Government of South Australia

South Australia was established via letters patent by King William IV in February of 1836, pursuant to the South Australian Colonisation Act 1834. Governance in the colony was organised according to the principles developed by Edward Wakefield, where settlement would be conducted by free settlers rather than convicts. Therefore governance would be divided between the Governor who was responsible to the British Crown and tasked with the authority to make laws, and Colonisation Commissioners who were responsible for the sale of land to settlers to fund the colony. In 1842 the British Parliament reorganised the structure of South Australia's governance by abolishing the Colonisation Commission and creating a Legislative Council of eight people (including the Governor) to exercise the legislative power of the colony. In 1850 the British Parliament passed the Australian Constitutions Act 1850, which empowered the Legislative Council to alter its own composition. The Legislative Council responded by passing the Constitution Act 1856, which created a bicameral parliament and an executive responsible to it. The executive comprised ministers selected from the Parliament and the Governor was no longer able to unilaterally make most decisions. The new Parliament and Executive took over almost all of the powers held by the Secretary of State for the Colonies regarding the appointment to official positions in the colony, immigration, and customs matters. The state ceded certain executive powers (such as defence and customs), but retained powers in all matters not withdrawn from them or in conflict with the Commonwealth. In 1934, the Constitution Act 1856 was repealed and replaced with the Constitution Act 1934, which remains in force today with amendments. ==Structure==

South Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the governor and senior ministers. In practice, executive power is exercised by the premier of South Australia and the Cabinet of South Australia, who advise the Governor. The Cabinet comprises 15 ministers, headed by the Premier, who are either members of the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council. Cabinet is responsible for determining policies which are submitted to Parliament. ==Current ministry==

The South Australian Government is divided into departments or attached offices to those departments. Departments and their attached offices are overseen by a government minister who is a member of the Parliament. However some departments or attached offices may be afforded a degree of independence by statute and may only be subject to ministerial direction in specific circumstances (for example the Audit Office or the Electoral Commission). There are currently 21 departments, though not all of them use the word department in their title. • Attorney-General's Department • Audit Office of South Australia • Department for Child Protection • Department for Correctional Services • Defence SA • Department for Education • Office for Early Childhood Development • Electoral Commission of South Australia • Department for Energy and Mining • Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia • Office of Northern Water Delivery • Department for Environment and Water • Environment Protection Agency (EPA) • Office of Green Industries SA • Department of Health and Wellbeing • Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health • Preventative Health SA • Department for Housing and Urban Development • SA Housing Trust • Department of Human Services • Department for Infrastructure and Transport • Office of Recreation, Sport and Racing • Department of the Premier and Cabinet • Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment • Premier's Delivery Unit • Office of the South Australian Productivity Commission • Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) • South Australian Police Department • Department of State Development • Department of Treasury and Finance • Office of Venue Management Government business enterprises • South Australian Forestry Corporation trading as ForestrySA • South Australian Water Corporation trading as SA Water == See also ==