to scrutiny from parliament.

The government is based in the nation's capital, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The head offices of all sixteen federal departments lie in Canberra, along with Parliament House and the High Court. The government must act in accordance with law and the Australian Constitution.