Australia's Democratic Beliefs study guide

Australia's system of government is a parliamentary democracy. The power of the government comes from the Australian people, because citizens vote for people to represent them in parliament, and those representatives must answer to the people through elections for the decisions they make.

Under the Rule of Law, all Australians are equal under the law. No person, group or religious rule is above the law — everyone, including government, community and religious leaders, business people and the police, must obey Australia's laws. Australians are proud to live peacefully under a stable system of government, and believe change should come through discussion, peaceful persuasion and the democratic process, rejecting violence as a way to change a person's mind or the law.

Freedom of speech is a core Australian value that underpins democracy: people can say and write what they think, discuss their ideas, criticise the government, protest peacefully and campaign to change laws — so long as they obey Australian laws and respect others' freedom of speech. Freedom of expression lets people express their views through art, film, music and literature, and meet in public or private for social or political discussion.

Freedom of association is the right to form and join associations to pursue common goals — a political party, trade union, or religious, cultural or social group — and equally the right not to join, free from being forced. Australia also has freedom of religion: there is no official national religion, people are free to follow any religion (or none), and the government is secular, operating separately from religious entities. In all cases, even while exercising these freedoms, the laws of Australia must be obeyed, and where an Australian law and a religious practice conflict, Australian law prevails.

A number of laws ensure a person is not treated differently because of their gender, race, disability or age. Men and women have equal rights in Australia, and it is against the law to discriminate against a person because of their gender.

Australians value equal opportunity — often called a 'fair go'. This means what someone achieves in life should result from their talents, work and effort rather than their wealth or background, so that there are no formal class distinctions in Australian society.