Southern Australia Southern Australia The term Southern Australia is generally considered to include the states and territories of Australia of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. The part of Western Australia south of latitude 26° south – a definition widely used in law and state government policy – is also usually included. Although it comprises about half of the total area of Australia, Southern Australia includes about three-quarters of the Australian population, the two largest cities (Sydney and Melbourne), the political capital (Canberra), the main food growing areas and the main industrial centres. The area is
Government of Victoria Government of Victoria The Government of Victoria is the executive administrative authority of the Australian state of Victoria. Functioning within the scope of Victoria's status as a sub-national parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the Government was first formed in 1851, when Victoria first gained the right to responsible government. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, Victoria has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, Victoria ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth.