The difference between Australian state and federal governments — and what it means for you

An overview of the different government portfolios and whether it is a federal, state or local government activity

Australia is one of the few countries in the world with a federated government model, wherein the six constituent states have entered into a union whilst retaining constitutionally protected rights and powers. This is in contrast to the vast majority of the world’s countries where individual provinces or states only have powers that have been delegated to them from an all-powerful central government.

This can cause confusion around which level of government is responsible for which activity. e.g. is healthcare a federal responsibility, or a state one?

With elections looming in Australia, it is probably worth re-familiarising ourselves on which level of government is primarily responsible for a particular domain, the rough principles for determining if a domain should be administered by the national vs state executive, and what the implication might be for you.

Which government does what?

When the states came together at Federation, they ceded some powers to the Commonwealth — enshrined…