Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states. The terms of this contract are embodied in the Australian Constitution, which was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and ratified by the people of the colonies at referendums. The Australian head of state is the Queen of Australia who is represented by the Governor-General of Australia, with executive powers delegated by constitutional convention to the Australian head of government, the Prime Minister of Australia.
History of the Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory Police was created in 1927, the same year the federal government moved to the ACT, with eleven officers. The size of the force grew over subsequent decades with the development of Canberra, and oversaw law and order in the territory until 1979. In that year, the ACT Police merged with the Commonwealth Police and the Federal Narcotics Bureau to form the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which then took responsibility for law and order in Canberra. Since self-government was granted in 1988, the AFP has performed this under contract to the ACT government.