Grown-up notes

Each line is marked Fact well established, Model a deliberate simplification, or Unsure not settled.

Play another way

Another connection: What is money?

The idea

• FactAustralia is a representative democracy. Citizens aged 18 and over vote to choose people, called representatives, who then make decisions on everyone's behalf. People do not vote on each rule.
• FactThere are elections again every few years, so voters can keep their representatives or choose new ones.
• FactAustralia has three levels of government. Local councils look after things like rubbish collection and parks. States and territories look after things like schools and hospitals. The federal government looks after things like defence, immigration and passports.
• FactThere are more than 500 local councils across Australia.
• FactVoting in federal elections is compulsory for enrolled citizens aged 18 and over.

What the pictures simplify

• ModelOne leader in the town. This first toy isolates choosing someone and choosing again. It is not how a council or parliament makes every decision. The "Decide together" scene adds other elected voices: even the leader can be outvoted. Leaders must follow the law.
• ModelThree members in "Decide together". This is an invented council, not a model of every council rule. Each member gets one vote between two plans. Actual federal laws need agreement in both houses of Parliament and assent. Debate, amendments, rights and legal limits matter too.
• ModelTwo candidates and "most votes wins". Real elections usually have several candidates, and Australian voters number them in order of preference.
• ModelOpen voting. In the toy you can see how everyone votes. Real votes are secret, so nobody can be pressured.
• ModelOne thing to disagree about. The townsfolk care only which side of town gets built on. Real voters weigh many things at once.
• ModelNo parties. Left out on purpose. The guide shows how choosing works, not who should win.
• ModelHands up. The opening is a direct vote among friends, which works for small groups. The town shows why bigger groups choose people instead.
• ModelThe map. A rough drawn outline. It leaves out the territories and the other states' borders.

Questions she may ask

• Who is in charge of Australia? FactThe people we elect to Parliament make the laws. The leader of the government is called the Prime Minister. The King is the head of state, and the Governor-General does that job for him here, but neither runs the country day to day.
• Can children vote? FactNot until they are 18. Children can still say what they think, and grown-ups can listen.
• What if a leader does something bad? FactThe rules apply to leaders too, and judges can say no. And at the next election people can choose someone else.
• Who do you vote for? ModelA neutral answer: "Voting is private, and people in the same family or street often choose differently. When you are grown up you will make up your own mind."
• Is it fair that the most votes wins? UnsurePeople have argued about this for a very long time. Most agree it is fairer than one person deciding for ever, and that the winners should still look after everyone.

Words this guide teaches

Vote: showing which one you choose. Leader: someone who helps a group make decisions. Government: the people who run public services and help make rules for a place.

Go further

NSW Parliament House on Macquarie Street in Sydney is open to visitors on weekdays and runs free guided tours. Times change with sitting days and school holidays, so check its visiting page first.

Sources

• Parliamentary Education Office, "Making a law": debate and votes in both houses; the leader does not make laws alone.
• Parliamentary Education Office, "Three levels of government": who looks after what, the number of councils, and voting at 18.
• Australian Electoral Commission, "Compulsory voting in Australia".
• Parliament of NSW, "Visit Parliament".

Checked November 2026. Passports as a federal matter, preferential and secret voting, and the roles of the Prime Minister, King and Governor-General are standard civics, not taken from a linked page.