The executive branch of government:
It's made up of:
The King is formally Australia’s Head of State and is represented by:
The Governor of Victoria exercises the powers of the Head of State. The Governor is appointed by the King, on the advice of the Premier.
The Governor performs their duties according to the constitution and with advice from the Premier.
They:
By convention, the Governor acts with and takes advice from ministers, but has the right to:
They have reserve powers to:
In Victoria, we also have:
The Administrator steps in if the Governor or Lieutenant Governor can't or won't act.
The Executive Council is made up of:
The Executive Council is a formal weekly meeting that is chaired by the Governor. Generally, 4 ministers attend each meeting.
The Governor and at least 2 ministers must attend to establish a quorum for the meeting. In other words, it's the minimum number of members needed for the meeting to decisions to be valid.
The Executive Council advises the Governor on the exercise of their powers. Some laws give these powers to the Governor 'in Council'.
This means the Governor exercises their power:
For example, the Governor in Council has powers relating to:
The Premier is the head of the Victorian Government. Premiers are chosen by the party that holds the majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly (Lower House).
The Premier determines:
The term ‘machinery of government’ refers to the allocation of responsibilities between departments and ministers.
The Governor assigns each minister a portfolio on the advice of the Premier. A portfolio is a minister’s area of responsibility.
Ministers are accountable to parliament for:
View the General orders list to see which ministers are responsible for the different pieces of Victorian legislation.
See a list of the current ministers and their portfolios.
Ministers are supported by:
Ministerial advisers help ministers manage their portfolios. Ministerial advisers are not public sector employees so they can also provide political advice.
For more information read our guidance for ministerial advisers.
By convention, the Cabinet is the government's principal decision-making body. It has no legal status of powers.
The Premier and all ministers are members of the Cabinet. They meet to consider questions of policy, administration and legislation. Ministers have collective decision-making responsibility for Cabinet decisions.
The Cabinet Handbook outlines:
All Cabinet discussions and documents are strictly confidential. This allows ministers to discuss options and views with complete freedom while working towards a collective position.
Cabinet can delegate tasks to a Cabinet committee.
The committee:
Each committee has a specific focus area.
For example, they may focus on:
For more information: