Australian Parliament history timeline

Explore milestones to find out how the work of the Parliament has influenced the development of Australia since Federation.

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1880
Tenterfield Oration report

24 October 1889

Tenterfield Oration

Sir Henry Parkes’ call for the Australian colonies to unite sparks the movement towards Federation. 

1890
Members of the Australasian Federation Conference, 1890

06 February 1890

Australasian Federation Conference

Delegates from each colony meet and decide they want to unite as one nation.
1893 Corowa Conference

31 July 1893

Corowa Conference

Supporters of Federation meet in Corowa to plan the next steps towards nationhood.
Pollins station referendum day, Brisbane, 1899

29 April 1899

Federation referendum

Voters approve the Australian Constitution and agree to become a nation.

1900
1900 Constitution

09 July 1900

Australian Constitution

The Australian Constitution is approved by the British Parliament and signed by Queen Victoria. 
Children celebrating Federation, Melbourne 1901

01 January 1901

Creation of Australia

Australia becomes a nation when 6 British colonies unite. This moment is known as Federation.
1901 Press Gallery established

09 May 1901

Federal press gallery established

The press gallery observes and reports as the Australian Parliament meets for the first time.
White Australia: March of the Great White Policy, W. E. Naunton

23 October 1901

Immigration Restriction Act 1901

The new Australian Parliament outlines their vision for a white Australia in the Immigration Restriction Act 1901.
1901 Pacific Labourers

17 November 1901

Pacific Islanders Labourers Act 1901

This Act stopped Pacific Islanders coming to Australia to work and allowed thousands to be deported. 
1902 Commonwealth Franchise Act

12 June 1902

Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902

Australian women are granted the right to vote and stand for election to the Australian Parliament.
1903 High Court Admission Ticket

25 August 1903

Judiciary Act 1903

The High Court is founded to serve as a key part of the separation of powers in Australia.
Defence Act 1903

01 March 1904

Defence Act 1903

The Defence Act 1903 allows for the creation of Australia’s defence forces.
1904 Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Abirtration

15 December 1904

The Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904

The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is set up to settle disputes between workers and employers.
1905 Wireless Telegraphy

18 October 1905

Wireless Telegraphy Act 1905

The Australian Government takes control of the airwaves by regulating wireless telegraphy.
1906 Administration of Papua

03 September 1906

Administration of Papua

Australia becomes a colonial power when it begins governing Papua as an Australian territory.
1906 First federal referendum

12 December 1906

First Federal Referendum

Australians approve a change to Senate elections in the first federal referendum.
1907 Harvester judgement

08 November 1907

Harvester Judgement

A minimum wage for Australian workers is established. 
Seat of Government Act 1908

14 December 1908

Seat of Government Act 1908

Canberra is chosen as Australia’s national capital.
4 old age pension

15 April 1909

Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act 1908

The first national welfare scheme is established in Australia. 

1910
1911 Proclomation of Commonwealth Territories

01 January 1911

Proclamation of Commonwealth Territories

The Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory are created.
1912 Compulsory enrolment

27 March 1912

Compulsory enrolment for elections

Enrolling to vote becomes mandatory for eligible voters in Australia.
1912 Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bundaberg

15 July 1912

Commonwealth Bank Act 1911

Australia's national bank is created.
1912 Maternity Allowance

10 October 1912

Maternity Allowance Act 1912

The Australian Parliament recognises the costs associated with raising children, creating a law to give financial assistance to new mothers.
Workers compensation bill

05 February 1913

Commonwealth Workmen’s Compensation Act 1912

This law gives public service employees financial compensation if they are injured or killed while working.
Political situation 1914

30 July 1914

First double dissolution

For the first time in Australia, the Senate and House of Representatives are dissolved at the same time.
1914 war precautions act

29 October 1914

War Precautions Act 1914

This Act was made to protect Australia during the war. It gave the government powers it had never had before.
Interment of enemy aliens

30 October 1914

Internment of enemy aliens

The federal government aims to protect Australia from German ‘enemy aliens’.
Pro conscription badge, 1916

28 October 1916

1916 conscription plebiscite

A plebiscite on compulsory military service divides the nation.
1918 Preferential voting introduced

14 December 1918

First election using preferential voting

Preferential voting is established for federal elections, replacing the ‘first-past-the-post’ voting system.
Treaty of Versailles

28 June 1919

Treaty of Versailles

Australia signs its first international treaty and is recognised as an independent nation.

1920
1920 Engineers Case

31 August 1920

The Engineers Case 

The High Court’s decision in this case changes how the Constitution is interpreted.
1923 Main roads development act

30 June 1923

Main Roads Development Act 1923

Specific purpose payments are provided to the states by the Australian Parliament for the first time.
1924 Compulsory Voting card

31 July 1924

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1924

Compulsory voting is introduced to address low participation numbers in federal elections.  
Provisional (old) Parliament House

09 May 1927

Provisional Parliament House Opens

The Australian Parliament meets in Provisional Parliament House in Canberra from 1927 to 1988.
1929 Prime minister Bruce

12 October 1929

Prime Minister Bruce loses his seat

Bruce becomes the first Prime Minister to lose their seat while serving as Prime Minister.

1930
1931 Australian Governor-General

22 January 1931

First Australian-born Governor-General

Isaac Isaacs is the first Governor-General to be born in Australia.
1931 premiers plan

25 May 1931

The Premiers’ Plan

The Great Depression drives the Prime Minister and state premiers to develop a national economic plan. 
1932 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

01 July 1932

Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932

The Australian Broadcasting Commission is established. 
1933 Western Australian Secession Referendum

08 April 1933

Western Australian Secession Referendum

Western Australians vote to leave the Commonwealth but it is not legally binding.
1933 Antarctica

13 June 1933

Australia's first overseas territory

Australia takes control of land in Antarctica.
Joseph Lyons

07 April 1939

Prime Minister Joseph Lyons dies

Joseph Lyons is the first Prime Minister to die in office.
Menzies Robert image

03 September 1939

Australia declares war

Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces that due to Britain declaring war, Australia is also at war.

1940
1940 Advisory War Council

28 October 1940

Advisory War Council

The government and opposition work together on the Advisory War Council to win the war.
1942 Cairns Post

07 June 1942

Income Tax (War-Time Arrangements) Act

Australia introduces uniform rates of income taxation.
44 1942 statute of Westminster

09 October 1942

Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942

Most political and legal ties between Britain and Australia are cut.
1943 Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney

21 August 1943

First women in the Australian Parliament

Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons are the first women elected to the Australian Parliament.
1945 First Parliamentary Broadcast

08 May 1945

First parliamentary broadcast

The proceedings of the Australian Parliament are broadcast for the first time.
1945 United Nations

24 October 1945

Australia becomes a founding member of the United Nations

Australian leaders help draft the United Nations Charter.
1946 social services

28 September 1946

Social welfare referendum

Australians vote to allow the Parliament to make laws to provide family allowance, unemployment and other welfare payments.
1947. First peacekeeping

14 September 1947

Australia's first peacekeeping commitment

Australia supports peacekeeping operations in Indonesia, honouring our international obligations.
Banking Nationalisation case Sydney morning herald 12 August 1948

11 August 1948

Bank Nationalisation Case

A law which would nationalise banking in Australia is found to be invalid by the High Court of Australia.
1949 Nationality and citizenship Act

26 January 1949

Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948

Australian citizenship is established. Australians are still British subjects but are now recognised as citizens of their own country.
1949 Snowy Mountains Hydo Electric

07 July 1949

Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949

The Australian Government commits to the nations largest engineering project.
1949 First Woman Federal Minister

19 December 1949

First woman appointed to a cabinet position

Enid Lyons is appointed to the Federal Executive Council, the first woman to hold such a position. 

1950
1950 Communist Party Banned

20 October 1950

Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950

The government's attempt to ban communism is ruled unconstitutional by the High Court.
1951 Columbo Plan

01 July 1951

Colombo Plan

The Colombo Plan strengthens Australia’s international relations in Asia by providing aid.
1952 ANZUS Treaty

29 April 1952

ANZUS treaty

Australia, New Zealand and the United States agree to a formal security and defence treaty.
1954 Petrov Affair

03 April 1954

The 'Petrov Affair'

Soviet diplomats (and spies) Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov shock the nation when they defect during the Cold War.
Australian flag

14 April 1954

Flags Act 1953

Australia’s national flag is officially declared. 
1955 Labor Party Split

07 April 1955

The Labor Party Split

Anti-communist fervour leads to a split in the Australian Labor Party.
1956 Boilermakers case

02 March 1956

The Boilermakers Case

The separation of powers is examined in the High Court of Australia.

1960
1962 Commonwealth electoral act

18 June 1962

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962

The right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to vote in federal elections is confirmed.
GET I 013

14 August 1963

Yirrkala petitions

The modern land rights movement begins as the Yolngu petition the Australian Parliament.
1964. States grants

25 June 1964

States Grants (Science Laboratories and Technical Training) Act 1964

Controversially, the Australian Government commences 'state aid' to non-government schools.
1966 Migration Act

06 May 1966

Migration Act 1966

This law allows non-white immigrants to move to Australia, ending the ‘White Australia’ Policy.
1966 Wave Hill

23 August 1966

Gurindji walk off Wave Hill

This strike exposes discrimination against First Nations people and advances the land rights movement.
1966 Marriage bar abolished

18 November 1966

Marriage bar abolished

Married women are allowed to work in the public service.
1967 referendum icon

27 May 1967

1967 referendum

The Constitution is changed, allowing Parliament to make laws for First Nations people and count First Nations people in the census.
1968 Copyright Act

01 May 1969

Copyright Act 1968

Australian law is updated to protect creative materials.
1969 Equal Pay case

19 June 1969

Equal Pay Case

Australian women are entitled to equal pay for equal work.

1970
1970 Vietnam moratorium

08 May 1970

First Vietnam moratorium march

Thousands of Australians protest the Vietnam War and conscription.
1971 Gove Land Rights

27 April 1971

Gove Land Rights Case

The Yolngu people ask the courts to recognise their rights to their traditional lands and stop a mining development.
1971 Senator Neville Bonner

11 June 1971

First Indigenous member of parliament

Neville Bonner is the first Indigenous Australian to become a member of the Australian Parliament.
1972 Tent Embassy

26 January 1972

Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Activists set up the ‘Aboriginal embassy’ at the front of Parliament House.
Voting age lowered

21 March 1973

Change of voting age

The voting age is lowered from 21 to 18.
Joint sitting

06 August 1974

Joint sitting of Parliament

A joint sitting of the Australian Parliament is held to break the deadlock between the Senate and House of Representatives.
1975 ACT Territory Representation

07 August 1974

Territory senators

The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory are granted representation in the Senate for the first time.
1974 Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act

13 March 1975

National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975

This law reforms how national parks are created and managed in Australia. 
1975. Privy Council

08 July 1975

End of appeals from the High Court to the Privy Council

Australia’s judicial system becomes independent from Britain.
Gough Whitlam

11 November 1975

The Whitlam dismissal

The Governor-General controversially dismisses the government led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. 
1978 NT self government

01 July 1978

NT granted self-government

The Northern Territory is granted self-government – the power to make its own laws.

1980
1982 Freedom of information Act

01 December 1982

Freedom of Information Act

This Act gives Australians the right to access information held by the Australian Government and most government departments.
1983 Franklin Dams

01 December 1983

High Court rules on the Franklin Dam Case

The court upholds a law made by the Australian Parliament to stop the Tasmanian Government building a dam. 
1984 Medicare

01 February 1984

Medicare starts

Universal healthcare is established in Australia.
Senate ballot paper - above line

21 February 1984

Commonwealth Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 1983

‘Above the line’ voting is introduced in Senate elections to help make voting easier. 
20 national anthem

19 April 1984

New national anthem

Advance Australia Fair becomes Australia’s national anthem.
1984 Archives Act 1983

06 June 1984

Archives Act 1983

This law safeguards Government records and makes them accessible to Australians.
sex discrimination act

01 August 1984

Sex Discrimination Act 1984

This Act protects people from unfair treatment because of their gender and makes sexual harassment against the law.
Joan Child

11 February 1986

First female Speaker

Joan Child becomes the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives.
1986 Australia Act

03 March 1986

Australia Act 1986

Australia becomes independent from the British Parliament and courts. 
1986 First woman leader of a federal political party

14 August 1986

First woman leader of a federal political party

Janine Haines is the first woman to lead a political party in the Australian Parliament.
1987 First Woman Appointed to the High Court

06 February 1987

First woman appointed to the High Court

Justice Mary Gaudron KC becomes the first woman appointed to the bench of the High Court of Australia.
Australian Parliament House

09 May 1988

Australian Parliament House opened

The permanent meeting place of the Australian Parliament is opened.
Entrance to the ACT Legislative Assembly

11 May 1989

ACT granted self-government

The Australian Capital Territory is granted self-government – the power to make its own laws.

1990
Convention on the rights of the child

17 December 1990

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Australia agrees to protect children’s rights by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
1992 Mabo case thumbnail

03 June 1992

Mabo decision

Native Title is recognised by the High Court of Australia.
1994 Federation Chamber formed

08 June 1994

Federation Chamber formed

A second meeting place of the House of Representatives is created.
1995. Hansard goes online

20 February 1995

Hansard published online

Accessing the proceedings of the Australian Parliament becomes easier as it starts being published on the internet.
1996 National Firearms Agreement

10 May 1996

National Firearms Agreement

The Australian Government agrees to make gun ownership laws more restrictive in response to the Port Arthur massacre. 
Margaret Reid by Tom Alberts

20 August 1996

First female President of the Senate

Margaret Reid becomes the first female President of the Senate.
Euthanasia Laws Act 1997

27 March 1997

Euthanasia Laws Act 1997

The Australian Parliament overturns a law made by the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.
1997 Lange case

08 July 1997

Lange v ABC

Freedom of political communication in Australia is confirmed with this High Court decision.
1999 referendum pamphlet

06 November 1999

Republic referendum

The majority of Australian voters say ‘No’ to becoming a republic with an Australian head of state.

2000
GST icon

01 July 2000

Goods and Services Tax

A new taxation system is established in Australia.
2001 Centenary of Federation

01 January 2001

Centenary of Federation

Australia celebrates its 100th birthday.
2008 Welcome to Country

12 February 2008

Opening of Parliament begins with Welcome to Country

A Welcome to Country ceremony is held at the opening of the Australian Parliament for the first time.
2008ApologytoAustraliasIndigenousPeoples

13 February 2008

Apology to the Stolen Generations

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offers an apology to First Nations people on behalf of the nation.
2008 First woman GovernorGeneral

05 September 2008

First woman Governor-General

Quentin Bryce becomes Australia’s first woman Governor-General.
UNDRIP 2009

03 April 2009

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Australia commits to protecting the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.

2010
2010 Julia Gillard first woman Prime Minister

24 June 2010

First woman Prime Minister

Julia Gillard is the first woman to be Prime Minister of Australia.
Ken Wyatt Maiden Speech

21 August 2010

First Indigenous member of the House of Representatives

Ken Wyatt becomes the first Indigenous member of the House.
2010. Minority government

07 September 2010

Minority government

With the support of minor party and independent members, the Australian Labor Party forms government.
High Court

20 June 2012

School Chaplaincy Case

The High Court rules that the Government's method for funding a program is against the rules of the Constitution.
2013 NDIS

01 July 2013

The National Disability Insurance Scheme begins

Australia’s disability support arrangements are reformed.
2013 Senator Nova Peris

07 September 2013

First Indigenous woman senator

Nova Peris is the first Indigenous woman to be an Australian Senator.
First Speech for Hon Linda Burney MP Reps Chamber 31 August 2016 v2. Parliament House 45th Parliament of Australia. File number 20160545. Photograph by David Foote AUSPIC

02 July 2016

First Indigenous woman member of the House of Representatives

Linda Burney becomes the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Representatives.
Uluru

26 May 2017

Uluru Statement from the Heart

First Nations delegates sign the Uluru Statement from the Heart calling for ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth.’
Same sex marriage postal survey

12 September 2017

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey

Australians have their say on if the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry.
2018 Apology to victims and survivors

22 October 2018

National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutionalised Child Sexual Abuse

Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologises on behalf of the nation.

2020
2023 Voice Referendum

14 October 2023

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum

Australia votes against a proposal to recognise First Nations people in the Constitution.