What is the Constitution of Australia?
Q: What is the Constitution of Australia?
A: The Constitution of Australia is the law that set up the Australian Commonwealth Government and says how it works. It is made up of several documents, with the most important being the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Q: How was the Constitution passed?
A: The people of Australia voted in referendums from 1898–1900 to accept the Constitution, which was then passed as a part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria signed it on 9 July 1900, and it became law on 1 January 1901.
Q: Who has power to change it now?
A: Now only the Australian people can change it by referendum.
Q: What other laws support this constitution?
A: Two other laws support this constitution - The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 and The Australia Act 1986, which were both passed by different parliaments including those in every Australian state, as well as in both countries - Australia and UK.
Q: How did these Acts affect constitutional links between Australia and UK?
A: These Acts had effect cutting all constitutional links between Australia and UK so that even though they have same monarch - Queen Elizabeth II - they are now separate countries.
Q: Who has power to decide what this constitution actually means?
A: Under Australia's common law system, both High Court of Australia and Federal Court have power to decide what this constitution actually means.
