How is government held accountable for the exercise of its power?
Analyse the mechanisms that promote accountable and responsible government in Australia and evaluate their effectiveness
A direct answer to the WACE Year 12 Politics and Law dot point on governance and accountability. Covers responsible government, separation of powers, the courts, the media and external scrutiny bodies.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
SCSA wants you to explain how the exercise of political and legal power is checked and controlled, and to evaluate how effective those checks are. Accountability means government can be called to explain and justify its actions and can be removed or corrected if it acts improperly.
Responsible government
Under the convention of responsible government, the executive (the ministry) is drawn from and answerable to the parliament. Ministers are individually responsible for their portfolios and collectively responsible for cabinet decisions. The government must retain the confidence of the lower house; if it loses a vote of no confidence, it must resign or call an election. Question Time, parliamentary debate and committees allow the parliament, especially the opposition, to scrutinise ministers.
The main limitation is that when a government holds a strong majority and party discipline is tight, the lower house rarely defeats the executive, so responsible government can become weak in practice.
The separation of powers and judicial review
The Constitution separates legislative, executive and judicial power across Chapters I, II and III. The clearest separation is the independence of the judiciary. Through judicial review, the High Court can declare legislation or executive action invalid if it exceeds constitutional power or breaches the Constitution. Administrative law also allows courts and tribunals to review government decisions for legality, ensuring decision-makers act within their powers and afford procedural fairness.
Elections and the federal structure
Regular elections (at least every three years for the House) are the ultimate accountability mechanism, letting voters dismiss a government. The federal division of powers and the bicameral parliament also distribute power, with the Senate acting as a house of review that can scrutinise, amend or block government legislation, especially when the government lacks a Senate majority.
External scrutiny bodies
A range of independent bodies provide accountability outside parliament. The Auditor-General audits government spending and reports to parliament. The Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates complaints about government administration. Anti-corruption commissions, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission established in 2023, investigate serious or systemic corruption. Freedom of information laws allow citizens to access government documents.
The media and civil society
A free press is sometimes called the "fourth estate". Journalists expose maladministration and inform voters, while interest groups and an active civil society pressure governments between elections. Limitations include media concentration, the influence of government communications, and restrictions such as defamation law and secrecy provisions.
Evaluating effectiveness
Australia has a robust, multi-layered accountability system, with independent courts, a powerful upper house, and growing integrity bodies. However, effectiveness is uneven: strong party discipline weakens parliamentary scrutiny, executive dominance can blunt accountability, and watchdog bodies depend on adequate funding and powers. Overall the system is strong but works best when several mechanisms operate together.