State and territory parliaments may pass legislation subject to the limits of the federal constitution (notably Section 51 and Section 109). Each state and internal territory (except the Jervis Bay Territory) has its own legislature; the Federal Parliament can override territorial legislation, but this is extremely rare. The High Court of Australia acts as a final court of appeal on all matters, and has the authority to override any state judiciary.
At Federation in 1901, what is now the Northern Territory was within South Australia, what are now the Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory were within New South Wales, and the Coral Sea Islands were part of Queensland. The Ashmore and Cartier Islands were accepted by Australia in 1934 and were administered as part of the Northern Territory. The two self-governing territory governments (the Australian Capital Territory [ACT] and the Northern Territory [NT]) were created by legislation of the Federal Parliament: the NT in 1978 and the ACT in 1989.
Territorial evolution
1788 – British Empire establishes the Colony of New South Wales across central and eastern mainland Australia, the island of Tasmania, both islands of New Zealand and Norfolk Island.
1825 – The island of Tasmania becomes the independent colony of Van Diemen's Land. New South Wales extends its borders further west in mainland Australia.
1829 – The British Empire establishes the Swan River Colony in western mainland Australia.
1832 – Swan River Colony is renamed the "colony of Western Australia".
1841 – The islands of New Zealand become the independent colony of New Zealand. Much of eastern Antarctica is annexed by Britain as Victoria Land.
1844 – New South Wales transfers Norfolk Island to Van Diemen's Land.
1846 – Northern central and eastern Australia briefly become the British colony of North Australia, then are returned to New South Wales.Map of Australia, 1851
1851 – Southeastern mainland Australia becomes the independent colony of Victoria.
1856 – Van Diemen's Land is renamed the colony of Tasmania. Norfolk Island becomes a separate settlement of Norfolk Island, administered by the same governor as New South Wales.
1857 – Much of southern central mainland Australia becomes the independent colony of South Australia. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are annexed by Britain.
1859 – Northeastern mainland Australia and Coral Sea Islands become the independent colony of Queensland.
1860 – A pocket of New South Wales territory remaining in southern central mainland Australia is transferred to South Australia.
1862 – Some of New South Wales' northern central mainland Australian territory is transferred to Queensland.
1863 – New South Wales' remaining northern central mainland Australian territory is transferred to South Australia.
1886 – The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are to be administered by the same governor as the Straits Settlements.
1888 – Christmas Island is annexed by Britain and incorporated into the Straits Settlements.
1897 – Norfolk Island is officially reintegrated into New South Wales.
1901 – New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia federate into the Commonwealth of Australia. Queensland transfers the Coral Sea Islands to the federal government, creating a federal external territory.
1911 – The state of South Australia transfers control of northern central mainland Australia to the federal government, creating the Northern Territory. A small pocket of New South Wales around the city of Canberra is transferred to the federal government (who are seated within it), creating the Federal Capital Territory.
1913 – New South Wales transfers Norfolk Island to the federal government, making it a federal external territory.
1915 – A small pocket of New South Wales around Jervis Bay is transferred to the federal government and incorporated into the Federal Capital Territory.
1923 – Nauru is established as an Australian mandate and external territory by the League of Nations, as a co-mandate with Britain and New Zealand.
1927 – The Northern Territory is split into two territories: North Australia and Central Australia.
1930 – The remaining territory in eastern Antarctica is annexed by Britain as Enderby Land.
1931 – North Australia and Central Australia are reincorporated as the Northern Territory. Britain recognises Australia as possessors of the uninhabited Ashmore and Cartier Islands, making them an external federal territory.
1933 – Britain transfers Victoria Land and Enderby Land to Australia, creating the Australian Antarctic Territory, with ongoing limited international recognition.
1942 – The Empire of Japan conquers Nauru from Australia, Britain and New Zealand as part of World War II. Japan also conquers much of the Straits Settlements, including Christmas Island. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are not conquered and are transferred to the Colony of Ceylon.
1946 – The United Nations, the successor to the League of Nations, renews its mandate of New Guinea to Australia. Christmas Island is placed under the jurisdiction of the Colony of Singapore.
1947 – Following the defeat of Japan in World War II, the United Nations returns Nauru to Australia, Britain and New Zealand as a joint mandate. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are transferred to Singapore.
1949 – Papua and New Guinea are incorporated into the singular Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Britain transfers Heard Island and the McDonald Islands to Australia, creating a federal external territory.
1955 – Britain transfers the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to Australia, they become an external territory.
1958 – Britain transfers Christmas Island to Australia, it becomes an external territory.
1966 – Nauru gains a Legislative Council with an elected majority.
1968 – Nauru becomes independent on 31 January 1968.
1971 – Papua and New Guinea is renamed Papua New Guinea.
1978 – Northern Territory gains self-government with certain Commonwealth control.
1979 – Norfolk Island gains self-government with certain Commonwealth control.
1989 – The Australian Capital Territory gains self-government with certain Commonwealth control. Jervis Bay becomes independent of the ACT, becoming the Jervis Bay Territory.
2015 – Norfolk Island loses self-government with full Commonwealth control.
States
Each of the six states has its own capital city, which is also its largest population centre. The table below summarises each state's estimated resident population, land area, population density, representation in the House of Representatives, and incumbent premier.
A clickable map of Australia's states, mainland territories and their capitals
Australia has ten federal territories: three internal territories on the mainland and seven offshore external territories. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are self-governing, with elected legislative assemblies and chief ministers, and are represented in both chambers of the federal Parliament. The remaining territories have local government status overseen by federal departments.
Internal territories
Australia has three internal territories on the mainland. Two are self-governing; the third is administered directly by the Commonwealth. The table below lists each territory's population, area, representation in the House of Representatives, and chief minister.
Australia's external territories are dispersed across the Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. Only three territories have permanent populations: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The remainder are uninhabited or host only seasonal research or meteorological staff. The table below lists each territory's capital or main settlement, languages, population, area, administering body, and local government.
Over its history, Australia has administered a number of territories that no longer exist as separate entities. Some, such as Papua New Guinea and Nauru, became independent countries, while others, such as North Australia and Central Australia, were reincorporated into existing territories.
Former internal territories
Two internal territories were established under section 122 of the Constitution of Australia by the Northern Australia Act 1926, which took effect on 1 February 1927 and divided the Northern Territory along the 20th parallel south into North Australia and Central Australia. The division was part of a scheme intended to improve governance of the vast Territory and to facilitate its eventual development toward statehood. Each territory was administered by a Government Resident. These administrators were located in Darwin and Alice Springs respectively, and were assisted by a partly elected Advisory Council. The scheme was abandoned on 12 June 1931, when the Northern Australia Act was repealed and the two territories were reincorporated into a single Northern Territory. Both had used the Australian flag during their existence, as neither possessed a distinctive flag of its own.
Southern portion of the Northern Territory, divided at the 20th parallel south.
Former external territories
Several external territories were administered by Australia before achieving independence or being transferred to another arrangement. Two of these, the Territory of New Guinea and Nauru, were formerly part of German New Guinea, which was partitioned between Australia and other powers after World War I. The Territory of New Guinea was subsequently combined with the Territory of Papua and became part of present-day Papua New Guinea, while Nauru became an independent country.
The Territory of Papua had a distinctive constitutional history. In 1883, amid concerns about German colonial expansion, Sir Thomas McIlwraith, the Premier of Queensland, attempted to annex eastern New Guinea in the name of The Crown. The attempt was condemned by the ImperialGovernment and did not proceed, but it led to the establishment of a British protectorate over southeastern New Guinea in 1884. In 1888 the territory became a Crown Colony, with an Imperial Administrator appointed from London. Under the Letters Patent of 8 June 1888, the Administrator was subject to the control of the Governor of Queensland, who was to consult his ministers but was not bound by their advice; the Governor exercised this authority as persona designata, in his personal capacity as an individual designated by the Crown, rather than as a representative of the Queensland government. This arrangement continued until the territory was formally placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1902; the Papua Act 1905 subsequently provided for its government as an Australian territory.
Limited self-government from 1973 until Independence
Administrative union of Papua and New Guinea after WWII. The territory was renamed Papua New Guinea by the Papua New Guinea Act 1971, before independence in 1975. The current flag was adopted on 1 July 1971.
The legislative powers of the states are protected by the Australian constitution, section 107, and under the principle of federalism, Commonwealth legislation only applies to the states where permitted by the constitution. The territories, by contrast, are from a constitutional perspective directly subject to the Commonwealth government; laws for territories are determined by the Australian Parliament.
Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth government, while two (the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory) have some degree of self-government although less than that of the states. In the self-governing territories, the Australian Parliament retains the full power to legislate, and can override laws made by the territorial institutions, which it has done on rare occasions. For the purposes of Australian (and joint Australia-New Zealand) intergovernmental bodies, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are treated as if they were states.
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory each elect two senators. The other territories do not have separate Senate representation. Residents of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands vote in the Northern Territory electorate of Lingiari; Norfolk Island residents vote in the ACT electorate of Bean; and Jervis Bay Territory residents are included in the ACT. These territories are represented in the House of Representatives through mainland electorates rather than by separate territory members. Excluding the Heard and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory (which are governed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), the external territories are governed by the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. Norfolk Island had its own legislature from 1979 until 2015.
Each state has a governor, appointed by the monarch (currently Charles III), which by convention he does on the advice of the state premier. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, by contrast, is appointed by the governor-general. The Australian Capital Territory has neither a governor nor an administrator. Instead, since the enactment of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth), the functions of the head of the Executive, commissioning government, proroguing parliament and enacting legislation, are exercised by the Assembly itself and by the chief minister.
The head of government of each state is called the "premier", appointed by the state's governor. In normal circumstances, the governor will appoint as premier whoever leads the party or coalition which exercises control of the lower house (in the case of Queensland, the only house) of the state parliament. However, in times of constitutional crisis, the governor can appoint someone else as premier. The head of government of the self-governing internal territories is called the "chief minister". The Northern Territory's chief minister, in normal circumstances whoever controls the legislative assembly, is appointed by the administrator.
Each state has a bicameral parliament, except Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. The lower house is called the "legislative assembly", except in South Australia and Tasmania, where it is called the "house of assembly". Tasmania is the only state to use proportional representation for elections to its lower house; all others elect members from single member constituencies, using preferential voting. The upper house is called the "legislative council" and is generally elected from multi-member constituencies using proportional representation. The ACT and the Northern Territory each have unicameral legislative assemblies. The legislative assembly for the ACT is the only parliament with responsibility for both state/territory and local government functions.
Legislatures and local government of the Australian states and territories
Several jurisdictions have dedicated Indigenous representative, electoral, or advisory bodies. These operate alongside the general state and territory parliaments and local government structures. The table below summarises the main bodies and their composition.
Indigenous representative bodies of the Australian states and territories
Each state and territory has its own Supreme Court, which is the highest court within that jurisdiction. The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal for all Australian jurisdictions and hears appeals from state and territory Supreme Courts. Larger jurisdictions have a permanent Court of Appeal, while smaller jurisdictions constitute a Full Court or Court of Appeal on an ad hoc basis.
Supreme Courts of the Australian states and territories
Residents of the Jervis Bay Territory fall within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. External territories have varied judicial arrangements, with most subject to the courts of a state or internal territory.
Each state and the Northern Territory has its own police force. The Australian Capital Territory is policed by ACT Policing, a business unit of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), under a purchase agreement with the ACT Government. The AFP also provides policing services to the external territories.
Police forces of the Australian states and territories
Population density figures in the table below are drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates for March 2026, consistent with the state and territory tables above. The "In capital" percentages are derived from the 2021 Census, the most recent census for which place-of-usual-residence data is available.
Area, density and population concentration of the Australian states and territories
The term interstate is used within Australia to refer to a number of events, transactions, registrations, travel, etc. which occurs across borders or outside of the particular state or territory of the user of the term. Examples of use include motor vehicle registration, travel, applications to educational institutions out of one's home state.
1234This is used for some PO box and large users only.
12Some exceptions apply to numbers in this state's number range.
↑The state of New South Wales observes Australian Eastern Standard Time except for Broken Hill and the surrounding region, which observes Australian Central Standard Time and Lord Howe Island which is 30 minutes ahead of Australian Eastern Standard Time.
↑Broken Hill and surrounding region observe Australian Central Summer Time. Lord Howe Island adopts Australian Eastern Summer Time.
123A number of broadcast stations in the ACT have call signs allocated as if ACT were part of New South Wales.
↑Unless provided, references and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual state and territory articles.
↑Jervis Bay Village is the largest settlement; the territory has no official capital.
↑The Department of Infrastructure acts as the de facto state and local government for the Jervis Bay Territory. It has overall responsibility for providing local and state government-type services, either directly or through service delivery agreements with ACT and NSW government agencies, Shoalhaven City Council, and private contractors. These services include vehicle registration, driver licensing, domestic animal control, electricity connection, and management of Commonwealth-owned housing.
↑The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council was established under the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986. It is the sole owner and manager of Aboriginal land in the territory and exercises by-law-making power over 403 hectares in and around Wreck Bay Village. Shoalhaven City Council provides specific services under contract, including waste collection and library services.
↑Unless provided, references and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual state and territory articles.
↑Population figures for external territories are drawn from various sources (2021 Census, 2025 estimates, seasonal staff counts) and may not be directly comparable.
↑The Norfolk Island Regional Council is under administration. Scott Mason (Lead Administrator) and Gary Mottau (Financial Administrator) were appointed from 6 December 2024, with their appointments extended until 31 December 2026.
↑The flag of Christmas Island is widely used in the territory, but has not been proclaimed as a flag of Australia under the Flags Act 1953.
↑The flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is widely used in the territory, but has not been proclaimed as a flag of Australia under the Flags Act 1953.
↑Under the definitions in ISO 3166-1, the AAT is covered by the Antarctican ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code "AQ".
↑No permanent population. Research staff numbers fluctuate seasonally, with approximately 80 in winter and up to 200 in summer.
↑A unique constitutional arrangement with the Imperial Administrator being guided by the Governor of Queensland but not subservient to the Governor. The Governor in turn as a designated person, acted outside his role as Governor, but was able to take advice from his government, but unlike his role as Governor of Queensland he was not bound by the advice of his ministers in relation to the Colony of Papua.
↑The Australian Blue Ensign was used for most purposes until mid-1971. The PNG National Flag was adopted on 1 July 1971 and became the preferred flag from that date, though the Australian flag retained precedence until independence in 1975.
↑The League of Nations mandate for Nauru was conferred on 17 December 1920. The mandate was held jointly by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with Australia as the administering authority.
↑Justice Thomas Bradley was appointed to succeed Dr Jeannette Young, effective 1 November 2026.
↑Grant Stevens was appointed to succeed Frances Adamson, effective 9 December 2026.
↑Includes 120 local government areas and 8 unincorporated areas.
↑Includes 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander councils.
↑The ACT has no separate local government system; the ACT Government performs these functions. Several community councils operate as non-political advocacy groups.
↑Includes 5 municipal, 3 shire, and 10 regional councils, some of which are Aboriginal community government councils.
↑The Norfolk Island Regional Council is under administration, with Scott Mason (Lead Administrator) and Gary Mottau (Financial Administrator) appointed until 31 December 2026. A new Norfolk Island Assembly, comprising five elected members, is planned. The first stage will be a five-member Transition Assembly.
↑Administered directly by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council functions as the territory's de facto legislative body, exercising by-law-making power over 403 hectares of Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986.
↑The uninhabited external territories are the Australian Antarctic Territory, the Coral Sea Islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
↑Administered by the Australian Antarctic Division (for the Australian Antarctic Territory and Heard Island and McDonald Islands) or the Department of Infrastructure (for the Coral Sea Islands and Ashmore and Cartier Islands).
↑Elected by registered voting members of Local Aboriginal Land Councils. There are over 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils across NSW.
↑Each Local Voice elects two members to the State First Nations Voice.
↑Includes the Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, 9 Judges of Appeal, 42 Judges, and associate and acting judges.
↑Includes the Chief Justice, 9 Judges of Appeal, and 22 Trial Division judges.
↑Includes the Chief Justice, 5 Court of Appeal judges, and 20 Trial Division judges.
↑Includes the Chief Justice, judges of the Court of Appeal, and judges of the General Division.
↑Maximum of 7 judges under the Supreme Court Act 1887; currently 6 judges constitute the Court.
↑Resident judges; additional and acting judges are appointed from time to time.
↑Includes the Chief Justice and 5 resident judges. Additional judges from the Federal Court assist from time to time.
↑Mal Lanyon was appointed the 24th Commissioner on 1 October 2025 for a five-year term.
↑More than 16,000 sworn officers; authorised strength is 18,398.
↑Mike Bush commenced his term as the 24th Chief Commissioner on 27 June 2025 for a five-year term.
↑15,463 sworn officers as at March 2026, down from 16,191 in June 2024. The force has shed 728 full-time officers over that period.
↑Brett Pointing was appointed Acting Commissioner from 21 February 2026 for a 12-month interim period following the retirement of Commissioner Steve Gollschewski.
↑Sworn officer numbers surpassed 13,000 for the first time in Queensland's history in 2026.
↑Col Blanch was appointed the 23rd Commissioner effective 15 July 2022 for a five-year term.
↑7,401 headcount and 7,144.94 FTE police officers as at 7 May 2026.
↑Grant Stevens was appointed Governor of South Australia in October 2026, effective 9 December 2026. He will formally step down as Commissioner on 23 October 2026, with Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams to assume the role in an acting capacity.
↑4,674.2 sworn officers as at May 2026, with a target of 5,000 by 2030-31.
↑Donna Adams commenced as Tasmania's 15th Commissioner of Police and Secretary of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management on 11 October 2022.
↑Approximately 1,450 active police officers as at February 2026.
↑Martin Dole was commissioned as the 15th Commissioner on 31 October 2025 for a term ending in 2029.
↑1,782.33 FTE sworn officers as at 25 March 2026. The defined establishment is 1,844.
↑ACT Policing is a business unit of the Australian Federal Police, which provides community policing services to the ACT under a purchase agreement with the ACT Government.
↑Scott Lee serves as a Deputy Commissioner of the AFP and Chief Police Officer for the ACT. He was appointed in March 2024.
↑Approximately 606 sworn officers. ACT Policing has 169 sworn officers per 100,000 people, the lowest police density in the nation.
↑The Australian Federal Police provides policing services to Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island, and the Jervis Bay Territory.
↑Krissy Barrett became the ninth Commissioner of the AFP and the first woman to lead the force on 4 October 2025.
↑AFP total staff as at 30 June 2025 was 8,328, comprising 3,578 police officers, 838 protective service officers, and 3,912 unsworn staff.
↑The Norfolk Island Regional Council is under administration and has no elected mayor.
↑Between 1979 and 2015 Norfolk Island was a self-governing external territory with its own legislature, the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly, until this was abolished by the Commonwealth Parliament in 2015. The Regional Council was established in 2016 but was suspended in 2020 and placed under administration.
↑"Christmas Island". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 9 October 2026. The Christmas Island population of approximately 1,690 ...
↑"Cocos (Keeling) Islands". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2026. The islands have a total land area of 14 square kilometres and support a population of 593 (ABS 2021)
↑"Indian Ocean Territories". Regional Development Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2026. Cocos (Keeling) Islands 593
↑"The Australian Antarctic Territory"(PDF). Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce. p.2. Retrieved 9 October 2026. A range of around 80 to 200 research staff inhabit the territory in its research stations, with some operating on a seasonal basis.
↑"Heard Island and McDonald Islands". Australian Antarctic Program. Retrieved 9 October 2026. Heard Island and McDonald Islands are unoccupied by humans ...
↑"Ashmore and Cartier Islands". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 9 October 2026. The islands are uninhabited ...
1234Ling, Ted. "Dividing the Territory, 1926–31". Commonwealth Government Records about the Northern Territory. National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
↑"New Guinea Act 1920-1935". Laws of the Territory of New Guinea 1921-1945 (Annotated). Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
↑"Papua New Guinea Act 1971". Federal Register of Legislation. The Australian Government. 13 December 1971. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
↑"Territories of Australia". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
↑"New local governance for Norfolk Island". Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
↑"Col Blanch". Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2026. Effective 15 July 2022 he was appointed the 23rd Commissioner of Police.
↑"Parliamentary Questions". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2026. As at 7 May 2026, the Western Australia Police Force had a headcount of 7,401 and an Actual FTE of 7,144.94 (police officers).
↑"Police Commissioner Grant Stevens appointed SA's next governor". ABC News. 6 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026. He will formally step down from the commissioner's role on October 23, with Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams to assume the role in an acting capacity.
↑"Executive Leadership". NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services. Retrieved 10 October 2026. Martin Dole... Due to his exemplary service, Mr Dole was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police in May 2024.
↑"Martin Dole". Australian Government Directory. Retrieved 10 October 2026. Commissioner of Police, NT Police, Fire & Emergency Services Mr. Martin Dole
↑"Estimates Committee Question Taken on Notice". Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. Retrieved 10 October 2026. As at pay 20 (25 March 2026) the full time equivalent for all of the NTPF (sworn) is 1782.33.
↑"Oceans and Seas". Geoscience Australia. Australian Government. 7 June 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
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