The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania (the representative of the King), the Legislative Council (the upper house), and the House of Assembly (the lower house).. "The Governor and the Legislative Council and House of Assembly shall together constitute the Parliament of Tasmania." Since 1841, the Legislative Council has met in Parliament House, Hobart, with the House of Assembly following suit from its establishment in 1856. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856.
The powers of the Parliament are prescribed in the Constitution of Tasmania. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, Tasmania has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, Tasmania ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas.
The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly is invited by the governor to form the Government and become the premier of Tasmania.
Throughout its history, the Tasmanian Parliament frequently had members who previously served in Federal Parliament proportionally more so than the other state and territory parliaments.
The Government currently consists of a Liberal minority government, formed after the 2025 state election. The Third Rockliff ministry consists of Liberal members.
History The island of Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) was claimed and subsequently settled by the United Kingdom in 1803. Initially, it was administered by the governor of New South Wales, as part of that British Colony of New South Wales. In 1825, Van Diemen's Land became a separate British colony, administered separately from New South Wales, with a Legislative Council of six men appointed to advise the lieutenant governor of Van Diemen's Land who had sole governance of the colony. The Council initially held meetings in a room adjacent to the old Government House that was located near to the present site of Franklin Square, but by 1841 they relocated meetings to the 'Long Room' (now the Members' Lounge) in the Customs House.
In 1850, the British Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act, which gave Van Diemen's Land the right to elect its first representative government. The size of the Legislative Council was increased from six to 24. Eight members were appointed by the Governor, and 16 were elected by property owners. The new Legislative Council met for the first time in 1852, and by 1854 they had passed the Tasmanian Constitution Act, giving Van Diemen's Land responsible self-government and a new bicameral parliament. Queen Victoria granted Royal assent in 1855 and Van Diemen's Land became a self-governing colony. In the following year, 1856, one of the new parliament's first acts was to change the name of the colony from Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania.
Houses of Parliament
House of Assembly
The Tasmanian House of Assembly is the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament. There are 35 members, with seven members elected from the five divisions. The divisions are: Bass, Braddon, Clark, Franklin, and Lyons. The Tasmanian House of Assembly electoral divisions share the same names and boundaries as the Australian House of Representatives divisions for Tasmania.
Members are elected using the Hare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation for a term of up to 4 years.
Current distribution of seats The distribution of seats is currently:
Party Seats held Percentage Seat distribution Liberal 14 40.0% Labor 10 28.6% Independent 6 17.1% Greens 4 11.4% Shooters, Fishers and Farmers 1 2.9%
Electorate Seats wonBass Braddon Clark Franklin Lyons
Liberal Labor Greens Independent Shooters, Fishers and Farmers
Legislative Council
The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Tasmanian Parliament. It has 15 members, each elected from a single-member electoral division. The boundaries of the divisions are reviewed by tribunal every 9 years.
Elections are conducted annually on a 6-year periodic cycle; 3 divisions will be up for election in May one year, then 2 divisions in May the following year and so on. As such, each member will normally serve a term of 6 years.
Current distribution of seats
The current distribution of seats (updated post 2025 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic elections) is:
Party Seats held Percentage Seat distribution Independents 8 53.3% Liberal Party 3 20.0% Labor Party 3 20.0% Greens 1 6.7%
Electorate Seats won Derwent Elwick Hobart Huon Launceston McIntyre Mersey Montgomery Murchison Nelson Pembroke Prosser Rosevears Rumney Windermere
Independent Liberal Labor Greens
Longest-serving members Members of the Tasmanian upper and lower houses with over 30 years of service. Name Party Chamber Start of tenure End of tenure Period of service Michael Polley Labor House of Assembly Sir John Evans Commonwealth Liberal House of Assembly William Dodery Independent House of Assembly 39 years, 94 days Legislative Council Neil Campbell Liberal League House of Assembly 37 years, 236 days Legislative Council Sir Walter Lee Liberal League House of Assembly William Moore Independent House of Assembly 37 years, 198 days Legislative Council Dr Edward Crowther Free Trade House of Assembly Sir Robert Cosgrove Labor House of Assembly 33 years, 70 days Frederick Grubb Independent Legislative Council 31 years, 325 days John Madden Labor House of Assembly 31 years, 255 days Bill Neilson Labor House of Assembly John Dwyer Labor House of Assembly Sir Alexander Lillico Independent Legislative Council
See also Parliaments of the Australian states and territories Official Openings by the Monarch in Australia
Notes
References
Specific references
General references
External links
Parliament of Tasmania