Victoria is governed by a parliament.
It operates under a 2-house system, also known as a bicameral system.
The 2 houses are:
Members of both Houses are elected for a fixed 4-year term.
The Lower House:
The Upper House:
Read more about the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.
The government is chosen from elected members of parliament. The party that has the support of the majority of members from the Lower House forms government.
Parliament:
Parliament has the power to make or change laws.
A Bill can be introduced in either House, but it's usually the Lower House that introduces it. To become a law, it must be passed by both Houses.
Learn more about how a law is made.
A sitting day involves debates over a range of issues. The day starts with bells ringing in Parliament House to call members to the Chamber.
Different rules apply to each time of debate, including time limits on speeches. The media and general public can attend or watch parliamentary sittings online.
View the sitting day schedule.
During question time, members of parliament can ask the Premier or a minister a question. They must respond directly after the question is asked.
Almost all members of parliament attend question time, but it’s not mandatory. Ministers are expected to attend, but if they can’t, the Premier makes an announcement at the start of question time.
Read more about question time in Parliament.
Questions on notice are written questions from members to a minister requesting detailed information. A minister must provide a response to a question on notice in writing.
The Department of Parliamentary Services helps members of parliament with:
The Department of the Legislative Assembly and the Department of the Legislative Council provide administrative and research support for their respective Houses of Parliament.
The Department of the Legislative Assembly is headed by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
The Department of the Legislative Council is headed by the Clerk of the Legislative Council.
Committees:
There are 4 types:
See the list of parliamentary committees.
Independent officers of parliament are responsible to parliament, not the government of the day. They are governed by specific legislation.
The independent officers of Parliament are the:
The Auditor-General is responsible for monitoring how public sector agencies manage resources and services.
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about administrative actions taken by:
The Victorian Electoral Commission carries out the Electoral Commissioner's statutory obligations.
It's responsible for:
Federal elections are conducted independently by the Australian Electoral Commission.
The IBAC Commissioner is the head of Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC),
IBAC is responsible for preventing and exposing public sector corruption and police misconduct.
Its jurisdiction includes:
IBAC:
Heads of public bodies have a legal obligation to report suspected corrupt conduct to IBAC.
The Inspector is the head of the Victorian Inspectorate (VI).
The main role of the VI is to ensure that the integrity bodies it oversees act lawfully, properly and with integrity.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) was established in 2017 to:
The PBO prepares:
It also advises members of parliament on financial, fiscal or economic matters.