States, territories and outskirts of Australia

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A state , territory or outlying area is a member state of the federally organized Commonwealth of Australia .

In addition to the six federal states (five continental and Tasmania ) and the three continental territories , of which the youngest ( Jervis Bay Territory ) was not formed until 1989 when it was split off from the capital territory , there are seven Australian outer areas (six islands / archipelagos and part of Antarctica ). While the states are largely independent, the territories have a much lower degree of autonomy or are directly subordinate to the federal government.

overview

Reference cards

Areas
designation	Abbreviation	Postcode	Postcode	Type	Capital (or largest settlement)	population	Area in km²
Ashmore and Cartier Islands				Outdoor area	(West Islet)	0	199
Australian Antarctic Territory		TAS	7151	Outdoor area	( Mawson Station )	1,000	5,896,500
Australian Capital Territory	AU-ACT	ACT	0200-0299 2600-2618 2900-2920	territory	Canberra	358,894	2,358
Christmas Island	CX	WA	6798	Outdoor area	Flying Fish Cove	1,493	135
Coconut islands	CC	WA	6799	Outdoor area	West Iceland	628	14th
Coral Sea Islands				Outdoor area	( Willis Island )	4th	10
Heard and McDonald Islands	HM			Outdoor area	(Atlas Cove)	0	372
Jervis Bay Territory		JBT		territory	( Jervis Bay Village )	611	70
New South Wales	AU-NSW	NSW	1000-2599 2619-2898 2921-2999	State	Sydney	7,238,819	800,642
Norfolk Island	NF	NSW	2899	Outdoor area	Kingston	2.114	35
Northern Territory	AU-NT	NT	0800-0899 0900-0999	territory	Darwin	229,675	1,349,129
Queensland	AU-QLD	QLD	4000-4999 9000-9999	State	Brisbane	4,516,361	1,730,648
South Australia	AU-SA	SA	5000-5999	State	Adelaide	1,644,642	983.482
Tasmania	AU-TAS	TAS	7000-7150 7152-7999	State	Hobart	507.626	68,401
Victoria	AU-VIC	VIC	3000-3999 8000-8999	State	Melbourne	5,547,527	227,416
Western Australia	AU-WA	WA	6000-6797 6999	State	Perth	2,296,411	2,529,875

Properties of states and territories

The states emerged from independent British colonies that existed before Australia's independence in 1901. Their rights are protected by the Australian constitution , they each have their own constitution and parliament with extensive rights. Federal laws only apply in the areas in which the federal constitution expressly allows them.

The territories, on the other hand, are under the constitution in principle directly subordinate to the Australian Parliament, which has full legislative power there. The outer areas are also administered directly by the federal government, while the Northern Territory , Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Norfolk Island on the Australian continent have their own administration. The Jervis Bay Territory is a special case. It has no self-government, but is administered partly by the federal government and partly by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The federal government has the right to overrule laws enacted by the administration there in the self-governing territories, which it has done in a few rare cases (e.g. the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act of the Northern Territory).

Each state has a governor who is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as head of state of Australia. The Northern Territory and Norfolk Island, on the other hand, are each represented by a representative appointed by the Governor General of Australia . The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has neither a governor nor a representative. There the governor general exercises certain rights that accrue to the respective governor in the states. This includes, for example, the right to be able to dissolve parliament.

Queensland abolished its upper house in 1922, the other states have a bicameral parliament . The elections for the lower house, the Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly is called, are based on the majority vote held only in Tasmania which is proportional representation applied. The House of Lords, known as the Legislative Council , is also elected using proportional representation. The three self-governing territories have a unicameral parliament.

The government of each Australian state is headed by a prime minister appointed by the majority party that forms the government and appointed by the state governor. The head of government of the self-governing territories is called the Chief Minister .