Australian Government Citizenship Test Questions
Practise how Parliament works, how a Bill becomes law and who leads each level of government.
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The Australian Government and Law Questions quiz is a practice quiz that runs in your browser. It asks multiple choice questions about Australian Parliament, government and how laws are made, so you can check what you know before a citizenship test. Each question has four options, and after you answer, the tool shows the correct answer with a short ‘Why’ note.
Use this page as an Australian government quiz when you want to practise the parliament and government section of our question bank. It covers how a Bill becomes law, what the two Houses of Parliament are, and who leads federal, state and local government. The guide below explains those ideas in plain language, then answers common questions about them.
How to use the Australian Government and Law Questions quiz
- Open the ‘Questions’ menu and choose 5, 10, 20, 30 or 50 questions.
- Press Start to see the first question.
- Read the question and choose one of the four options.
- Read the ‘Correct answer’ and the ‘Why’ note that appear below your choice.
- Press Next to move on to the following question.
- When the quiz ends, read your final ‘Score: x of y’ line.
- Press the button to practise the questions you missed, or press ‘Run again’ to start a fresh set.
The quiz uses the parliament and government section only. A 5 or 10 question run works well for a quick check, while 50 questions gives you a fuller practice session. The other sections, including levels of government, the Head of State, and courts and police, are described on this page and covered in the practice test and questions pages linked at the bottom.
Short runs are easier to repeat, so start with 5 or 10 questions and increase the number once your score stays high. After a run, open the missed questions straight away while the explanation is fresh. Your progress panel shows how many questions you have seen, how many were right or wrong and how many are waiting for review, and it stays in this browser only.
How are laws made in Australia?
A proposed law is called a Bill. It becomes law only after a majority in both Houses of the Australian Parliament agrees to it and the Governor-General gives Royal Assent.
- A new law, or a change to an existing law, is written up as a Bill.
- Both Houses of Parliament vote on the Bill, and each needs a majority to agree.
- Once both Houses agree, the Bill goes to the Governor-General.
- The Governor-General signs it into law. This step is called Royal Assent.
What is the Parliament of Australia made of?
The Australian Parliament has two Houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The table below shows how they differ.
| House of Representatives | Senate | |
|---|---|---|
| Other names | Lower House, People’s House | Upper House, House of Review, States’ House |
| Number of members | Over 150 | 76 senators in total |
| How seats are shared | By population | 12 per state, 2 each for the ACT and NT |
| Who each member represents | Their federal electorate | Their state or territory |
What are the three levels of government?
Australia has federal, state and territory, and local government. Each level has its own leader and handles different services.
| Level | Leader | Main areas |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (Australian, Commonwealth) | Prime Minister | Tax, immigration and citizenship, defence, foreign affairs, social security, postal services |
| State or territory | Premier (states), Chief Minister (territories) | Hospitals, schools, police, roads, public transport |
| Local council | Mayor or Shire President | Rubbish collection, local roads, parks, libraries, building permits |
Which topics are in the question bank?
The parliament and government section has the most questions of the government sections in our bank. The counts below show how the sections compare.
| Section | Questions in our bank | Booklet pages |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament, government and how laws are made | 29 | PDF pages 29-32 |
| Levels of government | 14 | PDF pages 30-31 |
| Separation of powers, Head of State and Governor-General | 19 | PDF pages 28-29 |
| Courts, police and important laws | 21 | PDF pages 33-34 |
| Federation and the Constitution | 8 | PDF page 27 |
| Voting and having your say | 8 | PDF page 26 |
Sample questions and answers
Ten questions from the parliament and government section, in booklet page order.
| Question | Correct answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| What is a senator? | An elected representative of a state or territory in the Australian Parliament | Senators are elected to represent a state or territory in the federal Parliament. |
| What is a councillor? | An elected member of a local council | A councillor is elected to a local council. |
| Who elects local councillors? | Citizens in each local government area | Citizens in each local government area vote for their councillors. |
| What is a key difference between states and territories? | States have rights recognised by the Constitution, while territories do not | States have rights recognised by the Constitution while territories do not; states pass laws in their own right, while self-governing territory laws can be altered or revoked by the Australian Government. |
| What is the leader of a state government called? | The Premier | The leader of a state government is the Premier. |
| What are other names for the Senate? | The Upper House, the House of Review or the States’ House | The Senate is sometimes called the Upper House, the House of Review or the States’ House. |
| Members of the House of Representatives represent the people of what area? | Their electorate | Australia is divided into federal electorates, and each MP represents the people in their electorate. |
| Local government areas may be called which of these? | Shires | Local government areas may be called cities, shires, towns or municipalities. |
| Which of these is listed in the book as one of the main political parties in Australia? | The Australian Labor Party | The book names the Liberal Party, the Australian Labor Party, the Nationals and the Australian Greens as the main parties. |
| Who approves the appointment of the Prime Minister and ministers? | The Governor-General | The Governor-General formally approves the appointment of the Prime Minister and ministers. |
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Every fact on this page comes from Our Common Bond (Home Affairs, testable section) or the Home Affairs citizenship pages named below, checked on 2026-10-26. Practice questions are original, adapted from Our Common Bond (CC BY 4.0), and are not the official test questions.
Sources
Check yourself: common questions
Is voting compulsory in Australia?
Yes. Australian citizens aged 18 or over must enrol, and voting is compulsory in federal, state and territory elections and referendums. The voting and having your say section has eight questions in our bank, but this quiz covers only the parliament and government section.
Who forms the government after an election?
The party or coalition with a majority of members in the House of Representatives forms the government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister. The party or coalition with the second largest number of members becomes the Opposition.
What is the Cabinet?
The Cabinet is the key decision-making body of the government. It is made up of ministers who hold the most important portfolios, and a portfolio is the area a minister is responsible for.
What does the Governor-General do?
The Governor-General gives Royal Assent to Bills, formally approves the Prime Minister and ministers, and is Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force. The King of Australia is Head of State but has no day-to-day role.
Where do the questions come from?
Questions are adapted from Our Common Bond, Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). They are not the official test questions.
Can I redo only the questions I missed?
Yes. After a run, press the button to practise the questions you missed. They are saved in this browser only, and ‘Clear my progress’ removes them.
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