Government, politics and elections research guide

Our collections provide a wealth of materials to support your research into Australia's political landscape and history. Find key resources from Federal, state and territory and local governments, explore notable collections and discover how to access materials that have shaped Australia’s political history.

The collection is strong in:

  • books, biographies, histories and general works
  • parliamentary papers presented to Parliament and ordered to be printed
  • manuscripts including papers of ministers and documents relating to political parties
  • oral histories including speeches and interviews
  • pictures including portraits, photographs and political cartoons
  • ephemera including election advertising
  • newspapers including biographical cuttings files (articles from Australian newspapers from the early 20th century to 2000).

Where is the Australian Constitution?

Featured formed collections

Find out more about individual collections formed by significant people or around subjects of interest in our collection guides.

A black and white drawing depicting a very large crowed of people inside an ornate building watching a parade of people and flags entering the building.

Papers of Sir Anthony Musgrave, Microform, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn668402

Federation of Australia

A comprehensive collection of original records of the Federation movement plus books, pictures, music and other material related to Federation.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Deakin Collection

Large collection of personal papers covering Alfred Deakin's extensive political career, plus photographs, memorabilia and other published works by and about Deakin.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Hughes Collection

Large collection of papers from the politician William Morris Hughes including correspondence, official papers and reports, diaries, notebooks, newspaper cuttings, speeches, invitations and more.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Riley Collection

Thousands of pamphlets, booklets, leaflets, speeches, brochures and other material from political parties, trade unions, pressure groups and other bodies concerned with the Australian labour movement from the 1890s to 1960s.

Collection guide

Key sources

Find key resources in the collection based on subject and government type.

Finding government publications

To help locate Australian government publications like Acts, Hansards, Gazettes and Parliamentary Papers, use GovPubs: the Australian Government Publications Guide.

GovPubs is no longer maintained, but contains useful explanations for each publication. Holdings information will help you find resources in the National Library, State libraries or online.

Government publications are deposited with the National Library under the Library Deposit Scheme (LDS). Previously, the National Library actively collected publications; by way of various government administrative directives. You can find print publications and links to online sources through the catalogue.

Books

  • Alan J. Ward, Parliamentary government in Australia, 2014: combines constitutional history and political science to compare all nine of Australia's political systems, federal, state and territory, from colonial times to the present.
  • Singleton, Aitkin, Jinks and Warhurst Australian political institutions, 2013: introduces students to the structure and organisation of the institutions and functions of government in Australia, with reference to contemporary issues and debates.
  • Robert Corcoran and Jackie Dickenson, A dictionary of Australian politics, 2010: a dictionary that defines a range of Australian political terms and expressions, and includes international terms which are essential to political discussion.

Journals

Student texts

Websites

Books

Reference works

  • Colin A. Hughes and B. D. Graham, A handbook of Australian government and politics: details of election results for the Commonwealth and states, as well as lists of cabinets, governors, and governors-general.
  • Ian McAllister, Malcolm MacKerras, Carolyn Brown Boldiston, Australian political facts, 1997: includes data about politics in its broadest sense, ordered and classified, and supported by a comprehensive index.
  • Ann Millar, The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, 2000: a biographical account of senators and history of the Senate. Entries are arranged according to the state each senator represented.

Newspapers

Trove newspapers include early official gazettes, such as

*The Bulletin is also available on microfilm (check the dates).

For more information, try our Government gazettes research guide.

Cartoons

Political cartoons express contemporary opinions about public issues and officials. The Library holds cartoon collections, including:

Pictures and manuscripts

Websites

About elections

Australians vote for government representatives at national, state and local levels in a 3 to 4 year cycle. National elections are run by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Australian ballot or secret ballot

Australian ballot, also called secret ballot, is the system of voting in which voters mark their choices in privacy on uniform ballots printed and distributed by the government or designate their choices by some other secret means.

Victoria and South Australia were the first states to introduce secrecy of the ballot in 1856. For that reason, the secret ballot is referred to as the Australian ballot.

The system spread to Europe and the United States to meet the growing public and parliamentary demand for protection of voters. Find out more about the Australian ballot in the Encyclopaedia Britannic Online

Referendums

A referendum is a vote of the Australian people on measures proposed or passed by the Australian Parliament. A number of different types of referendums can be held, the most common is a Constitutional referendum. More information, including a list of all referendums and results, is available at the Australian Electoral Commission.

Australian Electoral Commission

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is an independent statutory body and was created by a 1984 amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. It runs national elections and is responsible for the registration of political parties.

To find out more about the AEC and history of elections in Australia go to:

States and Territories are responsible for elections within their jurisdictions.

At the Library

These resources include 

Election ephemera

Election Ephemera includes published leaflets, letters, 'how to vote' cards, posters, pamphlets, badges, stickers, hats, cardboard cutouts, DVDs and any other political material.

The Library also collects Broadsides and posters relating to the Australian federal elections campaigns.

Appeal to Women Electors [Federal Election 1955?]. Item 21 from [Ephemera relating to the Australian federal elections campaigns : including press releases, policy speeches, advertising material, how to vote cards, etc.]

Where else to look

Case Study

Q: I am in the United States. I have heard about an Australian law that forces people to vote or they get a fine. Can you supply more details?

Voting at federal elections is compulsory for all citizens included on the Australian Federal electoral roll. The introduction of compulsory voting varied from state to state; you can read about the background and history of compulsory voting in Australia on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

Anyone who is unable to provide a valid and sufficient reason to the Divisional Returning Officer for failure to vote at a federal election, and who does not wish to have the matter dealt with by a Magistrates Court may pay a penalty.

If the person refuses to pay the penalty then the matter may be referred to a Magistrates Court, where a higher penalty (plus costs) may be ordered on conviction.

On average about 5 per cent of enrolled voters fail to vote. In recent federal elections, with a voter turnout of approximately 95 per cent, informal voting (blank or not properly completed ballots) has accounted for about 5 per cent of all the votes cast (see: Compulsory voting in Australia from the Australian Electoral Commission).

Books and journals

Oral history

Speeches and media releases

Websites

  • Parliament of Australia: the official website of Australian parliament. It includes information on parliamentary departments, links to committee reports, full text of bills, speeches, biographical information, parliamentary publications, and more.
  • Making Laws: describes the passage of a bill through federal Parliament.
  • Parliamentary committees: information about the committee system and lists the current and former Senate, House and Joint Committees.
  • The Parliamentary Education Office: provides parliamentary education services to schools, teachers and students.
  • Commonwealth Budget: includes budget speech, budget overview and guide, and portfolio budget statements.
  • High Court of Australia: general information, sitting days, text of recent judges' speeches and more.

Newspapers

From 1960 until 1992 the Library maintained newspaper clipping files containing articles from major Australian metropolitan newspapers. Many of these clippings files, including those relating to Australian politics and government, have been catalogued and are available to request online. For an overview of what is available use our newspapers research guide.

Some useful collections include:

Biographical files on parliamentarians are also available, such as:

There are also some bound volumes of newspaper clippings that have been compiled to cover certain major periods, such as:

Case Study

Q: Can you please help me find the 1993 Australian Labor Party election proposal? It contains details about the proposed dental reform for low income earners and pensioners.

Media releases (including speeches) can be found in the Ministerial document service: daily collation of Ministers' and Opposition Leaders' statements. We can check January to March 1993, leading up to the election.

Nothing in the monthly indexes specifically mentions the Dental Reform program; however the election statements by the Prime Minister (Paul Keating) and by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health (Brian Howe) are included.

The earliest speech which mentions the Dental Reform Program is from Brian Howe, in a speech in Port Macquarie on the "Fight for Medicare" (Page 6660 of the Nos. 139 - 156 Ministerial Document Service) on 24 February:

"Today the Prime Minister announced initiatives which extend the caring arm of Medicare.

"First, a public dental scheme for those people who really need it. All health card holders - that is two million Australians - will now be eligible for free dental services".

The Prime Minister's speech is not in this volume, but can be accessed online at The Museum of Australian Democracy, Old Parliament House. This is also dated 24th February 1993. However, no details are given, just the general outline:

"A new Commonwealth dental health program will be established for emergency and basic dental care for health card holders."

Background

The Australian Constitution defines the boundaries of law-making powers between the Commonwealth and the States/Territories.

Government publications

To locate selected types of Australian government publications, including Acts, Hansards, Gazettes and Parliamentary Papers, use GovPubs : the Australian Government Publications Guide.

  • Use the Browse by State function to find State parliamentary papers in your State or Territory library.
  • Use GovPubs to locate government publications in the National and State libraries.

State and territory libraries

Your state or territory library may hold complete sets of parliamentary documents.

Case Study

Q: How can I get an online copy of the second reading speech of the South Australian Development Act 1993.

Bills must pass through the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council before becoming an Act (either House may introduce the Bill). The Second Reading speech for the Assembly and Council are usually identical. A Second Reading speech explains the content of the Bill in non-legal terms.

South Australian Hansards for 1993 are available online from the Parliament of South Australia website. Search by keyword or date (use the search link in the menu). The Development Bill was introduced by the Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Local Government Relations, and the Second Reading speech was on 10th March, see pages 2433-2443.

The Legislative Council received the Bill from the House of Assembly on 31st March 1993. The Second Reading speech in the Legislative Council was on 1 April 1993, see pages 1849-1859.

There is more information about the Development Act 1993 at the South Australian Attorney General’s Department.

Official reports of the parliamentary debates (Hansards) are also available in print for the following dates:

Constitutional responsibility for local government lies with the state and territory governments. This means that the roles and responsibilities of local government differ from state to state.

For facts and figures about Australian local government, go to the Australian Local Government Association.

Local council documents

Documents prepared by local councils may be lodged at the Library. To find them, search the catalogue for town or shire name and council, or “Municipal Council”. For example:

You can also find:

Books

Websites

How to search and find items

These tips will help you search for and access material in our government and politics collections.

Search the catalogue

A cartoon of Bill Hayden climbing a cliff with a figure labeled "LEFT WING" hanging below, while a chair labeled "P.M." sits at the top

Geoff Pryor, Bill Hayden climbing a cliff on his quest for the Prime Minister's chair, 1979, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-156302993

Use keywords or search by title, author or subject. Learn more about how to use the catalogue.

Search the catalogue now

For Australian politics, try:

For elections, search by subject and include the year of the election if you know it, try: 

For state and territory government and politicians, try terms like:

For local government, find general works and history under the subject heading:

For Australian political parties, try:

For special interest groups in Australian society, try:

Filter search results

Narrow your results after your first initial word search, using the options on the right side (including format, E-resources, author, subject area, series or decade). For example to search for portraits of politicians:

  • select the search field 'Occupation'
  • enter the keywords 'federal politicians'
  • under 'Limit your search', select the 'Picture' filter

You can also search for names and events, limiting the format to ‘Picture’

Visit the Library

You can visit us to access print material, books and more in person. To use materials in person, you will need to request them through the catalogue using your Library login.

Find out more about how to request items through the catalogue.

Once you've requested an item, most books and journals from the politics and government collection will be delivered through the Main Reading Room.

Get help with your research

Our specialist staff can help you with your research, to locate resources and to use our microform and scanning equipment but they cannot undertake extensive or ongoing genealogical, historical or other research on your behalf.

Find out more in our Information and Research Policy.

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Page published: 22 Sep 2024

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