Skip to main content
Parliament PulseAustralia
Australian public beta
Public beta: coverage is incomplete. AI-assisted summaries and research limits are labelled. Check original sources before relying on a record. Sources & limitations · Report a correction
Parliament lab

Your place
in Parliament.

A 20-minute introduction to Australia’s federal representatives, two houses and law-making. A ready-to-use activity for teachers, libraries and curious readers.

Open the Parliament lab

Before you begin

Work individually, in pairs or with one shared screen. Choose any Australian federal electorate; you do not need to enter your home address or create an account.

What you will practise

Distinguishing MPs from senators, following an ordinary bill, and checking an explanation against its original source.

This is a teacher-adaptable introduction, not a curriculum accreditation or an assessed political-preference quiz.

  1. 5 minutes

    Meet an electorate’s representatives

    Choose an electorate in the federal MP finder. Open its page and identify the House member and the senators for its state or territory.

    • Which electorate does the House member represent?
    • Do its senators represent that electorate alone, or a wider area?
    • Where would you check an enrolled address if you needed to confirm its electorate?

    Notes:

  2. 8 minutes

    Take an ordinary bill through Parliament

    Open the Parliament lab and try its fictional bill example. Use it as a simplified model, then compare it with the Parliamentary Education Office’s explanation below.

    • What must the two houses agree on?
    • What happens if one house changes the wording?
    • What is Royal Assent? Is becoming an Act always the same as starting operation?

    Notes:

  3. 5 minutes

    Check a source, not just a summary

    Open the original parliamentary profile linked from your chosen representative, or the PEO law-making page below. Find one statement you can confirm.

    • Who published the source?
    • What date or snapshot applies to the information?
    • What can this source establish, and what would need a different source?

    A party statement tells you what a party says. It does not, by itself, prove the policy’s cost, effect or delivery.

    Evidence:

  4. 2 minutes

    Explain it back

    In two sentences, explain the difference between a federal MP and a senator. Add one thing you would check before sharing a political claim.

    Your explanation:

Teacher notes and suggested answers

A House member represents a federal electorate; senators represent a state or territory. State and territory parliaments and local councils are separate. Confirm enrolled address boundaries with the AEC, not a postcode guess.

For the ordinary path modelled here, both houses must agree to identical text before Royal Assent by the Governor-General. A change can require the other house to consider that wording. Assent and commencement are separate: an Act or particular provisions may start later. This introduction leaves out special constitutional deadlock procedures and the Senate’s distinct powers over certain money bills.

Ask students to name a publisher and check the relevant date, distinguish an attributed position from a demonstrated outcome, and explain the limits of a profile or simulation. Printed student activities omit these answer notes. Adapt the language and timing to your group; no student political opinions need to be recorded or submitted.

Original sources and further teaching resources

Parliament Pulse is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by these organisations. AI assisted this activity and its source check on 2 November 2026; no independent teacher review or classroom trial is claimed. Representative information retains the dated snapshot shown on its own page.

Sources and limitations · Suggest a correction or classroom improvement