Multi-party government: how it might work in Australia
How coalitions and minority governments could work in Australia as hung parliaments become more likely
By Ben Raue, Electoral analyst
As the major parties’ vote falls, more independents and minor party MPs are winning lower house seats, and hung parliaments are becoming more common. With One Nation’s rise making them likelier still, Ben Raue looks at how Australia has formed governments, how other Western democracies share power between parties, and the models that could apply here.
Australia has more experience of sharing power than its two-bloc reputation suggests. Greens ministers have sat in Labor governments in Tasmania and the ACT, and hung parliaments have usually produced minority governments backed by confidence-and-supply agreements. Each model trades stability against a smaller party’s identity, and both major parties remain wary of letting other parties share the credit of government.
The full report · 18 pages, with every chart.
Get the full reportWhat we found
1. Greens ministers have already served in Labor governments in Tasmania and the ACT
After Tasmania’s 2010 hung parliament, Labor premier David Bartlett formed a coalition with Greens leader Nick McKim, with two Greens ministers, which lasted until close to the next election. In the ACT, Shane Rattenbury was the sole Greens minister in a Labor cabinet from 2012 to 2020. After the 2020 election the ministry had six Labor and three Greens ministers, until the Greens withdrew to the crossbench in 2024.
2. Hung parliaments here have usually produced minority governments
Since the late 1980s, crossbenchers holding the balance of power have mostly supported a major party in government rather than joining it, from Tasmania’s 1989 Accord to deals with independents in New South Wales in 1991, Queensland in 1998, Victoria in 1999 and South Australia in 2002. Federally, the Gillard Labor government signed agreements with the Greens and independents in 2010. In return for the Greens’ confidence and supply, Labor created a climate change committee that went on to develop new climate legislation.
3. A government can stay in office without majority support
Australian governments stay in office until they resign or lose a vote of no confidence. After Tasmania’s 2024 election the Liberal government lost majority support but survived until Labor backed a no-confidence vote, and in the current parliament it governs without confidence-and-supply agreements from a majority of the Assembly. Raue sees this as a conceivable option if One Nation holds the balance of power at an upcoming election.
4. Keeping a party out of government can help it grow
Some European countries keep far-right parties out of government with a “cordon sanitaire”, which can leave them free to lead the opposition and keep gaining support. Bringing a party into government puts it under scrutiny, and many minor parties have lost support after doing so. Junior coalition partners are often blamed for unpopular decisions while struggling to win credit for popular ones.
What’s in the report
- Introduction p. 3
- Government formation in Australia p. 4
- Government formation in other countries p. 9
- Models of multi-party government p. 12
- To include or exclude? p. 17
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