What was the first law made by the Australian Parliament?
The first law made by the Australian Parliament was the Consolidated Revenue Act 1901. It allowed the first Australian Government to collect and spend money.
Over the next two and a half years – up until the next federal election – the first Parliament made 59 laws. Of these, 21 laws were about making money available for the Government to spend. Other laws made by the first Parliament established:
- a national legal system, including the High Court of Australia
- the Australian public service
- a national postal and telegraph system
- the system for federal elections, giving men and most women over 21 the right to vote
- Australia’s own military and navy
- the ‘White Australia Policy’ which limited non-white migration to Australia.
The Duke of Cornwall and York opens the first federal Parliament, 9 May 1901
State Library of Victoria
The Duke of Cornwall and York opens the first federal Parliament, 9 May 1901
State Library of Victoria
Description
This illustration depicts the opening of the first federal Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901 at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The Duke of Cornwall and York, dressed in full military uniform, conducts the ceremony. The Duke declared the Parliament open in this ceremony which was attended by 12,000 guests. He and other dignitaries stand on a platform looking down on a great crowd. In the crowd there are judges, members of the military, academics, women and lawyers. Part of the large crowd sits towards the back of the hall in tiered seating. Australian and British flags are draped from the mezzanine level of the Exhibition Building.