1. Two houses, two jobs
The Parliament of New South Wales — Australia's oldest — has two chambers. The Legislative Assembly (lower house) has 93 members, one for each district; the party or coalition with a majority there forms government. The Legislative Council (upper house) has 42 members elected by the whole state at once, 21 at each election, by proportional representation — which is why it almost never has a government majority, and why it can genuinely review what the government proposes.
2. How a law is made
A bill is introduced (usually in the Assembly), debated in principle, examined in detail, and voted on — then the whole process repeats in the Council. The upper house is where the real scrutiny tends to happen: committees take evidence, amendments are negotiated with the crossbench, and the government has to argue its case rather than simply rely on its numbers. When both houses pass the same text the bill goes to the Governor, and it becomes an Act only on assent — and even then it may not commence for some weeks.
3. Why the crossbench matters
Because the Council is elected proportionally, minor parties and independents usually hold the balance of power. Every contested bill has to win support beyond the government — which means evidence gets tested, drafting gets fixed, and bad ideas get slowed down or stopped. A single upper-house member can move amendments, force documents into the open, and put issues on the public record. That is exactly the work the Australian Democrats exist to do — see our plan for the upper house.
4. Your three votes in NSW
You elect your local Assembly member (put a 1 next to your choice — more numbers are optional in NSW), the upper house (a single "1" above the line is enough, or number at least 15 candidates below the line, consecutively from 1), and — at council elections — your local councillors. Fixed four-year terms mean the next state election is on Saturday 13 March 2027. Our democracy school walks through exactly how each ballot works.