<P> If the government agrees that the changes are worthwhile, a Bill is drafted, usually by Parliamentary Counsel . The Bill is read and debated in both houses of parliament before it is either rejected, changed, or approved . An approved Bill must then receive the assent then handed down to either the Governor (State) or the Governor - General (Commonwealth). And then it must be put to the people through a Referendum and only a majority vote of all the States will ensure that law will be passed . Parliament often delegates legislation to local councils, statutory authorities and government departments, for sub or minor statute laws or rules such as Road Rules, but all law is answerable to the Commonwealth Constitution . </P> <P> Most statutes are meant to be applied in the main not by legal practitioners and judges but by administrative decision makers . Certain laws receive more judicial interpretation than others, either because more is at stake or because those who are affected are in a position to take the matter to court . Whilst the meanings presented to the court are often those that benefit the litigants themselves, the courts are not bound to select one of the interpretations offered by the parties . </P> <P> Australian courts have departed from the traditional approach of interpreting statutes (the literal rule, the golden rule, and the mischief rule). The dominant approach is that rules are not to be applied rigidly because the overriding goal is to interpret the statute in accordance with the intentions of Parliament . This so - called "purposive approach" has been reinforced by statute . Legislation in all States and Territories allows recourse to extrinsic materials . </P> <P> In each Australian state, including the Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory, there is an official compilation of all new laws enacted by the Parliaments in such states . The Western Australian Consolidated Acts, Northern Territory Consolidated Acts, Queensland Consolidated Acts, South Australian Current Acts, New South Wales Consolidated Acts, Victorian Consolidated Acts, and the Tasmanian Consolidated Acts are the official compilation of laws and statutes in such Australian states . They contain statutes, Acts of Parliament, criminal law and many major topic areas . They are all enacted in chronological order and are normally enacted in statute . </P>

What type of legal system does australia have