Australia
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Notes
Parliamentary term: One half of the senators are renewed every three years, except for the four senators representing the federal territories (territory senators), who are elected for a maximum of three years.
Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
Senate
Structure & Status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
6
Frequency of renewal (years)
For parliaments/chambers are that are partially renewed (by half, by one third) on a regular basis.
3
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1913 to 1930
from 1956
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
Asia-Pacific Group
Twelve Plus Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the Senate
Speaker
Sue
Lines
(Female)
Year of birth
1953
Term
26.07.2022
Additional information
Elected on 26 July 2022.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk
Secretary General
Richard
Pye
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
9 March 2017-
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
76
Note on the statutory number of members
Except in cases of simultaneous dissolution of both chambers of Parliament (double dissolution), senators representing the states (state senators) are elected for six years. Terms commence on 1 July following the election.
The double dissolution in May 2016 brought an end to the terms of all 76 senators. The terms of new senators, elected on 2 July 2016, were taken to have commenced on 1 July 2016. 72 state senators will be divided into two classes: short-term senators whose terms expire on 30 June 2019, and long-term senators whose terms expire on 30 June 2022. Four territory senators will serve a three-year term (the same as the House of Representatives).
The double dissolution in May 2016 brought an end to the terms of all 76 senators. The terms of new senators, elected on 2 July 2016, were taken to have commenced on 1 July 2016. 72 state senators will be divided into two classes: short-term senators whose terms expire on 30 June 2019, and long-term senators whose terms expire on 30 June 2022. Four territory senators will serve a three-year term (the same as the House of Representatives).
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Average age of all members
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Fatima Payman (Female)
Oldest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
74
Oldest member
Patrick Dodson (Male)
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total <= 45: 15 | Total >= 46: 54 | ||||||||||
| Male | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Female | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
Members for whom data is available
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
Voluntary political party quotas.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Cf. individual party statutes.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.