ACHASSK193

The key features of government under the Australian Constitution with a focus on: the separation of powers, the roles of the Executive, the houses of parliament and the division of powers

Elaborations

• identifying the principles of representative and responsible government that underpin the Australian Constitution (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding)
• identifying the composition of the Legislature (the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, and the Senate and the House of Representatives), Executive (the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, Prime Minister and ministers) and Judiciary (the High Court and other federal courts) (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding)
• describing the role of the Governor-General and the different roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Prime Minister, ministers or the Cabinet and courts (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding)
• exploring the concept of the separation of powers between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary and how it seeks to prevent the excessive concentration of power (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding)
• discussing how ministers are subject to the scrutiny of other Members of the Parliament led by an officially recognised opposition (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding)
• using an issue (for example, sustainable water management, education or health) to explore the division of powers between state/territory and federal levels of government, and identifying the way that conflicts between state laws and Commonwealth laws are resolved (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding)

(View this topic on www.australiancurriculum.edu.au )