The upper house of the Victorian Parliament is the Legislative Assembly.

The Governor-General is responsible for granting and denying royal assent in the law-making process.

The lower house of parliament is the house responsible for controlling government expenditure.

The upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament is referred to as the 'states house' as they have equal representation from each state (6) and each territory (2), protecting the interests of the less populated states.

Specific law-making powers are split up into executive and concurrent.

An example of a concurrent power is taxation (s.51(ii)).

An example of an exclusive law-making power is currency (s.114).

A residual power is protected by the constitution, but not specifically included in it.

Concurrent powers are the reason section 109 exists.

An example of a residual power is trade.

Both states and the Commonwealth Parliament have 2 law-making areas each that they can use.

Section 109 is significant because it provides a consistent mechanism for resolving disputes where two laws in the same area conflict under concurrent powers.

Section 109 only invalidates part of the state law.

The bicameral structure of parliament is a check on the law-making powers of parliament because it establishes a house of review to act as a second set of eyes on laws being made.

Both houses of parliament must pass a bill in identical form before it can be handed up for royal assent.

A hostile upper house can increase the check of the bicameral structure on parliament.

The division of powers establishes three specific areas within our legal system to avoid corruption and abuses of power.

Under the separation of powers, the legislative power to make laws is held by the parliament.

The separation of powers is a check on the law-making powers of parliament, as it safeguards the public against misuses of political power.

There are 6 express rights in the constitution of Australia.

Express rights generally create restrictions on the law-making powers of the Commonwealth Parliament, and can be tested through the High Court to make sure the Parliament is making laws that don't contravene these rights.

The express right of a trial by jury for Commonwealth indictable offences is found in section 80 of the Constitution.

The High Court is the only court with the power to declare a law made by the Commonwealth Parliament as ultra vires.

A referendum requires over half of Australia's population, as well as over half of the population within over half of the states, to vote yes to the proposed change in order to be successful.

The double majority requirement in a referendum acts as an effective check against the misuse of Commonwealth Parliament legislative powers by allowing the public to vote against radical or unwanted changes to the constitution.

A referendum proposal must be assented to by the executive before it can be enforced.

The Australian people have the ability to protect the constitution from changes, as the double majority requirement requires significant community support to succeed.

The Roach case can be used as an example of the High Court interpreting the constitution and changing the division of law-making powers.

The Roach case is significant because it upholds the principle of representative government in the Commonwealth Parliament.

The Roach case enabled the Commonwealth Parliament to legally exclude some people from voting in federal elections.

The Roach case principles later enabled the Commonwealth Parliament to legally legislate about the time frame available for people to amend their details in the Rowe case.

Under the principle of representative government, as established by the Roach case, the Commonwealth Parliament can only exclude people from participating an an election if they have a substantial reason to do so, and they're not excluding too large a portion of the population by doing so.

The 1967 referendum was passed with overwhelming support, and over time, led to significant changes in Indigenous rights due to the Commonwealth Parliament now being able to legislate in respect to their rights.

Bipartisan support was not relevant to the success of the 1967 referendum.

Brislan's case resulted in a change to the constitutional division of law-making powers.

Brislan's case was significant, as it resulted in the Commonwealth Parliament being able to significantly increase their law-making powers.

Brislan's case resulted in the erosion of state law-making powers.

An international treaty is a binding document.

The Commonwealth Parliament can use their external affairs power to give effect to international agreements, which was verified in the Tasmanian Dams Case.

The use of the external affairs power under the division of powers means the Commonwealth Parliament can legislate in areas of residual power whenever giving effect to an international agreement.

The use of the external affairs power under the division of powers is an independent head of power.

The use of the external affairs power under the division of powers can be used to override express rights in the constitution, provided it is being done to give effect to an international treaty.

The High Court has found that it is up to the Commonwealth Parliament to decide how to give effect to a treaty, as long as what they do is appropriate.

External affairs power has overall increased the law-making power of the Commonwealth Parliament over time.