The tour caters for students and classes studying architecture or design, or for members of the public with an interest in architecture and historically significant buildings.

Your visit will last about 90 minutes and includes a short presentation and a tour of Parliament House. You will see parts of the building not normally accessible to the public.

Bookings

The next tour will be at 2.00 pm on Friday 24 May 2013.

Other 2013 architecture tours will be at 2.00 pm on: 21 June, 26 July (booked out), 30 August, 27 September, 25 October, 22 November, and 20 December 2013.

Places are strictly limited so if you would like to attend you must book in advance. Schools or tertiary classes that would like to attend may be accommodated at other times to fit their schedules.

To book, call the Tours Office on (03) 9651 8568 or e-mail tours@parliament.vic.gov.au.

The architecture tour is free of charge.

You can still visit Parliament House through the main entrance at the top of the steps. Tours are still running.

The repair work is expected to run from October 2012 to December 2013.

Year 11 and 12 VCE Legal Studies students are now invited to participate in our VCE Role Play presentations. Teachers are given a choice for their students to debate either the 2007 Upskirting Bill or the 2011 Crimes and Domestic Animals Acts Amendment (Offences and Penalties) Bill (known as the Dangerous Dogs Bill). Students will gain an understanding of how a law is made — from idea to reality.

The VCE Role Play takes place in the Legislative Assembly chamber, and students are allocated the role of either a member or officer of the Parliament (e.g. Premier, Leader of the Opposition, Serjeant-at-Arms, Clerk). Students then follow a script based on actual speeches made in the Parliament.

The VCE Role Play is conducted by experienced staff members, and has been designed to address relevant units of the VCE Legal Studies curriculum.

Bookings

Bookings for the VCE Role Play can be made for non-sitting Wednesdays at 1.00 pm, although bookings for other times may also be available, depending on demand. The duration of the session is approximately 1.5 hours. To check the sitting days, go to the Calendar.
The maximum number of students for a VCE Role Play is 30.
To book, call the Tour Booking Office on (03) 9651 8568 or e-mail tours@parliament.vic.gov.au
The VCE Role Play is free of charge.

Hearings

The 2013-14 Budget Estimates Hearings are being held from Friday 10 May 2013 to Friday 24 May 2013 inclusive. The final schedule is available  here 22.45 Kb.

Transcripts, Presentations and responses to Questions on Notice arising from Hearings

Friday 10 May 2013

Hon Michael O'Brien MP

•  Treasurer UNVERIFIED 405.05 Kb —  Presentation 707.31 Kb

Hon Dr Denis Napthine MP

•  Premier UNVERIFIED 353.08 Kb —  Presentation 1.30 Mb
•  Regional Cities UNVERIFIED 83.96 Kb —  Presentation 602.66 Kb
•  Racing UNVERIFIED 83.94 Kb —  Presentation 77.63 Kb

Monday 13 May 2013

Presiding Officers - Hon Ken Smith MP (Speaker) and Hon Bruce Atkinson MLC (President)

•  Parliamentary departments UNVERIFIED 228.24 Kb —  Presentation 930.90 Kb

Hon Edward O'Donohue MLC

•  Corrections UNVERIFIED 142.60 Kb —  Presentation 622.46 Kb
•  Crime Prevention UNVERIFIED 114.95 Kb —  Presentation 1.37 Mb
•  Liquor and Gaming Regulation UNVERIFIED 205.52 Kb —  Presentation 613.09 Kb

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Hon David Davis MLC

•  Health UNVERIFIED 459.72 Kb —  Presentation 2.63 Mb
•  Ageing UNVERIFIED 83.77 Kb —  Presentation 84.38 Kb

Hon David Hodgett MP

•  Ports UNVERIFIED 169.88 Kb —  Presentation 715.33 Kb
•  Major Projects UNVERIFIED 158.15 Kb —  Presentation 3.36 Mb
•  Manufacturing UNVERIFIED 93.88 Kb —  Presentation 977.86 Kb

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Hon Terry Mulder MP

•  Public Transport UNVERIFIED 462.58 Kb —  Presentation 799.57 Kb
•  Roads UNVERIFIED 213.38 Kb —  Presentation 1.06 Mb

Hon Louise Asher MP

•  Innovation, Services and Small Business UNVERIFIED 238.26 Kb — no visual presentation was shown
•  Employment and Trade UNVERIFIED 97.27 Kb — no visual presentation was shown
•  Tourism and Major Events UNVERIFIED 93.56 Kb — no visual presentation was shown

Thursday 16 May 2013

Hon Kim Wells MP

•  Police and Emergency Services UNVERIFIED 317.82 Kb —  Presentation 232.47 Kb
•  Bushfire Response UNVERIFIED 177.24 Kb —  Presentation 271.71 Kb

Hon Robert Clark MP

•  Attorney-General UNVERIFIED 234.27 Kb —  Presentation 120.30 Kb
•  Finance UNVERIFIED 138.59 Kb —  Presentation 171.05 Kb
•  Industrial Relations UNVERIFIED 90.48 Kb —  Presentation 193.85 Kb

Friday 17 May 2013

Hon Martin Dixon MP

•  Education UNVERIFIED 374.81 Kb —  Presentation 1.86 Mb

Hon Peter Ryan MP

•  Regional and Rural Development UNVERIFIED 159.57 Kb
•  State Development UNVERIFIED 170.68 Kb —  Presentation 910.93 Kb

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Hon Peter Hall MLC

•  Higher Education and Skills UNVERIFIED 170.06 Kb —  Presentation 615.88 Kb
•  Responsibility for the Teaching Profession UNVERIFIED 117.06 Kb —  Presentation 1.02 Mb

Hon Hugh Delahunty MP

•  Sport and Recreation UNVERIFIED 198.17 Kb
•  Veteran's Affairs UNVERIFIED 93.99 Kb —  Presentation 1.04 Mb

Matthew Guy MLC

•  Planning UNVERIFIED 336.29 Kb

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Hon Nicholas Kotsiras MP

•  Energy and Resources UNVERIFIED 202.22 Kb —  Presentation 356.46 Kb
•  Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship UNVERIFIED 117.77 Kb —  Presentation 341.58 Kb

Hon Jeanette Powell MP

•  Aboriginal Affairs UNVERIFIED 96.83 Kb —  Presentation 46.44 Kb
•  Local Government UNVERIFIED 105.54 Kb —  Presentation 76.19 Kb

Hon Wendy Lovell MLC

•  Children and Early Childhood Development UNVERIFIED 171.64 Kb —  Presentation 800.51 Kb
•  Housing UNVERIFIED 156.84 Kb —  Presentation 396.26 Kb

Thursday 23 May 2013

Hon Peter Walsh MP

•  Agriculture and Food Security UNVERIFIED 306.27 Kb
•  Water UNVERIFIED 189.09 Kb

Hon Mary Wooldridge MP

•  Community Services UNVERIFIED 206.64 Kb —  Presentation 125.46 Kb
•  Disability Services and Reform UNVERIFIED 83.07 Kb —  Presentation 135.83 Kb
•  Mental Health UNVERIFIED 131.64 Kb —  Presentation 69.84 Kb

Friday 24 May 2013

Hon Gordon Rich-Phillips MlC

• Assistant Treasurer
• Technology
• Responsibility for the Aviation Industry

Hon Ryan Smith MP

• Environment and Climate Change
• Youth Affairs

Hon Heidi Victoria MP

• Women's Affairs
• Consumer Affairs
• Arts

When available, the schedule, transcripts and presentations (if provided) can be found here .

Aftering tabling, reports can be found here .

About budget estimates inquiries

During May, the Committee holds public hearings to scrutinise the planned expenditure and activities of all government portfolios and the Parliamentary Departments.

All Ministers and senior departmental officers are invited to appear before the Committee and are questioned on the proposed expenditure of departments for the next financial year.

Before the Budget is brought down by the Treasurer, the Committee forwards a questionnaire to all departments seeking information to supplement the details that will be contained in the Budget Papers.

The Committee's objective in its scrutiny of the budget estimates is to:

• constructively contribute to improving the presentation of budget information, to the Parliament and the community of Victoria ;
• facilitate a greater understanding of the budget estimates;
• encourage clear, full and precise statements of the Government's objectives and planned budget outcomes; and
• encourage economical, efficient and effective administration.

The aim of the Committee is to table the report during debate on the appropriation bills in the Parliament.

Check out Parliament's great new video, 'How Parliament's Elections Work'. The video explains how members are elected to the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. You can see other videos at our Video and Audio page.

Elections

Voting

How the votes are counted

Proportional preferential voting for the Legislative Council

Historical information

Other voting methods

Learning more

Elections

General elections

In Victoria the Parliament has fixed four year terms. This means that there is a general election every four years and members of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly stand for election.

The only time that there is less than four years between general elections is when the Assembly is dissolved earlier by the Governor. The Governor may dissolve the Assembly:

• If the Assembly passes a motion of no confidence in the Premier and other ministers and a motion of confidence is not passed within eight days; or
• On the advice of the Premier in the case of a deadlocked bill.

When a general election is called all electoral districts of the Assembly and regions of the Council throughout Victoria are involved. Elections for each district and region take place on the same day; election day.

Filling a vacancy in the Legislative Assembly - a by-election

If there is a vacancy in the Legislative Assembly, that member's place is filled by holding a by-election.

A by-election just relates to one particular Assembly district and can be triggered by a number of events. Examples of triggering events are:

• Resignation or death of the previous member
• Election of the member to the Commonwealth Parliament
• The member fails to attend the Assembly without permission for an entire session
• The seat is vacated as it has been established that the member was not qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament.

In a by-election only voters in that electorate vote to elect a member to represent them in the Legislative Assembly.

Filling a vacancy in the Legislative Council - a joint sitting

If a vacancy arises in the Legislative Council a joint sitting of Parliament is held to select a new member to fill the vacancy.

If the vacating member was elected as a member of a political party, the joint sitting must select a person nominated by that political party. If the member was an independent, the joint sitting is required to select a new member that has not been a member of a political party for five years and has lived for 12 months in the region that is being vacated. In order for the independent member to gain selection they must obtain three fifths of the support of all members voting at the joint sitting.

The only time a joint sitting is not held is when the vacancy occurs within three months of the seat becoming vacant for a general election at the end of a parliament.

Voting

Who votes

Voting is both a right and a responsibility.

Generally every Australian citizen who lives in Victoria and is aged 18 years or over is eligible to vote.

It is compulsory for all eligible voters to enrol to vote and, once enrolled, to vote in elections. This is known as compulsory voting. Those who fail to vote must explain why. If their reasons are not valid they have to pay a small fine.

Compulsory voting was adopted in Victoria for Legislative Assembly elections in 1926 and for Legislative Council elections in 1935.

Ways to vote

Most people vote on election day at a voting centre. Voting centres are open from 8.00 am until 6.00 pm on election day.

For people who can't get to a voting centre on election day early and postal voting services are available. Early voting involves visiting an early voting centre to vote before election day. To vote by post it is necessary to apply to the Victorian Electoral Commission.

To find out more about when and where to vote, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission website: http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/. [return to top]

How the votes are counted

Preferential voting for the Legislative Assembly

When voting for members for the Legislative Assembly the preferential voting system is used. In this system voters rank the various candidates in order of preference.

The candidate most preferred by a voter is ranked first. The next preferred is ranked second and so on until all candidates are ranked in order of preference.

When voters attend the polling booth on election day, representatives of the various candidates hand out how-to-vote cards. These show how the candidates would prefer voters to fill in their ballot paper. Voters do not have to follow these suggestions.

If a ballot paper is not completed correctly, or is defaced in any way, it is deemed informal and is not counted in the tally of votes.

After the voting centres close on election day, the votes are counted. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of votes (greater than 50 per cent), preferences are allocated.

This is a procedure in which the votes of the least favoured candidate are allocated to the more popular candidates on the basis of each voter's preferences.

This process is continued until one candidate wins an absolute majority. In this way, even if some voters do not necessarily get the candidate they most preferred, they get their next most favoured candidate and so on until the new member of Parliament is identified.

To learn more about preferential voting visit the Victorian Electoral Commission website: www.vec.vic.gov.au/votingsystems.html.

Proportional preferential voting for the Legislative Council

The proportional preferential voting system is used to elect members to the Legislative Council. This system allocates seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for each candidate. It does this by using multi-member electorates. In addition, this system 'weights' voter preferences so that a first preference is 'worth more' than a second preference and so on.

To be elected, a candidate must gain a quota or proportion of votes. While the electoral system used for the Legislative Assembly tends to favour candidates of the major parties, the method used for the Legislative Council produces representation according to the number of votes a candidate receives, even if the candidate is an independent or a member of a minor party.

To learn more about proportional voting visit the Victorian Electoral Commission website: www.vec.vic.gov.au/votingsystems.html.

Historical information

Secret ballot

Victoria is the home of the secret ballot. This is a method of voting in which voters' ballot papers are completed in secrecy and then placed in a locked box until the close of the poll. This guarantees the integrity of each voter's choice.

This voting system was conceived in 1855 by Henry Samuel Chapman, a member of Victoria's first Legislative Council. It was used for the first Parliament of Victoria general elections that took place in spring of 1856.

For many years it was internationally known as the Victorian or the Australian ballot.

Other voting methods

Preferential voting has not always been used in Victoria. Until 1911 in Legislative Assembly elections and 1921 in the Legislative Council, first-past-the-post, (a system in which the candidate with the most votes wins irrespective of whether it is an absolute majority) was used. This system is widely used in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

Until 1899, plural voting was used in Lower House elections and until 1938 in Upper House elections. This was a procedure in which those who held land to a certain market value were entitled to vote in as many electorates as that land was located.

Learning more

To learn more about the electoral process and voting visit:

• Legislative Council Information Sheet 16: A New Electoral System for Victoria's Legislative Council
• Legislative Assembly Fact Sheet 20: Elections
• the Victorian Electoral Commission website.

For historical statistical information on Victorian elections go to Elections since 1856. [return to top]