The principles of the current Constitution of South Australia, also known as the South Australian Constitution, which includes the rules and procedures for the government of the State of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, are set out in the ''Constitution Act 1934''. Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

is "An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes". The Act provides for certain sections to be altered by the process of a Bill proposing a change passing all readings, approval by a majority of members in both houses of parliament prior to being assented to by the Governor. It also specifies those sections of the South Australian Constitution that must not only pass a majority vote in both Houses but must then be put to the people of South Australia at a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. The first Act to set out the South Australian Constitution was the Constitution Act 1856, which was the first Constitution in the

Australian colonies The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

to provide

universal manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the s ...

History

South Australian Colonisation Act 1834

South Australia's Constitutional structure has undergone numerous changes since its settlement by Europeans in the 19th century. In 1834 the Imperial Parliament passed the South Australian Colonisation Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 95), which authorised the King-in-Council to establish a colony called the 'Province of South Australia' and to provide for a government for the province. The new colony would consist of a Governor to make laws and Colonisation Commissioners, the later being responsible for the sale of land to free settlers. However it was not until the 19th of February 1836, by letters-patent, that the King officially exercised that power. Empowered by the King, the

First Fleet of South Australia In 1836, at least nine ships carried the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia. Although not all of the ships sailed together, the ...

that had arrived in the territory, under the leadership of the new Governor

John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Coni ...

, officially proclaimed the new Province of South Australia at Glenelg on 28 December 1836. The anniversary of this event is now a public holiday and is known as

Proclamation Day Proclamation Day commonly refers to the anniversary of the proclamation of government of the province of South Australia, which continues to be celebrated in South Australia on 28 December, although no longer a public holiday. The anniversary of ...

South Australian Colonisation Act 1838

By 1838, the division of powers between the Governor and the Colonisation Commissioners was found to be unworkable and the South Australian Colonisation Act 1834 was amended by the Imperial Parliament. The Governor was appointed Resident Commissioner and the power of the other commissioners were redefined. Additional powers were also conferred upon three or more appointed residents of the province that would act in conjunction with the Governor to pass new laws. This body can be considered South Australia's first

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

and a precursor to the Legislative Council.

South Australia Act 1842

In 1842, the Imperial Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1842 ( 5 & 6 Vict. c. 61), which further reformed the structure of government in South Australia. The act repealed the South Australian Colonisation Act 1834 and the South Australian Colonisation Act 1838, and empowered the Queen-in-Council to establish a Legislative Council to make laws for the province. The council was to consist of the Governor and seven other members (three appointed and four chosen by certain colonists). In addition to this, the act also abolished the Colonisation Commissioners.

Australian Constitutions Act 1850

In 1850, the Imperial Parliament passed the

Australian Constitutions Act 1850 The Australian Constitutions Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59), or the Australian Colonies Government Act 1850, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was enacted to formally establish the Colony of Victoria by separating the D ...

( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59), to separate the

District of Port Phillip The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

from the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

and create the

Colony of Victoria The Colony of Victoria was a historical administrative division in Australia that existed from 1851 until 1901, when it federated with other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the southeastern corner of the Australian ...

. This act also had implications for the governments of the other existing colonies as well, by amending the structures of their governments. South Australia's Legislative Council was expanded to not more than 24 members, a third to be appointed by the Queen and the remainder to be elected. The Act also gave the power to the respective colonial legislatures to enact their own colonial constitutions.

Constitution Act 1856

Empowered by the Australian Constitutions Act 1850, the South Australian Legislative Council enacted its first proper Constitution in 1856, titled the 'South Australian Constitution Act'. It was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide manhood suffrage, that is, all male residents of the colony over 21 years of age could vote in elections. This Act provided for a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few acts requiring royal assent. The Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 37-member House of Assembly was elected on a broad male franchise. The adoption of the " one value, one vote" principle removed the ability of voters to vote in any electorate in which they owned property. The act also defined the rules of tenure for the parliamentarians. The Act was amended by the ''

Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 The ''Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894'' was an Act of the Parliament of South Australia to amend the South Australian '' Constitution Act 1856'' to include women's suffrage. It was the seventh attempt to introduce voting rig ...

'' to give women the right to both vote and stand for parliament.

Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900

With the enactment of the Commonwealth Constitution on 1 January 1901, the Province of South Australia was transformed into a state of the Commonwealth. Sections 106, 107 and 108 of the Commonwealth Constitution preserved the application of the Colonial Constitution of 1856, which became a state constitution along with all the laws of the Parliament that previously existed (so far as they were not inconsistent with the Commonwealth Constitution or federal acts of the new

Commonwealth Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

, as per section 109. The Constitution of 1856 continued to be in force until it was repealed and replaced by a new State Constitution in 1934.

''Constitution Act 1934''

The ''Constitution Act 1934'' (

"An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes") repealed a number of older Acts, including the 1856 Act and several Constitution Amendment Acts. It has since been amended on many occasions, with the latest amendment having been assented to on 18 April 2024.

2013 amendment to recognise Aboriginal peoples

In March 2013 an amendment was introduced to include a statement of recognition of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, via the ''Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Act 2013''. Wording included in Section 3 includes:

Document structure and text

The Constitution is divided into six parts

Part 1: Preliminary

This part is relatively short and deals with the Constitution's long title, as well includes an amendment that recognises

as the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

of the state. This was introduced in 2013, but section 2(3) of the amendment specifies that this recognition be of no legal force or effect.

Part 2: The Legislature

This part deals with the structure, functions and powers of the South Australian Parliament. It is composed of two chambers, the Legislative Council (the upper chamber), and the House of Assembly (the lower chamber). The Legislative Council is composed of 22 members elected by the state as a whole for eight year terms. The terms of legislative councillors are staggered, meaning that only half of the council goes up for election every 4 years (11 out of 22). Section 23 provides that the members of the Legislative Council shall elect a President, to preside over the chamber. The House of Assembly is made up of 47 members elected from individual electoral districts situated around the state. Every member of the House serves fixed four year terms. Section 34 provides for the election of a speaker by members of the House, to preside over the business of the Chamber. In 2021 an amendment was introduced to require that the Speaker either be an independent or vacate their party affiliation. Several sections in this part provide that any amendment that would abolish of either chamber of Parliament, or would alter the powers of the Legislative Council, would require a referendum of the majority of the people in the state. Other notable sections include: Section 44, which prevents judges from being members of Parliament; Section 47, which prevents being a members of South Australian parliament and the Commonwealth Parliament simultaneously, Sections 48 and 48A, which guarantees the right of women to vote and be members of Parliament.

Part 2a: Local Government

This part provides for a constitutional guarantee of the continuity of local government. This part was the result of an amendment in 2003.

Part 3: The Executive

This part deals with the Executive Government of the state. Which include the appointment of the Premier and their ministers, as well as Parliamentary Secretaries. This part also deals with the Governor, the Executive Council and the appointment of the Lieutenant-Governor. The Governor may also appoint a deputy, a deputy to the Lieutenant Governor or an administrator to act in absence of the Governor. The role and function of the Governor as well as the Executive Council are further detailed by the letters-patent issued by

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

in 1986. Section 68 also deals with the appointment of public servants

Part 4: The Judiciary

This part is short and contains three sections, that deal with the tenure and removal of judges of the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

. The role, powers, structure and function of the Supreme Court is further detailed by the Supreme Court Act 1935.

Part 5: Electoral Redistribution

This part deals with the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, which is an independent non-partisan body responsible for redrawing the boundaries of the 47 single member districts of the House of Assembly. This section was introduced in an amendment in 1975 by the government of former Premier

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

, to ensure fair and competitive elections for the Parliament. This undid the

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

of Australia's longest serving Premier Thomas Playford, which kept his

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

Government in power for almost 32 years. Section 88 of this part provides that specific amendments that would alter the Constitution's democratic protections in this part would require a referendum of the majority of the people in the state. An amendment in 1990 proposed by the Labor Government of Premier

John Bannon John Charles Bannon (7 May 1943 – 13 December 2015) was an Australian politician and academic. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch), South Australian Branch of the Australia ...

, altered this part as to require a redrawing of the electoral boundaries before every election. As such a move required approval of the people of the state, South Australia held its first (and to date only) State Constitutional referendum in 1991, since the enactment of the new State Constitution in 1934. The referendum passed with 74% in favour of the amendment.

Part 6: Miscellaneous

This part provides for the continuity of the South Australian government in the advent of the death of the monarch.

References

External links

''Constitution Act 1934''
{{Australia topic, title=

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

s of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, prefix=Constitution of, VI=Victoria, exclude-ext=y, group1=Commonwealth, list1=

, group5=External territories, list5=

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

South Australia law 1934 in Australian law