Role of Royal Assent in Australia

Royal assent in Australia is the formal step where the Governor-General (representing the monarch) signs a bill passed by both houses of Parliament, making it law. In practice:

• Almost always granted—convention dictates the GG acts on ministerial advice.
• Refusal is a reserve power, used only in extreme constitutional crises (e.g., 1975 Dismissal of Whitlam government).
• The GG could theoretically withhold assent if a bill is unconstitutional or against national interest, but this would trigger a major crisis.

Process: Bill passes House & Senate → presented to GG → assent granted → becomes Act. The 1975 event remains the only federal use of reserve powers to dismiss a government.