The Parliament lab
Don’t just read it.
Try running it.
Explore two separate chambers, build support for a government and guide a fictional bill from an idea to a law in force.
Private educational draft · official sources linked throughout · independent subject review pending
Meet the two houses
150 different local electorates
Your local voice.
Each electorate elects one House member. Confidence in this chamber determines who can govern.
They are different people. Your local MP does not also sit in the Senate. The two houses have distinct members and votes.
Meet the House membersParliament includes government, opposition and crossbench representatives in both houses. The Prime Minister and ministers run executive government, with formal constitutional roles for the Governor-General. Ministers can be drawn from either chamber.
Try an imaginary election. Move the sliders to see how a party can build support in the House. These numbers are fictional, not today’s party standings.
74 party MPs · 0 supporting MPs · 76 other MPs
No majority support has been demonstrated in this example.
74 of 150 supporting MPs
This is a simplified full-House seat model using 76 as a majority benchmark. Real government formation turns on confidence in the House and the Governor-General’s appointment of the Prime Minister; it is not an automatic slider calculation.
Confidence means support for a government remaining in office; supply concerns the funding it needs to govern. Other MPs can support both while remaining outside the government. That support does not promise a vote for every ordinary bill. A Senate majority is not required to form government.
Fictional Clear Information Bill · ordinary bill starting in the House · no live party votes
- Draft
- House
- Inquiry
- Senate
- Same text
- Assent
- Commencement
Clear Information Bill
Start with an idea.
People, community organisations, ministers and committees can propose changes. In this example, you want federal public information to be easier to understand.
Your journey so far (0 decisions)
Start drafting to build your journey.
What does this short model leave out?
Bills can also start in the Senate, but taxation and appropriation bills must start in the House. Senate powers to amend financial legislation have restrictions, including cases where it requests changes instead. This model covers an ordinary House-origin bill only. It condenses readings and votes, assumes everyone attends, and leaves out quorums, procedural motions, money bills, constitutional amendments and special deadlock procedures. Committees and negotiations can occur at different times in real life.
Try what you’ve learned.
No account, no political profiling. Your answers stay in this page’s memory and disappear when you leave.
Sources, updates and AI use
Reviewed against official material on 2026-10-28; review policy: every 90 days and when procedural rules or chamber membership change. The build checks the lesson’s review date and chamber counts; it does not automatically rewrite lessons when procedure changes. AI assisted research and drafting; independent subject review remains pending. No runtime AI, accounts, tracking of learning answers or external requests are needed for these activities. This simplified model is not a complete statement of parliamentary procedure.